Teachers' expectations research

Researchers have determined that teachers' expectations for their students affect almost every aspect of instruction and can determine whether students succeed. For teachers who want to alter their behavior toward certain students, this research suggests that teachers observe how students interact, work to understand what motivates students, engage with students about the individual interests and find out more about students' lives outside of school. 
Hamre, B., & Pianta, R. (2012).  Student-teacher relationships. PEAR conference.
http://www.pearweb.org/conferences/sixth/pdfs/NAS-CBIII-05-1001-005-hamre%20&%20Pianta%20proof.pdf