"The Inner World of Teaching"

“The Inner World of Teaching” by Robert Marzano

Synopsis by Krissy Brown

How often do we as teachers assume the worst about our students? In his article, ‘The Inner World of Teaching,” Robert Marzano offers a strategy that all teachers need to consider when dealing with and evaluating students’ misbehaviors. After all, if our behavior in the classroom directly affects our students’ achievement, isn’t it important to take a deeper look at what affects our behavior?

Every teacher has had to interpret students’ behaviors, and Marzano encourages teachers to ask themselves three questions to help them better control their interpretations and to avoid over-reacting. For example, when a student disrupts a class, the teacher should ask:

1. How am I interpreting this event?

2. Will this interpretation lead to a positive outcome?

3. If not, what’s a more useful interpretation?

Rather than just assuming that the disruptive student is intentionally trying to be disrespectful, the teacher will be able to resolve the situation with a positive outcome. If the teacher takes a moment to reflect on the situation before reacting, she can avoid an unnecessary confrontation and have better control of his or her interpretation of the student’s behavior. We need to train our inner-selves to control our reactions and remember that negative interpretations have negative outcomes and positive interpretations have positive outcomes.

Bibliography

Marzano, R. (2011, April). "The Inner World of Teaching". Educational Leadership , pp. 90-91.