Initiatives >> GESA Summary

Generating Expectations for Student Achievement (GESA)
The Office of Equity and Assurance offers the GESA course to teachers, administrators, counselors, curriculum specialists, staff developers and equity specialists annually. GESA facilitators must attend a three-day workshop conducted by GESA staff. Facilitators can then teach the 3 inservice credit course in BC schools.

When GESA was originally conceived and developed, society was moving away from overt stereotyping, name calling and labeling based on a person’s gender or race. However, there was an identified need to address the subtler bias, which continued to persist, not only for females and males in general, but especially for those of us from diverse cultural backgrounds. The way teachers perceived and treated students reflected their bias. Over the years, there have been major changes, especially when teachers have been made aware of some of the most prevalent forms of bias and have been provided with tools for self-assessment and practice. In addition, the body of research and literature dealing with equity issues is more extensive and there is much more known about providing educational excellence for all students. From the research reported during the past several decades on gender and race, we have identified five areas of disparity in the classroom and demonstrated a relationship to academic achievement.

The necessity of high expectations for all students has been identified repeatedly as an essential factor for educational success at all levels. GESA examines the five areas of disparity in the classroom and then encourages teachers to utilize research-based, proactive instructional strategies and resources to eliminate the disparities and support high expectations. The five areas are: instructional contact, grouping and organization, classroom management and discipline, enhancing self-esteem, and evaluation of student performance.

These areas of disparity have proven to be generic and are applicable to concerns related to gender, race, national origin, developmental or physical disability, socioeconomic class, perceived ability, or any of the labels, which tend to deal people out or permit them to deal themselves in or out of the educational system. The ways in which the disparities manifest themselves may differ within and between specific groups.

GESA is based on the following assumptions about professional development:

• Recognizing and changing deep-seated attitudes and stereotypes is difficult.
• “Doing” is more effective strategy than “talking about.”
• Teachers reinforce each other in the change process by providing immediate, specific feedback.
• Teachers learn from observing in their colleagues’ classrooms and from being observed by their peers. Increased student achievement, retention and decreased discipline problems are strong motivations for teachers.

Therefore, the following are essential elements of the GESA approach:

• GESA is basic classroom action research. Participants learn from their own teaching experience. It is a discovery learning process.
• GESA focuses on specific observable teaching behaviors, which teachers can monitor for each other.

For more information contact:

Merry C. Macer
Administrator
mmacer@bcps.org
410-887-2444