Use Praise but Use it Wisely
Last time out I was writing about tips for learning to better receive feedback and the topic of praise came up. There was a point in time where I felt that praise and feedback were the same thing. I read an article the other day where it seemed to me that the two were being used interchangeably. In contrast, the reading and exploring that I’ve done lately on the topic makes me now say that feedback and praise are two different things.
Feedback is only information and therefore it is delivered intentionally without affect. Praise intentionally contains affect. I’m certain there are times that feedback delivered can seem like it contains affect. For example, telling someone that he/she has closed a gap that existed in their learning (“You’ve now completed all three levels of difficulty on this topic”) could make the person receiving it feel like that was praise.
It could feel like praise with just a few slight modifications to the wording:
· “Well done on completing all three levels of difficulty on this topic”
· “After much hard work and determination you have completed all three levels of difficulty on this topic.”
· “You’ve completed all three levels of difficulty on this topic!”
As the last bullet point shows, all you need to do is say the same thing you said as feedback with some emotion and it has now been turned into praise instead. Here are some more examples of something said as praise and then reworded as feedback.
Besides being specific, praise should focus on the processes involved in learning and not the ability level of the learners. As this article reports, very young learners praised for their ability at being “smart” are more likely to cheat as a way of maintaining that image of being smart compared with learners who are praised for things like their effort, focus or attention to detail. This should sound familiar. It is the concept of a growth mindset. Growth mindset is everywhere! So in this instance, it may be safe to suggest that feedback should be provided to encourage a growth mindset and praising intelligence (or any other ability-related trait) avoided.
I would also reiterate that praise can be used as a tool in behaviour modification since praise is a form of positive reinforcement. And positive reinforcement in the world of research is known as operant conditioning, of which B.F. Skinner is regarded as the father. Praise needs to be wielded with great care. While Norman Vincent Peale has said the trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism, Alfie Kohn gives five reasons for not overdoing the praise:
1. It is manipulative — ulterior motives lead one to use praise on another in order to shape behaviour in a certain way.
2. It creates praise junkies — that is people who rely on praise to make sure that they are still worthy folks doing good jobs.
3. Stealing the pleasure — people who achieve deserve to feel pride and to decide when something they’ve done is worth feeling good about without someone else always telling them that.
4. Losing interest — following on #3, constantly praising can cause people to stop enjoying doing the very thing that they are being praised for.
5. Reducing achievement — because praise can increase the pressure to be successful the next time.
When it comes to praise and feedback, the ubiquitous “Good job” slides too easily out of the mouth. In realizing this, if the “Good job” has already slipped out, an explanation of what was felt the learner did well could follow. Or, as Kohn offers, simply stating back to the learner what he or she did — “You completed the assignment in the prescribed time” — so as to let that person make up his/her own mind about what that means. Another Kohn strategy is to ask a question of the learner (“What was it that finally helped you solve that equation you’d been wrestling with?).
Looks like I have come full circle as those ideas seem more like examples of feedback than they do praise.
