5+Praise+Properly

The utility of verbal praise has been debated widely for many years. Researchers (summarized in Barkley (2010) and Kohn (1999)) have determined that praise is most effective when:
 * It occurs immediately after the desired behaviour.
 * It is believable, sincere and spontaneous.
 * It is specific to the behaviour.
 * It is dependant upon the desired behaviour only.

In the newsletter for the American Federation of Teachers, American Educator, [|Willingham] describes how praise can be used most effectively.

//Encouragement// Based on what we have learned so far, we should think about praise in a new way to help us construct better ways of communicating approval to our students. If we can think about **encouraging**, rather than praising, we may be able to strike the right balance. Given the guidelines above, and our knowledge that process/effort praise is better than person-directed praise, we can brainstorm ways of giving praise properly (**encouragement**).

Here are a few examples ([|Yen, 2005]) of encouraging phrases that can be used in place of praise:


 * **Praise** || **Encouragement** ||
 * Your are the best student I ever had. || You are a fine student. Any teacher will appreciate and enjoy you. ||
 * You are always on time. || You sure make an effort to be on time. ||
 * You have the highest score in the class on this exam. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">You did very well on this exam. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am so proud of you. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">You seem to really enjoy learning. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">You're the best helper I ever had. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The room looks very neat since you straightened the bookshelves. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm so proud of your artwork. || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is nice to see that you enjoy art. ||

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">From the NDT Education Resource Center ( [|Adams, 2011] ), here are more examples of encouragement: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I appreciate that. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I like the way you said that. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank you very much for that. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I sure like your taking that risk.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">And plain correct/incorrect language: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, that's right. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Okay. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, that's just what I wanted. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Correct. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, thank you. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, the correct answer is _. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">You had the first part right, but the last part was incorrect. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank you for taking a risk to answer that, even though it was the wrong answer.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Look for positive things to say about a student's effort even when pointing out problems or mistakes. However, be careful to say **encouraging** things rather than praise because too much **praise** can lead to a student becoming dependent on it. When praise becomes a reward instead of a motivation, it behaves like an addictive substance. The student begins to require constant praise without developing intrinsic motivation.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Video example of a teacher **praising** her student's work, while another educator **encourages** the students by being interested in their writing topic ([|VanDamme, 2010]):

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">media type="youtube" key="Nxlxuwzz90c" height="315" width="560"

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">From the Highland Council ([|2008]):
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Positive feelings are expressed about an individual’s contribution
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Build the individual’s confidence to progress with tasks/challenges
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Recognise that each individual needs different types/amounts of encouragement
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shows appreciation of individuals’ characteristics and what they bring to the classroom
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Develop pupils’ self-confidence
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Related to the pupil’s achievement
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Specifies particular details of the achievement, instead of being bland and general
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is linked to the satisfaction of target criteria, but can also be given for effort
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gives information about the value of the achievement and competence
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is delivered spontaneously in a natural tone of voice and in varied language
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is accompanied by body language which reinforces the message
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Makes the pupil reflect on his/her approach to the task - both during and afterwards
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Relates present achievement to prior work
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is geared to the pupil’s ability and success in challenging tasks
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shows how further success can be achieved
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Creates intrinsic motivation - desire to do tasks for their own sake