Have
you been the recipient of praise that felt lavish and insincere? Experienced teachers
usually have a built-in praise barometer and know full-well when they have really accomplished something praiseworthy
and when they have not. Constant praise can become background noise or, worse
yet, can cause skepticism or self-doubt.
When coaches use frequent or generic praise connected to tiny
achievements, it can actually backfire, creating cynicism and undermining the
coach’s role as a mentor.
A
teacher who is overly-praised for tasks that require little effort might doubt
the sincerity of her coach or wonder if such praise is offered because there’s
nothing more substantive to compliment. When praise is excessive or focused on trivialities,
it may not be well-received and can lose its effectiveness (Bayat, 2011). Yet
praise is an ingrained, Anglo-American cultural phenomenon (Quinn, 2005) – and one
with many benefits, if used appropriately.
Rather
than choosing not to praise, coaches should thoughtfully choose how to
praise. Dweck’s groundbreaking research about the growth mindset applies to
learners of all ages – including teachers who are being coached. The part of
Dweck’s work that is often emphasized is the finding that praising for
intelligence after success has undesirable negative effects. This has sometimes
been generalized to: Don’t praise! Dweck’s other important finding, however,
has relevance as we think about the role of praise during coaching: Praise that
focuses on work and effort is encouraging! Recipients want to take on
challenges, work hard, confront weakness and correct them (Dweck, 2007). Now that sounds
like a disposition we as coaches want to encourage!
Praising
for effort increases motivation. Those who receive such praise are more
interested in receiving strategy-related information and have a healthier
outlook about their own capabilities (Dweck, 2009). Coaches give this kind of “process
praise” when they pay positive attention
to instruction that increases student learning. An encouraging description
works as powerful praise. Saying, “Wow, you were flexible during that lesson! I
noticed you spent a lot more time modeling than you had planned when you saw
that students were confused,” gives a powerful description of what went right
that feels like purposeful praise. “I can see how hard you worked on
(fill-in-the-blank),” puts emphasis on effort. Acknowledging hard work can provide a motivation boost when
teachers’ energy is taxed!
Adults
appreciate well-intentioned, well-deserved praise, and teachers who are working hard at the right things deserve it! Just do your own barometer check from time to time to ensure you
aren’t overly effusive in your praise as you catch teachers doing good work!
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
A
humorous look at positive reinforcement:
Eight components of effective
professional development:
Reader response activities to take the
thinking deeper:
This video describes the use of commas
in complex sentences – a video to share with upper-grade students:
A good description of flipped classrooms:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
