Blue Quadrant: High Expectations

The lower-right quadrant emphasizes achievement and the creation of a performance-focused learning organization. Practices in the blue quadrant are grounded in the idea that students need to feel a sense of accomplishment. The implicit goal is to have students develop self-efficacy and persistence. Learning is characterized as an individualized process that is accelerated through goal setting and accountability. The objective is to challenge and stretch each student. The culture is marked by measurable progress. The teacher tends to be task-focused, and the time orientation suggests urgency. Every moment is used productively. There may be a sense of competition. What matters most is the ability to produce results. The desire is for high test scores, and the means to that end is personal discipline. The teacher is a motivator of effort. Two of the key blue quadrant processes are goal setting and assessment, and the expected outcome is progress. In such a classroom, students and teacher put forth tremendous effort. One teacher told us, “My students know that I notice when they’ve worked hard … but I also notice when they haven’t worked hard, when they haven’t worked to their potential.”

When blue quadrant attributes are overemphasized, expectations can become so high and demands so intense that students become discouraged, alienated, and frustrated. When this happens, a less effective classroom is the result. The yellow quadrant in particular can help teachers avoid moving into this negative zone.