Effective Praise

Praise is an interesting subject because it seems easy but it turns out that getting it right is more complicated than we think. Whilst we all prefer encouragement to critisism the wrong kind of praise can actually hinder our progress in the future.

The good news is that research on growth mindsets has discovered what type of praise reaps rewards and what type to avoid.

We used to think that praise just needed to be specific: "Well done: you have laid out your workings correctly" but now we know that the most important thing to praise is effort and process not achievement, personality traits or looks. When we praise someone for being 'smart' they will try less on future tasks because the definition of themselves as 'smart' could be challenged if they fail. However if we praise someone for 'trying hard' they are more likely to challenge themselves and persist even when the going gets tough.

If we tell a student they are 'good at maths' it could be as damaging to their future progress as telling them maths is 'not their strong subject' because when they come across maths that challenges them they are more likely to give up. If we praise every student for making an effort and trying they will keep going and make better long term progress. Like all life skills maths takes time to master, I am still learning new techniques and revisiting old ones after all these years. By praising effort and highlighting that learning is not a single event but a continuous process we can help others to get better and better whatever their starting point.

Phrases that work include: "Well done, you really worked hard on that", "Great effort! You kept going when it got tough" and "The effort you have put in over the last few months is really beginning to pay off". It takes effort and practice to change the way we speak to others but it is worth it because it makes such a difference to their mindsets and ours.

Good effort with reading this post! For more information Google: Growth mindsets praise

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