I know not many people know Star Wars, but everyone knows this famous line- "May the force be with you". The force, a metaphysical power which enables Jedi's to use their mind in powerful ways. Jedi mind powers are the epitome of being a Jedi.
Well, I have discovered The Force and it has totally transformed my classroom.
Praise.
A crash course in teaching will cover praise- "Well done!", "Fantastic Work!", "You're awesome!". These were common phrases in my classroom. I even have a poster on my wall which reads "101 ways to praise a child" with these exact phrases. While, in themselves, these are far from negative phrases, they are essentially useless in encouraging and motivating positive behaviours in the classroom.
Since completing a session on praise and encouragement, I have had my eyes open to how ambiguous and ineffectual I was being.
To quote Star Wars again, "There is a great disturbance in the Force". While I have always felt ultimately in control, the energy level of my students teetered on the edge. I balanced somewhere between okay and stressed out most of the day. Well not anymore! Yoda points out that "a Jedi's strength flows from the Force". Well, a teachers strength flows from their effective praise.
Descriptive Commenting:
Descriptive commenting is essentially as it sounds. You describe and comment on the positive behaviours you see happening with your students. Much like a sports announcers play-by-play description of a sports game (p. 134). The more detail the better. In fact, thats the whole point. By describing desired behaviours, all ambiguity is removed. Students know exactly what "sitting" or "listening" or "being focussed" looks like, sounds like and feels like. While this takes a conscious effort to implement, and takes more time to utilise- the benefits are huge. My students are more settled, more on task and focussed.
Academic Coaching:
By describing and commenting on the academic strategies, problem solving skills and though process students are undertaking teachers can encourage more critical thinking, introduce and encourage new vocabulary and further cement the learning intentions. Asking open ended questions that focus on the process as opposed to the product further encourages this. Students hear the teacher praising, supporting and asking non threatening questions about the academic task they are performing. It is affirming of their academic skills and abilities.
Persistence Coaching:
Persistence coaching is particularly helpful with students who tend to throw in the towel and give up in the face of difficult, yet achievable tasks. It is useful to help develop self-efficacy and help them learn to "persist with difficult tasks and continue to try hard despite frustrations, obstacles and difficulties" (P. 145). Describing, commenting and naming actions which show persistence help students "recognise times when they are focussed, on task and attentive, and working hard or confidently and what it feels like to be in that state" (p. 146). This scaffolds them towards being patient, staying calm, concentrating, trying again, focusing and working hard. They are more likely to regulate and "modulate their feelings of frustration and desire to give up" (p.146).
Social & Emotional Coaching:
Social coaching is a description and praise of positive social interactions a teacher sees students participating in. Social skills are a "prerequisite for academic learning" (p. 152) as they involve self-regulation, cooperation, active listening, problem solving etc. Activities such as sharing, taking turns, using positive words etc. are examples of the types of social activities students must learn how to participate effectively in. This takes modelling and prompting by a teacher to be learnt. Similarly, emotional coaching is when a teacher comments on the emotions of students. Teachers help develop "feelings literacy; that is, a vocabulary for expressing their emotions" (p. 166). It helps students identify their own emotions, process through them and also identify and show empathy for others emotions. Teachers can help students, by modelling and commenting, to find strategies to cope with negative emotions. Commenting on negative emotions and pairing this with a positive coping statement helps students to learn that unpleasant feelings are normal reactions, and that they can self regulate to deal with their emotions.
Descriptive commenting and proximity praise are a medium to deliver a whole myriad of praise and coaching techniques. I have increased the frequency of my praise (to about every 3 seconds!), honed in on the specificity of my comments and have seen a complete turn around in the focus and completion of work.
Praise IS the force and while it's a work in progress, and I'm no where near 'there', "The Force is strong" with this beginning teacher!
Check in soon for my reflection and learning from session number 3!
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