Teachers Answering Questions

For 4- to 8-year-olds

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. In this study, your child will watch short animated videos featuring two teachers who respond differently to two classmates’ questions. One teacher will say “Why do you think…” while the other says “Because I said so”. After watching the videos, your child will be asked a few simple questions about social and academic abilities of each classmate, such as "Would this child be very good or not very good at playing nicely with others?" (social) or "Would this student be very good or not very good at doing a worksheet in class?" (academic).

This study explores how children make judgments of their peers when teachers respond to those peers differently. Sometimes, teachers redirect the question back to students to encourage deeper thinking and active engagement. Other times, teachers can be dismissive or respond in a manner that reinforces authority without providing further explanation. We want to understand whether children notice these differences and whether it affects their judgments of peers who receive those responses. This question is important because verbal responses by teachers to questions in the classroom can shape peer perceptions, which can affect the quality of peer interactions and, ultimately, the overall classroom learning environment.

15 minutes

As a token of our appreciation, we will email you a $5 Amazon gift card (from Amazon.com) within a week of your participation. If you participate again with another child in the specified age range, you will receive one gift card per child. To be eligible for compensation, your child must be within the age range and visible in the video.