Not our expectations of students but our expectations for students. 

Expectations that help to shape culture are those that outline and define the learning experiences themselves while signalling the kinds of thinking necessary to its success. Ron Ritchhart explains in his book Creating Cultures of Thinking that there are two types of expectations: directives and beliefs. 

He highlights that in schools we often refer to our behaviour expectations and the performance expectations of a particular learning task adults want from students. These are our expectations OF students, the directives we give to learners that clearly define what we desire. Effective teachers and leaders use directive expectations often. The second kind of expectations operates on a deeper level. These expectations stem from our beliefs about the nature of teaching, learning, thinking and schools. These are our expectations FOR students. Ron states that these beliefs "focus our attention, direct our action, and define our understanding of how things work." The following 5 belief sets lay a foundation for​ our expectations in learning groups.

Five Belief Sets - click image for pdf

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