Influence of Avatar Choice on Teacher Expectations and Perceptions of Student Success

Abstract

<jats:p>The gender and ethnicity of students have been shown to affect teacher expectations. As part of a Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE), people socially interact via avatars that have the capability to be customized to details of ethnicity and gender. Teachers in MUVEs instruct students with little knowledge of potential biases and prejudices toward avatars of different genders and ethnicities. This study’s purpose was to examine the influence of student avatar choice of gender and ethnicity on teachers’ expectations. Teachers were asked to review a transcript, image, and video of a student avatar and then respond about the student’s intellectual and relational abilities. Results indicate that avatar gender and ethnicity influence teachers’ expectations. Results may help teachers discover potential biases and prejudices toward some student avatars, as well as level the playing field for student avatars of differing genders and ethnicities.</jats:p>

The Mechanism of Teacher Influence on the Learning Engagement of Students

“…Influence is a kind of ability to effectively affect and change the thinking and behavior of other people in a way that they are willing to accept [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In terms of teacher influence (TI), it refers to the ability of a teacher to demonstrate the correct action orientations for students via their speeches, behaviors, spirits, and sentiments, so as to promote students to achieve their expected learning goals.…”