Assessment Report Roundup

Research Report: Teaching

By Kate Stoltzfus — September 13, 2016 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A teacher’s good looks may play a “previously overlooked” part in student learning, say researchers at the University of Nevada.

For the study, published last month in the Journal of General Psychology, 131 university students listened to an audio lecture, half with a male voice and the other half with a female voice, while looking at a photo of the purported lecturer. The photo varied for each student—69 participants looked at a “highly attractive” person and 62 at an “unattractive” person. (The photos had previously been rated for attractiveness by other students.)

Students who had an attractive educator scored higher than those with a less-attractive educator on a multiple-choice quiz on the lecture. Students also gave higher ratings in teaching ability and presentation to more attractive educators—though student perception of teaching ability did not necessarily predict a better score.

Related Tags:

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Assessment Download 6 Ways to Curb Grade-Change Requests From Students and Parents (DOWNLOADABLE)
No one likes dealing with grade-change requests. Here are some tips to help teachers avoid them altogether.
1 min read
Close up of a schoolgirl showing her C- grade on a test at elementary school.
E+/Getty Images
Assessment Opinion Our Grading System Was Setting Students Up to Fail—Until This Change
Our first reaction to standards-based grading was despair. Then, slowly, things began to change.
Matthew Ebert
5 min read
A student climbs up stairs as letter grades fall around her. In the background a teacher is grading a test.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Assessment In Case You Missed It: How Schools Are Measuring Student Success
Explore stories about grading practices, what truly reflects student achievement, and more.
5 min read
Grading and assessment SR
Robert Neubecker for Education Week
Assessment Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Standardized Testing & Improving Student Outcomes?
Answer 7 questions about improving standardized testing and student outcomes.