The Teaching Relationship: A Hypothesized Mental Model and Its Consequences

It is proposed that people share a "mental model" of the student-teacher relationship, out of which develop unexamined expectations and attitudes that may be responsible for some long-standing problems of higher education. The model assumes that 1) a knowledge-differential is central to the relationship; 2) the relationship is voluntary, so that both participants must find it rewarding; and 3) both participants are able to play their roles successfully. The first assumption leads to an emphasis on the teacher's expertise and accounts for the importance of research as the chief measure of academic virture. The second allows either participant to assume that the other has initiated the relationship, often leading to frustrated expectations. The third complements the first, implying that "anybody who knows something can teach it," and accounts for both teachers' dissatisfaction with under-prepared students and the widespread failure to recognize differences in teaching skills. Survery data are presented on teachers' opinions of what makes students satisfying to teach, providing evidence for the reality of the model's second assumption.