Evisl and Problems in Pygmalion Ply Socity

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Pygmalion Pedagogy: Reevaluating Educators’ Expectations of Students Kaleena Burgess 20th Annual Ford Scholar Forum Professor Carolyn Johnston Spring Semester 2007 Abstract The Pygmalion Effect is defined as the superior’s expectations of his or her subordinates’ abilities become manifest in reality as the subordinates’ actual perceived and performed abilities. When applied to education, this effect has great implications towards the effectiveness of current teaching methods and practices. It is imperative that teachers and professors are aware just how much an effect their expectations about students can have on the students’ abilities, particularly when expectations are positive. If an educator expects that a student will perform well, the student will more than likely perform to that expectation. Implementation of a new pedagogy should be immediate to put the scientifically researched Pygmalion Effect into use in every classroom. Pygmalion Pedagogy: Reevaluating Educators’ Expectations of Students Classical Greek mythology tells of a story about a statue of a woman brought to life merely by the wishes of her sculptor. The tenth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses describes the story of Pygmalion, a sculptor in Cyprus who had grown upset or annoyed with the company of the women in his society. He decided to conceive of the ideal woman, and carve her statue out of ivory. After his sculpture was complete, Pygmalion fell in love with his creation. He started to bring the statue presents like one would a real lover. Fervently, Pygmalion prayed that his ideal woman would become real. In response to his prayers, the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite (Venus) brought the sculpture to life. Pygmalion named the creation Galatea, married her, and subsequently, they lived happily ever after. The concept of the transformation of a creation or

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