Unconscious reactions. You may treat a student differently simply because he or she unconsciously reminds you of someone you like or dislike. An action, a comment, or a look results in the making of an association.
Cognitive dissonance. We often have a tendency to ignore evidence that is inconsistent with our expectations or prior experience. Your least favorite student can make a brilliant deduction a but you're much more likely to ignore it than if it was from your class "genius.
Halo effect. We often allow one characteristic to overshadow others as an umbrella or behavioral "halo" For instance, if your favorite student has a small annoying habit, you are more likely to discount it and be more forgiving.
Projection. One tendency is to see in others the things we like or dislike the most about ourselves. This creates a strong subjective filter through which you evaluate behaviors. If a student has the same annoying habit that you have, it gets noticed easily.
Placebo effect. This occurs when a student's behavior is altered in some way (e.g., alleviated, exacerbated) by an otherwise useless treatment, because a student simply expects or believes that the intervention will work. For example, a student may use a so-called lucky pencil to write a paper.
These influences make it difficult to single out a particular variable as the reason for a student's change in performance. Although many factors are present, at least start with the awareness that you are likely to be biased. The bottom line is that teacher subjectivity is a dominant influence in student performance. The folowing is an example of a negative mind-set.
The Frozen Student Mind-Set This mind-set suggests that students are stuck they way they are. Yet we know that the brain can and does change, so this mind-set is outdated. One of the great myths of education is that intelligence is fixed. It's a myth that students who score