I felt like I really connected with Chapter 10 this week out of Hale's Crafting Writers K-6. When I was in elementary school I loved to have conferences with the teacher. I always wanted the personal feedback about how good I was doing at something, or even if I needed to work on a specific technique in a subject. Whatever it might have been I just think I longed for the personal attention. Today, even with the ever-growing large classroom sizes, it is still equally as important to have conferences with students about their writing. Having conferences allows not only for praise, but it allows the teachers to be more specific in their instruction than they can be with written comments on homework or while walking around observing students' work.
In Hale's section about conferences there are two points that really stuck out to me: saying why it's good, and having the student repeat the technique. In the section about saying why it's good, there was so much information that really hit home with me that I know I need to work on while being in the classroom. I sometimes get in the habit of using general terms like "good job" or "this is nice" or "great work" when complimenting a child or a student. And even though I really mean what I am saying, it can seem dull or mundane or not meaningful to the child especially if he or she has no idea what I am commenting on. By specifically saying what I like about a child's work I am able to praise him or her by helping the students "understand the value of the craft or mechanics skill that already exists in their writing" (Hale, 167). Hale continues to point out that students might often be aware of the words they chose to reflect their ideas, but they might not know there is a specific craft that can be taught in a lesson through this writing. I would not want to miss an opportunity to do this with a student.
The second technique of having a student repeat the skill is something I have done and have been asked to do throughout my educational career. I think that by asking a student to repeat a lesson, or directions, or in this case a craft, it allows the student to take ownership of the craft and put it in his or her own words for better understanding. It is not just a foreign idea that the teacher is preaching about. This can eliminate using questions such as "Does this make sense?" or "Do you see what I mean?" and puts the responsibility on the student to actually show me that they understand (Hale, 169). I hope the be able to use these two techniques in my field experiences this semester.
I think praise is, itself, a skill we all need to practice. Many of us have been brought up during a time when it was paramount that we bolster kids' self-esteem by giving them positives all the time. "Good job" has become one of the most often heard phrases for people working with children. Of course now studies show that kids need specific feedback in order for that praise to have any kind of lasting impact on self-esteem, but it's really hard to get out of the positive-all-the-time habit.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, too much praise for nothing in particular is now linked to kids with fragile egos who are crushed with any small amount of perceived failure. Showing them WHY they have done a good job or what you value in their actions not only helps to avoid useless praise but can help them stay grounded when they feel they have fallen short of some goal.
As a parent, I've been making my kids repeat instructions back to me for awhile now. They say they understand, but they really weren't listening to what you meant to say. It's hard to tell if you were clear enough if you don't know what they got out of the conversation, don't you think?
Specificity is key! I think that there is definitely a lot of value in being specific about compliments simply because it does take away the question of "what about my work is good?".
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