The Right Kind of Praise Can Spur Student Growth
Research shows that when adults calibrate their praise by following a few simple rules, students take more academic risks and are inspired to continue learning.
Your content has been saved!
Go to My Saved Content.
The self-esteem movement of the 1970s drilled into adults the notion that positive feedback like 鈥淕reat job鈥� and 鈥淵ou're so smart鈥� was crucial if you wanted children to grow up to be confident, successful adults, Paul L. Underwood for The New York Times.
But haphazard, inflated praise can have unintended consequences. When adults praise the outcome (鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful!鈥�) or the inherent qualities of the person (鈥淵ou鈥檙e so amazing!鈥�), it can set an impossibly high bar and backfire, reducing a child鈥檚 motivation to take on tough challenges in the future that lead to growth. Praise that鈥檚 overly effusive meanwhile, like 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best penmanship ever!鈥�, can make kids too reliant on extravagant feedback to motivate them. According to research by author and Stanford Graduate School of Education professor of psychology Carol S. Dweck, praise that falls into these categories can feel controlling, produce anxiety about potential failure, and erode the pleasure children take in an activity: 鈥淸Dweck鈥檚] research showed that children felt pressured to live up to their parents鈥� praise, and this in turn could lead to panic and anxiety,鈥� Underwood writes. 鈥淓ven kids who didn鈥檛 experience anxiety became risk-averse, developing what Dr. Dweck later termed a 鈥榝ixed mind-set.鈥欌��
When adults deliver praise that鈥檚 carefully calibrated to be meaningful, measured, and specific鈥攁nd avoids character or talent assessment鈥攖he research shows that kids respond by focusing on the pleasure they take in the activity. And when it鈥檚 delivered in a way that inspires curiosity and exploration, praise inspires children: it arms them with confidence to continue to push boundaries in their learning.
Understanding how to calibrate praise is an important tool for engaging and motivating students. When used successfully, praise can not only improve kids鈥� attitudes toward learning by building confidence and engagement, but also help .
Praise the Process
In a , Dweck found that children who were praised for working hard were more motivated to take on challenging problems, became more confident in their abilities, and enjoyed solving problems more than children who were praised for being smart. When kids receive praise that鈥檚 focused on their efforts, it boosts their sense of agency. When you say: 鈥淲ow, it looks like you really enjoyed your coloring!鈥� for example, you鈥檙e highlighting the student鈥檚 personal reasons for engaging in an activity.
In contrast, by Jennifer Henderlong Corpus, a professor of psychology at Reed College, and Kayla A. Good, a Ph.D candidate at Stanford, shows that when praise is rooted in the assessment of innate traits, like intelligence, rather than on choice鈥攃hoosing to be persistent, for instance鈥攌ids feel frustrated and undermined.
Praising effort, however, requires keeping tabs on the path the child takes with a project. 鈥淭o provide meaningful process praise, you have to pay attention to the process itself,鈥� writes Underwood. It鈥檚 not necessary to praise mid-stream; it鈥檚 OK to wait until a child has finished a task. Try engaging students by asking about their process with questions like: 鈥淭ell me how you arrived at that word choice,鈥� or 鈥淵ou took an interesting path to arrive at that answer. What was it?鈥� Your curiosity about a student鈥檚 process will 鈥渆ncourage the child to ask him or herself those same questions, sparking curiosity and exploration,鈥� Underwood notes, which in turn allows kids to 鈥渆valuate themselves, rather than have an external evaluation.鈥�
Be Measured in Your Praise
When adults overpraise, kids can become overly focused on gaining approval, something Corpus and Good call 鈥減raise addiction鈥濃�攁 compulsion to perform merely to gain approval. At the same time, students have powerful radar when it comes to fake praise, and when they detect it, it undermines credibility and trust in the classroom.
Moreover, differentiating praise is important and depending on the student, some forms of praise work better than others: research shows that young students appreciate public praise, while adolescents prefer quiet or even private approval, and praise paired with rewards鈥攁 handwritten note from you, for example, or a special solo trip to the library to choose a book can be a strong 听reinforcer of positive behavior.
Avoid Comparing Students or Student Work
When adults create a sense of rivalry by casually comparing classmates鈥� work, for example, it can be similarly counterproductive. Corpus and Good鈥檚 research indicates that among young children, comparison doesn鈥檛 serve as a motivator. 鈥淧raising children for normative superiority may send the message that personal competence is measured by outperforming peers, rather than skill development,鈥� noted a听 co-authored by Corpus. 鈥淭his message is harmful when children are in situations that lead them to doubt their ability.鈥�
Practice Descriptive Praise
Praise, notes Underwood, is highly effective when it鈥檚 delivered as 鈥渄escriptive feedback,鈥� a concept introduced by authors Adele Farber and Elaine Mazlish in their seminal 1980 book, . In the classroom, you might say: 鈥淚 noticed that you colored the sun blue,鈥� or 鈥淚 saw that you included a quote from Martin Luther King.鈥� The goal is to invite a conversation with the student, encourage them to reflect on their own process, find joy in it, and take bigger creative risks that deepen learning.
Breaking It Down
It can sound like a minefield, but you can boil the guidance on praise down into a few key rules: Try to be measured and intentional in your praise-giving. Avoid extravagant praise and superlatives (鈥淭hat鈥檚 amazing/incredible鈥� or 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best work I鈥檝e seen鈥� or 鈥淵ou鈥檙e just so smart鈥�) for more moderate, process-oriented, descriptive praise (鈥淲ow, you made good progress there鈥� or 鈥淚 like what you did by including that quote鈥� or 鈥淭his is a real improvement from your first draft鈥�). The goal here is not to stop encouraging; it鈥檚 to encourage in a way that leaves plenty of room for future growth and promotes productive academic risk-taking.
When praise is administered strategically and consistently, writes educator Todd Finley, all the research points to it being 鈥渢he most effective way for words to motivate students.鈥� So as you adapt your approach to giving students praise, you might consider keeping yourself on track by creating a checklist: before each class, set a benchmark for the number of students you want to praise, list what you want to reinforce鈥攅ffort, accuracy, fluency, or goal-setting, for example鈥攁nd maybe even create a chart for yourself to track the students you鈥檝e praised so you鈥檙e sure to spread praise out evenly.听
听