In Praise Of Plaudit

Hannah praising Kashin - Auckland Zoo

Well done! Good thinking! Fantastic idea! Terrific score! Great result!

These are plaudits among many that are part of the vocabulary of the supportive parent or classroom teacher. They’re often used with the learner who is striving to achieve.

Clear-cut recognition of this quality praise works so successfully that many teachers use it even if the learner isn’t putting in much effort and is only making some show towards what might lead to possible achievement. So why give such encouragement to learners who aren’t really achieving?

Good teachers discover, perhaps through long experience, that support and encouragement given to a potential learner usually bring forth a good result. Even a reluctant learner can be encouraged to engage in learning when given praise of the right kind.

In a recent study, Izuma et al have gathered evidence that suggests the brain's reward system works just as well for praise as for money.

A privileged opportunity

In 1993 I was privileged to meet and listen to the experience and advice of Ormond Tait, former Principal of The Correspondence School, New Zealand (TCS), one of Australasia’s largest distance education centres. Tait’s expertise in working with distance learners is legendary.

He gave frequent seminars on distance learning to teachers at TCS, despite his busy timetable. Tait’s empathy for the distance learner was real and passionate. He held the opinion that distance learners are at a severe learning disadvantage nearly all the time, an impediment that sets them apart from most learners in the classroom.

One major difference that he often stressed involves teacher approbation. The learner in the classroom can receive encouragement in many ways. A smile, a nod showing that the learner is on the right track, a kind word of encouragement, a comment on a returned assignment, are all signs of approval that the classroom learner can receive, perhaps several times during a lesson. The distance learner may not have the benefit of any of these plaudits during a similar period of study.

Straight advice

Tait’s advice was implicit. Do not lay on praise with a trowel. That is just not enough. Praise in the distance learning environment has to be heaped on with a shovel. In this, most elearners have similar dispositions to the distance learner. For the most part, the distinction between these two sets of learners lies in how the learning resources are delivered and the nature of these.

Both categories of learners can experience the same feeling of isolation. In many ways Ormond Tait’s advice on encouragement applies as much to elearners as it does to distance learners.

The dangers of over-praise

Unexpected or spontaneous praise is a powerful motivating force for the learner. But it is widely accepted by classroom teachers that praising for achievements that come too easily, or for doing things that the learner may want to do anyway, can be ineffectual and even lead to problems with some learners.

While over-praise in the classroom may lead to feelings of unwanted smugness and self-satisfaction in the learner, such attitudes are rarely brought about by over-praising the distance learner.

Studies by Meyer (1992) indicated that, in a classroom environment, praise that comes automatically can quickly become ineffective. As young learners mature they become sophisticated in the way they interpret the social significance of praise. While these suggested guidelines could be expected to apply in some way to distance learners, the opportunities for their occurrence are less likely.

The danger of criticism

Tait’s contention always was that much more praise and encouragement, and certainly no criticism, was the balance most likely to achieve results with the isolated distance learner. Criticism is so demotivating that it should never be used in a distance learning environment. It is very likely the same applies directly to the elearning environment.

So where do the avenues for plaudit lie?

Clearly the elearner and the distance learner share some commonality in respect to praise deficit during periods of study. With elearners, however, the computer interface has the potential to afford some feedback that is not there for the distance learner. And while learners in a classroom environment will ask questions in an attempt to interpret teacher feedback and understand its context, this doesn’t happen when learners are working with computers.

Early studies by Meyer, Mittag, and Engler suggested that learners tend to accept feedback from the computer at face value, and that it can make a difference to their self-perception and motivation. This indication could be taken as good news for elearning, for it provides a valid avenue for encouraging the learner.

My own experience in working with elearners is that computer feedback can provide some measure of encouragement that fills the obvious gaps for the isolated distance learner. But there are other avenues for providing praise that can also provide effective learner support and foster engagement.

Telephone, mobile texting, email and standard letters have all been shown to provide useful results when feedback is positive. Direct chat through an LMS, the use of video conferencing or face to face contact using Skype with webcams provide suitable opportunity for learner-teacher contact to give appropriate learner support.

Tait’s rule about criticism applies equally to all of these. The maxim is keep it constructive and keep it positive at all times.

Reference: Meyer, W.U. (1992). Paradoxical effects of praise and criticism in perceived ability. In W. Strobe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 259-283). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

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