Positive reinforcement

Hello everyone,

I'm going to venture into an area that's unclear to me; I frankly follow my instincts a lot, and I can't be certain if my instincts are always correct.

I know that it is extremely important for us to give our students positive feedback. I'm just not sure how to set down a group of rules that would give certain guidelines on how or when to do it.

I can give a number of fixed principles about positive feedback:

1. It must be given.

2. It must be honest when it is given.

3. It must be meaningful.

4. It must be sincere; it cannot be used to manipulate; and it should not be used simply to soften the blow of negative feedback ("That was good but . . ." or "You are so good at this, why don't you do it for me?" or the thoughtlessly said, "Very good," for something that is obviously not good).

I understand that frequent positive feedback is important for some--maybe all--of our students, but I recognize that there is a danger in too frequent compliments. Compliments given too frequently become meaningless, and high school age students cannot expect that the world will always recognize their daily accomplishments. To say, "That was really good that you did your homework" may be essential for someone who never does it, but it can easily transform into, "You should learn to expect praise for doing your duty," which is not always desirable.

You're starting to see some of my problems.

I don't think I praised my students enough. I look back on my classroom practice, and I can see that I had students who were starved for affirmation, and I was pretty stingy with it. I have enough of the taciturn Yankee in me to want to fix what's wrong and not say anything about what's right. I consciously think that I'm wrong in that, but I'm not yet skilled enough to know when the right amount occurs.

My instincts are able to tell me when I've been too critical, but they usually don't tell me until I've been across the line for awhile, and I start to see the results of my criticism on the faces of those I've criticized.

My instincts also tell me when I'm pouring the praise on too thickly, but they tell me I'm doing it long before I'm at the saturation point with the people being praised.

I like to think that my praises are really meaningful when they're given because I don't pour them on, but I'm increasingly doubting my sense of proportion.

Give praise; give positive reinforcement; give it frequently. I'm not always successful at that.

Never give it insincerely, however. I know that that is a true principle. Never give it to manipulate. That's true.

So you are left to find ways to sincerely praise or compliment people. That may mean that you will have to break down the achievements of some of your students to component parts and praise them frequently enough that, when the correction needs to come, it comes in proportion.

Meanwhile, I'll keep working on it.

Jeff Combe