How to give students praise effectively
Children thrive on praise, and I am a strong believer that if you give children praise in the correct way, you are sure to get the best out of them in the classroom. It coincides hand in hand with creating a positive learning environment in the classroom. New teachers may be unfamiliar with how to give praise effectively, naturally, and yet teachers with buckets of experience and years of teaching behind them may also commend a student, but in an incorrect way. Being super ‘nice’ can be a trait of overdoing the praise. We all want our children to like us, but some teachers do this by over praising. Telling children they have done excellently for everything they do, relevant or irrelevant, or telling the children how fantastic they are just for doing what is expected of them, are popular ways of over praising a child. The problem with doing this is that there is no distinguish between doing well and doing what is expected. If a pupil knows they are going to get praised whatever they do, they may not give it their best, as they know the same outcome will still apply. Then there is the other end of the spectrum, whereby teachers are very short of or give no praise at all. Children can produce excellent works or come up with one off performances and teachers are reluctant to reward good work. This can be very disheartening for children who may have given it their all on a project to come away with no reward for such good work. Pupils do generally want to impress their teachers, so to get that compliment after a great effort really lifts their spirits and has the snowballing effect (Christmas pun) of making them want to try hard and do well for their next project! It maybe stereotypical to suggest but NQTs are keen for their new classes to like them as a teacher, and tend to be overly generous with praise, whereas the Old-school stick in the muds (who probably should have retired years ago) and the school’s drill sergeants, lean towards being reluctant to congratulate. So the key is to find a happy medium between the two. It is also important to be selective on where your praise is given. For instance, telling the children that they have lined up beautifully and then neglecting praise when a student gives a great answer can be counterproductive. There is a balance of giving praise, just like there is a balance of behavioural management skill. Good training can help teachers promote the correct kind of praise. If this is unavailable to you, I have found a table of eight little pointers on how to, and how not to give effective praise. Hopefully it will help in some ways towards your everyday practise.
The table has been devised by Dr. Bob Kizlik who is a teaching guru and has worked right the way through the card from being a classroom teacher to being a Dean. Dr. Kizlik is also a writer and has published many of his successful studies on teaching strategies, and so is considered a valuable teaching resource and reference. Check out this link if you want to read more of his credentials… http://www.adprima.com/kizlikbio.htm
 
GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAISE
(Applies primarily to praise associated with instruction and student performance)
Effective Praise |
Ineffective Praise |
1. Is delivered contingently upon student performance of desirable behaviors or genuine accomplishment | 1. Is delivered randomly and indiscriminately without specific attention to genuine accomplishment |
2. Specifies the praiseworthy aspects of the student’s accomplishments | 2. Is general or global, not specifying the success. |
3. Is expressed sincerely, showing spontaneity, variety and other non-verbal signs of credibility. | 3. Is expressed blandly without feeling or animation, and relying on stock, perfunctory phrases. |
4. Is given for genuine effort, progress, or accomplishment which are judged according to standards appropriate to individuals. | 4. Is given based on comparisons with others and without regard to the effort expended or significance of the accomplishment of an individual. |
5. Provides information to students about their competence or the value of their accomplishments. | 5. Provides no meaningful information to the students about their accomplishments. |
6. Helps students to better appreciate their thinking, problem-solving and performance. | 6. Orients students toward comparing themselves with others. |
7. Attributes student success to effort and ability, implying that similar successes can be expected in the future. | 7. Attributes student success to ability alone or to external factors such as luck or easy task. |
8. Encourages students to appreciate their accomplishments for the effort they expend and their personal gratification. | 8. Encourages students to succeed for external reasons — to please the teacher, win a competition or reward, etc. |
I hope you found this post informational and helpful! Please feel free to leave a comment…
Andy T