Is Your Praise Worthy of Praise?

PBIS tiers addressed by this intervention approach: All tiers

It's one of the things that we professors tell prospective teachers to do when they finally get out there in the classroom. It's something that all future teachers imagine themselves doing proficiently. It's something that is essential for drawing the best from our students, and creating positive interpersonal bonds with them… Praising kids for doing the right thing.
It‟s also something that often fails miserably. A large percentage of praise that is given profusely by well-meaning teachers is ineffective or even counterproductive. But why?

On the other end of the spectrum, I've had teachers tell me "I don't believe in praise." Knowing what we know now about the effects of well-formulated praise, that‟s like falling off a cliff and saying that you don't believe in gravity!

I'm guessing that that in their minds they‟re thinking "We're born with only so many nice things to say in us, and I'm not wasting them on somebody else's kid." When I inquire as to how they reached their conclusions, many of these self-proclaimed "no-nonsense' teachers insist that "I tried it & it didn't work." …And I‟ve got to believe that for them, it didn't. But why not?

Emerging research (Conduct an internet search for "Effects of praise", but select the readings that apply to the classroom, unless you wish to read religious sermons) is revealing something interesting: Not all types of praise are equal in their positive impact. In fact, some types of praise actually reduce the chances of the recognized behavior happening again in the future! Yes, Praise works… but only if we know how to give it in its correct forms.

Before we get into the evidence base, take a moment to consider the four different utterances found below. All are attempts to praise. According to the evidence, only one is an effective type. The other three will actually reduce the chances of the student displaying the desired behavior in the future.

Here‟s the situation:A student submits a homework assignment for the first time in two weeks.
1. "Let's see… There's a complete heading, all questions have been answered. Thanks Fran. I'm looking forward to reading it tonight."
2. Holy Moly! My heart! (Teacher clasps hands over heart and puts a shocked look on her face, followed by a sunshine smile). What's it been, Fran? Two weeks with nothing? It's great to see that you've finally turned the corner & are submitting homework again. Keep it up.
3. Alright Fran! Every answer is correct. Let's give you credit in the grade book right away. You've got the smarts, so I expect an assignment every day now.
4. "Alright, Fran! (The teacher gives a "high five" hand slap to the student, and a smile appears on the youngster's face). This is one good-looking paper you just submitted. See? You're a smart kid. Keep these homeworks coming, and you just might see that passing grade."

While I won't give you the answer, I can tell you that the correct form of praise is not found in numbers 2, 3, or 4. (Ha!) But what is it about those three responses that make them poor choices for recognizing and promoting positive actions? Give it some thought.

Next, let's watch one of our colleagues giving praise to a young girl who just brought her desk work assignment up to the teacher for feedback. Would you give our fellow educator a couple of "at-a-girl"s, or would you suggest some changes to her style of positive recognition? To view the 16 second video clip (excerpted from a longer one that you can find at http://www.usu.edu/teachall/video/video.htm), click on this link: http://silo.hunter.cuny.edu/44biE6wZ

The answers and explanations to the two questions above can be found at the end of this blog post, but don't be going there yet! Read through the rest of this document first, trying to discover the "why" behind both effective and ineffective verbal recognition of desired actions.

Praise that Backfires

Did you go to elementary school in the USA during the 1990‟s? If so, quit bragging on yourself, because we‟re going to bring you down a notch. The belief in many professional circles back then was that if kids felt good about themselves, they would get along with others better and achieve highly. There might be something to that belief, but in practice, kids in many schools were told that they were special because they liked the color green, or enjoyed macaroni and cheese for lunch.

This recognition of superficial and insignificant traits is not much on which to base one‟s self esteem and self concept. Kids were also given lavish praise for non-demanding accomplishments…
– "Holy moly! Fantastic job of passing out papers!
– "Great Googily Moogily! That's a spectacular job of hamster cage cleaning. You're a super-duper pooper scooper!"
This sort of praise gives younger students incorrect perceptions of their performance. After about age 7 or 8, as their cognitive framework changes, they simply dismiss it as being insincere (a reflection of the person who said it).

*An example of lavish praise can be found on the BehaviorAdvisor.com site at: http://behavioradvisor.com/12022.html ...The home page button that reads "Free podcasts & videos". Once there, click on "training videos", and select "Tony". (Circa 1979… Yes, styles in clothing and hair change, but the behaviors remain the same.)

When youngsters accomplish a non-challenging, non-academic task/duty of which they are quite capable, it is best recognized with? That's right… "Thank you." (If the contextual cues make the reason for the gratitude clear.) We could also offer an acknowledgement of what has been accomplished: "Your paper has the proper heading, and the penmanship shows the proper form." Hmm… If we acknowledge good penmanship, should we also attend to good penwomanship? But, I digress… Let‟s move on.

During that last decade of the 20th century, it was also believed that if kids were told that they‟re "smart", they would feel that way about themselves, love learning, and achieve at a high level. In fact, research showed that doing so actually LOWERED achievement!

That outcome leads us to the next type of counter-productive praise: Labeling.

Truth in Labeling

Carol Dweck is the name to use as a search term for this type of praise. She and her colleagues have investigated this sort of praise with a wide range of age groups, all with the same result: If you give a kid a label ("Smart", "Good kid", "Great artist", etc.), it will actually create performance that is in opposition to that label. Huh? ("Eh?" for our Canadian colleagues) Who wouldn‟t want to have these wonderful tags placed on them? What could be wrong with saying: "Good boy." and "See? You're a smart kid."?

First of all, few kids (& adults… except for me and you) are fully "Good" & "Smart". Realizing that they‟re not deserving of the label, they chalk up your statement as being insincere, unknowing, or manipulative. We look bad if the student is thinking: "Teach, you're not very "with-it". I got all these answers by text messaging my sister while you were helping other kids."

Dweck found that labeling kids as "smart" resulted in them avoiding academic challenges, and a reduction in their achievement level. Why? The thinking is that kids accept labels given to them by important adults (and groups/peers). In kids‟ minds, if someone is smart, information and knowledge comes easily to them. Academic tasks are easily accomplished. In that case, if someone has to struggle, that proves that s/he is not smart. The image, built on thin pillars, comes crashing down. Kids choose easier tasks, avoiding learning challenges that might require cognitive effort, in order to preserve their poorly supported self-image. They therefore reduce their acquisition of information and knowledge.
Second, the positive label may be at odds with what has been persistently heard by the youngster in other settings and at other times in his/her life. They think "Wow, you've got it all wrong! That label doesn't fit comfortably at all. Let me show you who I really am." (Based upon what they‟ve heard throughout their lives.) The student then displays behavior consistent with his/her present identity (e.g., puts the head down on the desk, destroys the paper that brought the positive comment from you, talks with others, plays with items, etc.).

Avoid assigning labels …even positive ones like "Great actor", "Nice girl" & other ones you‟ve heard, like "Phenomenal speller", "Super swimmer", "Wonderful reader", "Great helper", and so forth.

I remember, back in 9th grade, hearing from peers and adults: "Wow, Tom, you're a GREAT swimmer!" And I was. My strong performance was not due to our coach who knew quite a lot about track and field events, but nearly nothing regarding swimming. He would just have us swim lap after lap in the pool. I learned my swimming form by watching movies (yes movies back in the day, not videos) of Olympic swimmers. I didn‟t know what they were doing exactly, I just tried to look like them when I swam, emulating their form. It's sort of like when I go to a ski slope now; I find a better skier and follow him/her, moving like that model, and I ski better (even though I don‟t know exactly what I‟m doing differently).

Anyway, I always came in first in my best races. At the end of the season, it was time to go to "The sectionals" in which I would swim against kids whom I had never competed before… kids from swim conferences outside my own. For the first times, I came in second in my best races… touched out by some guy named Condino (I still turn my head and spit whenever I think of that name. I apologize to any readers with that name). It was shocking, but I vowed to swim better when I got to the state championships. I didn‟t know what to do differently… I would just "swim harder" (whatever that meant).
At the state championships, I got my butt kicked (figuratively speaking), coming in 8th and 11th in my best races. Guess who didn‟t join the swim team in 10th grade? Yep, me. But why?

I had that stellar label, but it was a house built on sand. I had been told that I was a "Super swimmer". Outside my district, I witnessed super swimmers and I wasn't even in their league (literally and figuratively speaking). I obviously didn‟t deserve my label and I didn‟t know how to get better. (I know what you‟re thinking: "Don't tell me McIntyre. Tell your therapist."… I do, every Wednesday at 4:15.) I see that our session is over. Let's move on.

The approach that we want to undertake is to avoid assigning labels; even positive ones. Withhold the verbal rubber stamp. Instead, describe the ACTIONS that deserve positive recognition. Let kids (re)label themselves if they wish to do so.

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Let‟s take a peek at what this replacement praise would look like. You might say things along the lines of: "I like the way that you…", OR "Ooh. The (noun) is very (adjective)." For example, "You're a wonderful writer." Becomes "This piece is so colorful and captivating. The passages bring vivid images to mind. That's because now you're adding a wide variety of adverbs and adjectives. One other thing; let me compliment you on creating some very imaginative situations."

Here are some other examples of specific, descriptive praise:

 "Excellent prediction, Farrah. You had to be listening closely to be so detailed in describing what you thought might happen next."
 "Lamont, I'm impressed with how you went to the glossary to find definitions for new words."
 "Hey. Jackson. C'mere. I gotta tell ya… I'm really impressed with your decision to return to class after the fire drill when others ran off to the hills. It takes a lot of self-control & maturity to make these types of responsible choices. Give yourself a pat on the back after you get one from me."

Do we ever use general praise? ("Good.", "Nice.") Of course, IF the student knows what he or she has done given the standardization of routines, and contextual cues involved in the situation. Otherwise, you can almost see the question marks appearing above their heads.

Save your labels for your file folders.

Other Contra-indicated Types of Praise

Other forms of praise also attempt to fit a square peg into a round hole. Here are a few of the violators of effective recognition:

Perfection Praise
Why not focus on perfection? It‟s what we want… Isn't it? So why not recognize exceptional performance in statements like: "You got all check pluses on your homework this week.", "Good boy, Calvin. You worked in your group without once causing a problem.", AND "James: 100% ...The only one in the class. Well done."?
Besides increasing the risk of James getting pantsed by bullies after school, focusing on "nearness to perfection" promotes view that:
– Scores & grades matter more than learning.
– Perfection must be attained & maintained at all costs.

In pursuit of that praise, kids often do what? Right…cheat & use deceit (due to performance anxiety and fear of failure).

Others avoid engaging in academic or behavioral challenges in which they might fall short of "perfection". Pupils who recognize that they can‟t always be perfect, or even come close to it, don‟t even try. Our attempts to spur motivation destroy it instead.

Indeed, it is the rare individual with a mentally healthy mind who can lay claim to an infallible level of excellence… We won‟t run out of fingers and toes counting them. Let's see, there's the Pope, the Dali Lama, you and me (and I‟m not all that sure about you).

The solution? Praise effort. From effort, comes increased achievement (with our skilled instruction helping that effort to pay off). You can also praise progress, assuring that the student is aware of what progress has been made, and knows what contributed to that progress, so that it can be displayed again).

Backhanded Praise
Avoid praise that hints at past problems. Below you‟ll read a few of this genre that were overheard (by my graduate students in the behavior disorders program at Hunter College while they were conducting fieldwork) in the New York City Schools. (Note: The vast majority of NYC teachers are skilled and knowledgeable, but some classroom adults need to work on ways to avoid creating the behaviors they complain about.)

"Monique! Good to see you arrive on time for once."
"Jonaya: I'm elated to see a completed journal reflection today. It's the first one you've done it all week."
"Wow. I'm shocked…Flabbergasted! I never thought you'd pass that exam!"
"Welp, it took forever; but you finally got the steps in the right order."
"Wonderful. This is the first time you've ever earned all your points for the morning session."
"You were paying attention today, Jazz. I just might have to change my opinion of you."
With one verbal hand, the teachers were offering positive recognition, while the other oral hand pulled it away. Keep praise in the present time frame. It's OK to reminisce back to when the youngster has been successful, and then say "This continues to show me what you're capable of doing."

Controlling Praise
Back in the 1960‟s, Haim Ginott said that encouragement and showing belief in a kid is even more powerful than praise. It certainly trumps "controlling praise" in which one directs (rather than encourages) future performance. Instead of saying "I know you can do it.", it simply says "Do it." It‟s pushy rather than supportive. Here‟s an example: (A student is writing on a notebook computer) "Dajour, what I'm seeing on the screen is excellent grammar, indentation & punctuation. Don't stop now… do it throughout your composition."

Why the big brouhaha over this apparently fine line between encouragement and control? Research (Kast & Connor, 1988) with 3rd, 5th & 8th graders found that "Keep it up." controlling praise destroyed student motivation to continue with the desired behavior in the future.

So… instead of "Nice penmanship in your journal entry today. You should write that legibly every day.", we would state "Nice penmanship in your journal entry. With those well-formed letters, the reader can give full attention to the content."

Unearned Praise
What can we say when the student submits something, but it's not up to par? When teachers praise substandard (for that student) academic or behavioral performance, it conveys the message that "The work is fine… for a person of your low ability."

Yes, we‟re glad to have had the youngster put forth some effort in the creation of a product, but it's not yet deserving of full-fledged positive recognition. You‟ll want to consider using "partial praise" that recognizes what has been accomplished, and then spurs better performance. For the seated, but distractible youngster, we might say "You're in your seat at the bell. Getting the materials out of your pack will show me that you're fully ready."

We could also use a "criticism sandwich". You'll find information about that practice on the "Giving Criticism" page. but I‟m saving that procedure for the next e-mail. That future "B-list" communication will address other aspects of praise and move into criticism that helps, not hurts.

Summing Up

So, what are the "take aways" from this reading? When praising, remember to…

 Avoid giving labels.
 Use descriptive praise. Describe the actions that, as a teacher, make you happy. Avoid saying "Good" or its vague & nebulous variations ("Nice job." "Great.") in isolation. Be specific. Give details. Elaborate on what you mean by "Good". Identify the action deserving of praise.
 Keep praise in the present. If you are also going to talk about what happened in the past, be sure that you only mention the positives.
 Praise effort.
 Praise progress.
 Say praise in a tone of voice that conveys sincere appreciation for the action.

OH YEAH… The answers/explanations for those situations at the beginning of this post... Here they are:
1. In the situation with Tony: After the teacher gave some vague and nebulous praise to other pupils as she strolled by them, she gave loud and "over the top" praise to the two youngsters at the back table. Tony, was a bit curious (Who wouldn‟t be?), and rose from his chair to see what all the hullaballoo was about ("What‟s all the hubbub, Bub?"). The teacher should have:
 Used descriptive praise toward other students as she walked around the classroom.
 Kept her voice low in volume.
 Used specific recognition of what was wonderful in the drawing.
 Said that she was impressed, and ask the students to tell her about the drawing (self recognition and self reinforcement).
 Left with a note of encouragement ("I look forward to seeing it when you've put on the finishing touches.")

2. In the situation in which our colleague praised the girl‟s desk work, she praised the speed with which the young lady finished. Typically, we are looking for reflective thought and checking of one‟s work, not quickness. She also gave "perfection praise" ("This one is right.")
Kids minds are fragile. Let‟s be careful out there.

How to phrase praise, criticism, and directions to enhance the chances of compliance & cooperation!

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What praise will you give the pup when he retrieves the intervention strategies page?

Author: Tom McIntyre, Ph.D. ("Dr. Mac")
Doctormac@BehaviorAdvisor.com