Making Expectations Explicit

Classrooms often rely on expectations that are never directly stated.

Students may be expected to automatically understand:

• what “show your work” means,

• how detailed an explanation should be,

• what counts as participation,

• how collaboration should look,

• or what the teacher considers a “good” mathematical response.

For some students, these expectations feel intuitive. For others, they remain unclear, inconsistent, or difficult to interpret.

When expectations stay implicit, students may spend more energy trying to determine what the teacher wants than engaging with the mathematics itself.

Jump to a Section

Many classroom expectations are part of what is sometimes called the “hidden curriculum”: the unwritten rules students are expected to learn without direct instruction.

Students may be expected to know:

• when to ask questions,

• how to participate appropriately,

• how much work to write,

• how formal responses should sound,

• or what counts as “trying hard enough.”

These expectations are often treated as obvious, even though they may not be obvious to all students.

Students who process language, communication, or social expectations differently may experience significant uncertainty when expectations remain vague.

Mathematics is often described as precise, but mathematics classrooms frequently contain ambiguous language.

Phrases like:

• “Explain your reasoning,”

• “Work together,”

• “Use an appropriate strategy,”

• or “Show your thinking”

can have many possible interpretations.

Students may wonder:

• How much detail is enough?

• What kind of explanation is expected?

• What counts as collaboration?

• Is there one preferred strategy?

• Am I allowed to solve it differently?

When expectations are unclear, students may become anxious, hesitant, or overly focused on avoiding mistakes.

In some cases, students may produce mathematically valid work that is still viewed as “incorrect” because it did not match unstated expectations.

Making expectations explicit helps reduce uncertainty and allows students to focus more energy on mathematical thinking.

This does not mean over-controlling students or scripting every interaction. Instead, it means recognizing that clarity supports access.

Students benefit when teachers:

• model expectations clearly,

• provide examples and non-examples,

• explain the purpose behind classroom routines,

• define participation expectations,

• and make success criteria visible.

Students are more likely to engage confidently when they understand what is being asked of them.

Group work is often treated as though students naturally know how to collaborate effectively.

However, collaboration involves many skills:

• listening,

• turn-taking,

• asking questions,

• explaining thinking,

• negotiating ideas,

• and managing disagreement.

Without explicit structure, some students may feel overwhelmed, excluded, or unsure how to participate.

Teachers can support more inclusive collaboration by:

• defining group expectations clearly,

• modeling productive discussion,

• assigning or discussing collaborative roles,

• providing sentence starters,

• and recognizing different forms of participation.

Students should not be expected to intuitively understand social and communication expectations that were never taught directly.

Teachers can make expectations more explicit by:

• modeling examples of strong explanations,

• clarifying what “show your work” means,

• using rubrics or checklists when appropriate,

• thinking aloud while solving problems,

• providing structured collaboration supports,

• separating directions into manageable steps,

• and explaining the purpose behind classroom routines and activities.

Even small increases in clarity can significantly reduce anxiety and uncertainty for students.

Students do not all interpret language, instructions, and classroom norms in the same ways.

Some students may:

• interpret language literally,

• need additional processing time,

• focus heavily on details,

• or struggle to infer implied expectations.

When teachers assume there is only one “obvious” interpretation, misunderstandings can occur.

Students are not always confused because they are careless or inattentive. Sometimes they are responding logically to instructions that were never fully clear in the first place.

Students should not have to guess what counts as successful mathematical thinking before they are able to participate in it.