Giving too Much Praise?

Questions

Is it possible we give out too much praise?

Do we sometimes say "excellent" even when what the student did is not excellent?

Do sometimes we say "excellent" even when the student is doing something we totally EXPECT from them?

Answers

Yes, yes, and yes. We tell our students "excellent" and "good job" too much. In fact on many occasions, teachers have said "excellent" even when the answer was wrong.

Is it possible we say "excellent" as a reflex even when we don't mean it?

Is it possible that we use praise too much?

Is it possible that this actually have a negative effect?

Research says yes to all these questions.

There is some research out there that too much "good job" and "excellent" can be negative. I highly recommend reading this article in full to help you understand this better.

Here is the article: Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!" if you want to read it.

Here is the zibda on this article:

1. Always saying 'good job' is really a way to control behavior; it is a way of manipulating children to do what we want. It is not a way to nurture intrinsic and motivated students. It creates a situation where students only do good things to please you.

2. By praising too much we actually have a negative impact on students. Students have less confidence and trust in themselves. After all, you decide what is good or bad. And students become addicted to your praise. This creates a learning environment based on Behavioristic, extrinsic motivation. We want a learning environment based on a Constructivist, intrinsic motivation.

3. We actually steal their pleasure when they do great work. We evaluate it as "good" or "excellent" and that is it!

4. Praise for a student who is doing something that they love may actually decrease the chances that the student will do it again.

5. Praise can have a negative effect on performance.

So what can we do? We must do something, right?

Researchers tell us these techniques:

1. Sometimes, say nothing. Let them do their part without praise. After all, we expect them to do well. We can see them doing well and say nothing.

2. Say what you saw without judging. "I can see that the paper is free of errors and has been proofread very well." Or, "I see that you colored inside the lines in all the correct colors". Describe the excellence.

3. Ask questions. "How did you know to use a compass to make a perfect circle?" Or, "where did you learn that?" This method involves the child in the thinking so they can tell the teacher about how they were successful.

We should be very careful about giving out too much praise. Personally, I like the ideas above, especially "saying what you saw". This can be a great way to help a student see what they did was worthy of praise without saying "good job".

Saying good job all the time is just too simple and basically has no meaning to students once they have heard it 1,0000 times.

*Please give your thoughts on What's APP...I am interested in your thoughts*