The Praise Phase

The Praise Phase
As teachers, we strive to create a positive classroom community and foster a nurturing environment.  Students need to feel valued not only by their teacher but also by their peers.  But, cultivating the conditions and creating those relationships can be a challenge.  In knowing that students walk into our classrooms daily with various backgrounds, home lives, and prior knowledge, it is necessary to create a classroom culture where praise runs rampant. We must bring each other up and teach positivity.
How do we teach our students to praise each other and have them truly mean it? How can we teach them to offer encouragement that is honest and has merit?  How can we turn praise into a morale booster amongst students?
	Everyone values being praised and recognized for their efforts.  It is a huge part of nurturing our self-esteem and confidence.  Praise plays an important role in our classrooms.  It is a great way to motivate students and build an optimistic classroom culture.  Children see and hear everything, and they will mirror what they see and hear from the adults around them.  When we as teachers, are focused on the positive, students focus on the positive.  We can find and recognize positive behaviors in all students even those who challenge us.  We must be examples of what positive praise looks like in order to have students give positive praise to each other.  They must feel comfortable enough to take risks while respecting each other’s mistakes and accomplishments.  It’s important to live by example and make sure we are giving ourselves the praise we deserve.  We need to validate the challenging work we do as teachers.  It’s important to notice the wonderful work our colleagues are doing, and give them meaningful praise.  This will not only help us but also our students.
We rise by lifting others. -Robert Ingersoll
In order to help students motivate each other during partner and team talk, we must incorporate praise into our classroom culture.  How do we teach our students to praise each other?
	All Kagan Structures should end with praise.  Students are encouraged to praise each after they complete their structure.  But how do we get them there?  I like to start the year off by teaching developmentally appropriate social skills.  Some students need this drastically.  I give them the opportunity to practice these skills through fun team and class building activities.  During this stage of teaching, practicing, prompting and using these skills I model praise.  I make sure to give general praise such as “I’m so proud of you”, specific praise such as “I loved the way you raised your hand and waited for me to call on you” and effective praise such as “You’re amazing! You didn’t let others distract you and you finished your work.  I notice when you ignore distractions, you get your work done.”  It’s important to show genuine interest in each child.  Sometimes I might ask specific questions such as “You’ve been really focused on your work. What’s helping you concentrate?”  A question helps students become aware of their own actions and behaviors that can lead to improvement.   After teaching and modeling appropriate praise, I taught my students how to praise each other.  It’s important for students to have peers recognize their actions.  This task was not an easy one.  It is unnatural for students to genuinely praise each other.  It is my job to turn a culture of tattling into a culture of praise.  First, we created a class poster called “Best ways to Praise.”  It became a visual reminder of what was expected.  Next, we practiced A LOT!  After each structure, they knew that I expected to hear and see praise.  I was always listening and praising them when they praised their partner or team.  I made sure to point out what I noticed and gave immediate feedback. I was building and maintaining our culture by giving praise and acknowledging when it happened.  My students are constantly improving on and learning new ways to praise each other.  My hopes are that they will take these social and emotional skills with them and use them to empower themselves and others.   Positively Teaching, Randi Muehlen