The great effect of positive feedback
Do give enough positive feedback?
Much too often I meet students, who do not have the slightest selfesteem. They refuse to start even with excersise number one and if asked reply: "I am going to fail anyway, I have never been good at this subject" So where does that attitude come from? My main theory is that these teenagers have not resceived enough positive affirmation, praise and thumbs up.
So I have come up with a couple of basic rules for myself:
1. Whenever I can
Whenever I can, I am going to give positive feedback, even if it is just going into the direction of the correct answer or delivers a part of the complete solution for an excersise. The student took courage to answer and put in some effort, so I think at least a small praise dues
2. Better than usual but still a mess
If the student did better than usual but still could not achieve worth mentioning I give a positive feedback anyway. He or she improved on something and that needs to be acknoledged. That is one way we learn, we try something or we do something good by accident. With a nicer outcome than yesterday we might repeat it. Though that is one of the older learning theories (behaviorism) it still prooves valid for some occasions.
3. Too much praise
Ok, at a certain point it gets too much. I do not want to redicule myself, also a student would feel fooled if I praised him or her way too much. You can barely anticipate this point. Keep your sense sharp for the students reactions.
4. Effect on the group
A praise has always an effect on the group. Use it or at least be aware of it. Some of my students, especially the extroverted ones,
enjoy a public praise in fron of the whole learning group. The opposit occurs for others, mainly introverted students. They would feel
embaresed.
