Meaningless Praise vs. Encouragement

http://stedi.org/subs/social-center/the-bus-stop-blog/meaningless-praise-vs-encouragement/

"We often talk on this blog about the importance of positive reinforcement. I think we all have heard, by now, that teachers have more success with positive feedback than with negative. Hopefully you have embraced this idea and have put it into practice in your substitute teaching routine. That being said, I'd like to bring up a distinction between some different types of positive reinforcement.
While taking a "Positive Parenting" class last year, my teacher brought up some valid concerns about praising children. She began by telling us that meaningless praise can actually do more harm than good to a child. When you make statements to a student such as, "I really like that paper," or, "You're doing so great," you are assuming three things:

1. You are competent to judge this child
2. You are in a position to do so
3. The praise is appreciated

The problem with meaningless praise is that you are evaluating the student which can cause resentment. Even if you are saying something positive, they sense that it's a judgment statement. So, what can you do instead of meaningless praise if you want to express your pleasure with a student? After all, isn't that what you're going for?
The answer: Encourage. The distinction is that encouragement doesn't involve our evaluation, it just simply states our message of delight. When we praise children, we are training them to be dependent on a system of extrinsic rewards. When we encourage, however, we are helping them develop self-satisfaction.
For example, instead of saying, "I'm so proud of the way you worked on that," try, "Wow, five out of five! I bet that feels great!" In the first statement, you have made it about your feelings toward the student, but in the second statement you have turned the focus to them. Encouragement is easily done when you ask questions to the student about their feelings on their work ("Hey, how do you feel about this?") You could also simply verbalize what you observed ("I noticed you got eight out of ten correct.") Let the student evaluate themselves.

Here are just a few more parting thoughts on encouragement:

• It should be specific and descriptive. (Instead of, "Great job," try, "I noticed you were taking turns at recess today")
• The emphasis should be on the effort made by the student, not the end product. (Instead of, "I really liked that paragraph," try, "I bet you worked hard on that one.")
• Focus on the feelings of the student. (Instead of, "I'm so proud of your hard work," try, "Wow, ten out of ten! I bet that feels great!")

When we use encouragement as our form of positive reinforcement, students are doing most of the judging and consequently build their self-concepts. Learning to change our praise statements to encouragement statements will take practice. Chances are, our teachers and parents used praise with us as children. But give it a try! See if you notice a difference in the student's demeanor."

The Bleak New World of Prenatal Genetics

The Bleak New World of Prenatal Genetics

http://on.wsj.com/13ENXYZ

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