Motivational Praise

Motivational Praise

By Ms. Wainwright, The Not So Wimpy Teacher

I recently wrote as a guest blogger on the Corkboard Connections Blog. As a guest blogger I posted an article on the importance of motivational praise in the classroom. 

Here are a few strategies that were shared in this artticle: 

Put your praise in writing! Create an artifact of your praise especially if the student you are praising often displays challenging behavior and/or struggles with academics.  Students need to be encouraged. By providing a little note, postcard, brag badge, etc., students are given proof that they have done something significant. And they can share this accomplishment with others by showing off their token. It doesn’t have to be long, but a brief “You are showing improvement, great work!” is profound and can go a long way. When giving praise, be sure to focus on a student’s effort, progress, and strategies. Focusing on this over their ability provides a source of motivation and encouragement for students when approaching something they may consider challenging. If you focus on their ability they may avoid trying something that they may not think they do well.

Praise the individual. It is perfectly to praise your entire class with a general statement (i.e. I am pleased with how hard everyone is working). However, praising individual students is powerful and can reinforce positive behavior (I like the way Angie is working quietly and on task). It is important to let the student know exactly what you are praising them for (i.e. “I am pleased with Josh for helping Rachelle with her math problems.” “Thank you Isaiah for raising your hand to ask a question.” “Herman, I m proud of you for turning in your homework three nights in a row!”

Spend quality time with your students. A good time to do this is by inviting a few students up at a time to spend their lunch period with you. Instead of keeping students in for lunch as a punishment, have them view it as a reward. During this time you can get to know your students personally. By getting to learn more about their interests and hobbies, you can learn more about what motivates them and what can be used to encourage/reward them. This also builds on trust, strengthening your student-teacher relationship.

I also shared a resource for teachers who are looking for a variety of rewards to add to their resource library. This Student Praise Packet that can be downloaded for free HERE! To read the article in its entirety, click HERE. 

Thanks for stopping by: )