Educational Leadership

Art & Science of Teaching
Robert J. Marzano
The Inner World of Teaching

All educators are keenly aware of the fact hat what teachers do in the classroom has a strong relationship with student
from that point on. For example, if the teacher
interprets the students’ turning away as a sign of
disrespect, she may admonish the students for
achievement. However, far fewer are aware of
not paying attention. However, if she interprets
the fact that how teachers think in the classroom the interruption as students being so interested
also has such a relationship. This relationship
is indirect: What teachers think affects how
they behave, and their behavior directly affects
in the topic that they began to discuss it among
themselves, she will react quite differently.

student achievement.

The relationship between the inner world
of a teacher’s thoughts and emotions and the
outer world of a teacher’s behavior has been
recognized for years—in research on teacher
expectations (Weinstein, 2002);

teacher beliefs about collective efficacy (Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy,

2004); and teacher and student perceptions of self-efficacy (Dweck, 2000).

Negative interpretations
typically lead to negative
outcomes, even when
those interpretations
are accurate.

How the Inner World Works

Four generalizations about the
Fourth, people have a built-in bias to interpret
inner world help explain its effect events negatively. This is quite possibly a legacy
on behavior. First, people typi-
from our ancestors thousands of years ago who
cally operate from well-rehearsed were well served by remembering—and learning
scripts that serve specific pur-
from—negative experiences they had with
poses. Consider a middle school
predators (Seligman, 1993). Although this may
science teacher who’s presenting
have helped our ancestors survive, the tendency
information to students about the cell mem-
brane. The teacher is executing her “presenting
information script,” which helps students under-
stand new content. This is one of many scripts
can make the modern teacher prone to interpret
questionable student behavior negatively.

For example, assume that the teacher pre-
senting the information about the cell membrane
she’ll use throughout a lesson. Others include
has had an experience in the past with stu-
taking attendance, answering students’ ques-
dents who disengaged from one of her lessons.

tions, wrapping up a lesson, and transitioning
When she asked those students to reengage,
between activities.

they refused, and the incident escalated out of
Second, a teacher will continue with his or her control. On the basis of this negative experience,
current script unless some event interrupts the
flow of that script. The teacher presenting her
the teacher will tend to interpret any similar
event as a threat and behave accordingly.

information script will continue to do so until, for example, a group of students in the back of the classroom turns away and begins to talk in hushed tones.