10/31/2015

Classroom Biases Hinder Students' Learning - Education Week

Published Online: October 27, 2015

Published in Print: October 28, 2015, as Fighting Subtle Bias

ClassroomBiasesHinderStudents'Learning
BySarahD.Sparks

"Areyousureyoubelonghere?"
Thereisperhapsnomorecriticalquestionfora
disadvantagedstudententeringanadvancedclass,
nonemorelikelytorattleinthebackofeventhe
mostgiftedstudent'sbrain.
Andwhencomingfromateacherorstudent,it'salso
justoneexampleofa"microaggression,"anincident
ofeverydaydiscriminationthatstudentsencounter
thatmaycontributetolowerperformanceand
disengagement.Buteducatorsandresearchersare
fightingback,witheffortstobothcurb
microaggressionsandbufferstudentsagainstthem
andhelpthemcope.
Gabrielle"Ellie"Bennettmovedtothemostlywhite
St.LouissuburbofRockwood,Mo.,in2ndgrade,
afterbeinginagiftedprograminBuffalo,N.Y.When
hermother,DebbyBennett,whoiswhite,askedto
enrollherbiracialdaughterinthegiftedprogram,
Ellie'steacherwaffled."SheaskedifIwasingifted
[education]inapredominantlyblackschoolbefore,"
Elliesaid."SheassumedIcouldn'treadandwouldn't
knowthedifferencebetweenatriangleandasquare.
SheassumedIwasn'tuptoherstandard."
Elliepersisted,gettingseparatelytestedtoproveher
IQ,butsaidsheknowsotherbrightstudentswho
disengage."Youdealwiththeseassumptionsand
racismevenwhenyouare7,"shesaid."Ifpeople
alreadyhaveexpectationsofyoufromwhenyouare
alittlekidandkidsareawareofwhatteachers
expectbythetimeyougetthroughallthoseyears
ofschoolwiththoseassumptionspilingup,it'slike,
what'sthepointoftakinganhonorsclass?"
WhileEllie,nowajunioratEurekaHighSchool,takesseveralAdvancedPlacementcourses,she
saidshestill"isalittlejadedwhenitcomestonewteachers.Wheneverthereisasubstitute,
evenifotherkidsaretalking,I'malwaysnottalkinganddoingmyworkbecauseIdon'twant
tofeedintoanymisconceptionsaboutme."

Tracking'Microaggressions'
Classroominteractionsthatteachersintendtobeinclusivecaninsteadmakestudentsfeel
vulnerableiftheyaresingledoutbasedonrace,disability,orincomelevel.
Forexample,ina2010study,GeorgiaSouthernUniversityresearcherMaryAnneMeeks
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/classroom-biases-hinder-students-learning.html?r=1251679849&tkn=TMWFNxwXAa+7zE+RNwjlQ9LTg

1/4

10/31/2015

Classroom Biases Hinder Students' Learning - Education Week

trackedmicroaggressionsexperiencedby342studentsinalarge,diversehighschool
overfouryears.Studentsreportedtheyhadexperiencedamajorityof21typesof
microaggressionsatleastonceduringtheirhighschoolcareers,suchasteachersassuminga
blackstudentwaspoorwithoutasking,oractingsurprisedorgivingoutsizepraiseforbeing
articulate.
Studentsofcolorwerecalledontospeakonbehalfoftheirraceduringclassdiscussions,while
whitestudentsweretheleastlikelytofillthatrole.HispanicandAsianstudentssaidtheywere
askedtoteachwordsintheir"native"language,eveniftheyspokeonlyEnglish.
Interactionslikethesehavebeenshowninhundredsofstudiestotriggerwhat'sknownas
stereotypethreat,thefearthatone'sactionscouldconfirmanegativestereotypeheldabout
hisorhergroup.Ironically,topperformingstudentscanbeparticularlyvulnerableto
performingworseunderstereotypethreat.

LearningUnderThreat
Undernormal,nonthreateningcircumstances,astudentlearningtosolvealinearequationgets
alittlejoltofdopamine,a"goodfeeling"chemical,whenheorsheanswersaproblem
correctly.Ithelpsthenewmethodstickinthebrain.Learnersgenerally"forget"wronganswers
quickly.
Stereotypethreatcanmakethatsystemmisfire,
studieshavefound.Saythatsamestudentisagirlin
amostlymalecalculusclass,andherteacherseems
surprisedwhensheanswersadifficultquestion
correctly.Thestudentfearsthattheteacherorother
studentsbelievewomenarenotgoodatmath,and
anymistakeshemakeswillconfirmthatstereotype.
Thisfeartakesupmentalenergymakingit
hardertothinkonthespotandemotionallycharges
herreactiontoerrors,makingherrememberthe
wronganswerasstronglyasshewouldtheright
answer,founda2014study.Studentsunder
stereotypethreatcanendupbrooding,notreflecting,
onmistakes.

CompleteSeries:BeyondBias

Thisyearlongserieswillexamineeffortsto
recognizeandovercomediscriminationin
schools.Viewthecompleteseries.

Inaschoolwithacademictracking,takinghonorsclassescancometoseemriskyforlow
incomeandminoritystudents,particularlythosewhoalreadyhavetopgradesinstandard
classes,saidAlyciaSato,acounseloratLagunaCreekHighSchoolinElkGrove,Calif."It'sthe
fearfactor,"Satosaid."TheyarescaredoftheB."
TracyOliverGary,a10yearveteranAdvancedPlacementteacherandcurrentcontentspecialist
intheMontgomeryCounty,Md.,district,saidherapproachtoteachingAPchangedaftera
conversationwithoneBlackHistoryclassaboutwhyAPclassesweredisproportionatelywhite.
"Theybegantotalkabout,'Oh,IwasinanotherAPclassandIdroppedit.Iwastheonlyblack
studentandIfeltdumb,'"OliverGarysaid."ThoseconversationsshockedmeIstartedto
reallythinkabout...theroleoftheclassenvironment,whatdoesitfeelliketoknowyou
belongandarenotisolated?"
Educatorsinthenearly1,700studentLagunaCreekHighfoundtheyneededtoboostsocialand
emotional,notjustacademic,supportsforstudentswhentheschoolchangeditsentry
requirementsforhonorsandInternationalBaccalaureateclassestobringinmorestudentsfrom
minorityandlowincomebackgrounds.Theschoolishighlydiversenearlyhalfofitsstudents
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/classroom-biases-hinder-students-learning.html?r=1251679849&tkn=TMWFNxwXAa+7zE+RNwjlQ9LTg

2/4

10/31/2015

Classroom Biases Hinder Students' Learning - Education Week

arelowincome,andwhite,black,andHispanicstudentseachmakeup22percentto23
percentofthepopulation,withtherestcomposedofAsian,PacificIslander,Filipino,and
multiracialstudents.
"Youcan'tjustruntheseprograms,"saidDougCraig,theprincipal."Theseareteensthey
don'tknowhowtocopewithstressyet.Andkidsfrom[disadvantagedbackgrounds]needtobe
toldoverandoverthattheycandoit."
TheschoolnowprovidesafouryearsupportcourseforstudentsenteringhonorsorIBcourses,
accordingtoSato.Inadditiontoacademicissuesliketimemanagementandcollegeplanning,
studentslearntorecognizesignsofstress,speakoutinclass,andadvocateforthemselveswith
teachers,shesaid.
Theschoolistryingtohelpstudentsseethemselvesassuccessfullearners,astrategythat
studiessuggestcanhelpcounterstereotypethreat,particularlyforlowincomestudents.

FocusonEmpowerment
AtNorthwesternUniversity,firstgenerationcollegestudentsbecamemorelikelytoaskforhelp
andmorecomfortablediscussingacademicchallengeswithaprofessoraftercompletingafive
minutewritingassignmentaboutwhotheywouldbeaftercollegeandhowpeoplewouldthink
ofthem.Bycontrast,studentswhowroteaboutwhotheywereandhowtheywereperceived
beforeattendingcollegebecamemoreanxiousandlesscomfortableaskingaprofessorforhelp.
"Theloweryourincome,themoreanxiousyoufeltevengoingtoaprofessor,"saidVidaManzo,
theleadresearcherandasocialpsychologydoctoralstudentatNorthwesternUniversity,who
discussedthestudyoffirstgenerationstudents."Forlow[socioeconomicstatus]students
thinkingabouttheirfutureidentity,theyperformedbetterandweremoreconfidentinahigh
pressuresocialsituation"afterwritingabouttheirvisionsforthemselves.
Tocountertheeffectsofracialorgendermicroaggressions,schoolscanfocusonbuildingthe
socialsupportforstudentscomingintoanadvancedclass."SinceAfricanAmericansdon'tseea
lotofblackfacesinadvancedclasses,theymayhaveinternalfeelingsofinadequacy,"saidEliza
Brooks,aseniorandoneofthreeblackgirlsworkingtowardthetwoyearIBdiplomaatLaguna
Creek."That'swhyIlovetheBlackStudentUnion,becauseIcanusemypositionasablack
girlinadvancedclassesdominatedbywhiteandAsianstudentsasawaytoempowerother
minoritystudents."
InaseriesofstudiesledbyGregoryWaltonofStanfordUniversity,studentsfromdifferent
stereotypedgroupsblackcollegestudentsandwomeninengineeringclasses,amongothers
wentthrougha"socialbelonging"interventionthatidentifiedcommonfeelingsoffrustration
andisolationamongnewstudents."Theworrythat'peoplelikeme'mightnotbelongina
schoolsettingsensitizesstudents"andleadsthemtointerpretinteractionsthroughthatlens,
Waltonconcluded.Studentswhoparticipatedintheintervention,bycontrast,weremorelikely
to"seeadversityasnormalforallstudentsastheyenteranewschoolandaslesseningwith
time."
Forblackcollegestudents,ahalfhoursocialbelonginginterventioninfreshmanyearwas
associatedwithhalvingthegapinGPAsbetweenblackandwhitestudentsoverthreeyears.An
interventionadaptedforsciencemajorsallbuteliminatedgapsbetweenmen'sandwomen's
GPAsinthemaledominatedengineeringmajor.
AtEurekaHigh,EllieBennetthelpsleadEastSquare,anequityclubthatpartnerswithteachers
toaddressbiasissuesoncampus.
Problemscanbesubtle:Oneteacher,afterhearing

RELATED BLOG

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/classroom-biases-hinder-students-learning.html?r=1251679849&tkn=TMWFNxwXAa+7zE+RNwjlQ9LTg

3/4

10/31/2015

Classroom Biases Hinder Students' Learning - Education Week

aboutafightatlunch,incorrectlyassumedaloudit
hadbeentriggeredbyagroupofmostlyblack
teenagerswhooftenstoodtogetherinthecafeteria.
"Teachersoftendon'tunderstandthatsayingstuff
likethatisracist,becauseitiscomingfromaplace
ofimplicitbias,"Elliesaid."Teachersoftendon't
knowwhatmicroaggressionsare...andtheydon't
knowthatwhentheyarecommittingthem,theyare
makingproblemsworse."

Visit this blog.

Coverageoftheexperiencesoflowincome,highachievingstudentsissupportedinpartbya
grantfromtheJackKentCookeFoundation,atwww.jkcf.org.EducationWeekretainssole
editorialcontroloverthecontentofthiscoverage.
Vol. 35, Issue 10, Pages 1,1315

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/28/classroom-biases-hinder-students-learning.html?r=1251679849&tkn=TMWFNxwXAa+7zE+RNwjlQ9LTg

4/4