Interacting With Students
Providing Feedback
Indicator 44 - Acknowledges Learning Efforts UETS 2a., 2d.
Effective teachers acknowledge or praise students' learning efforts. It is important that they learn academic success or failure is related to hard work and not simply ability. Acknowledging effort can lead to increased engagement and motivation, resulting in increased productivity.
IDEAS/SUGGESTIONS:
- Acknowledging learning efforts should help the student understand that effort, as well as ability, is linked to success. Students need to know you appreciate how much effort they have expended to achieve success.
- "You've been working hard! See how all that extra effort paid off!"
- Change statements of praise from teacher evaluation to student attribution.
- NOT: "I'm proud of your progress this week."
- BUT: "You must feel really good about the extra work you have put in to succeed this week."
- Praise student effort or accomplishment every chance you get.
- "I realize that last evening's assignment was difficult, but I appreciate your effort to complete it. Now you know you can do something even when it is hard. Knowing you can accomplish almost anything when you put your mind to it will help you all through your life. Well done!"
- Have students self-evaluate their performance. In a journal entry, informal essay, or data tracker, have students identify their strengths on a completed assignment, and then evaluate what they would do differently in the future to improve their performance.