Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 14/How can we be encouraging? 3

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How can we be encouraging?

Monica Rogers


Sidebar: Learning to love and accept ourselves is basic to human education. So is learning to language emotion in a positive way. Ultimately when we learn to truly love and accept ourselves, we'll be able to live well and love each other and every thing we encounter. -Barbara Hoberman Levine, Your Body Believes Every Word You Say

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. - Abraham Lincoln


Teachers have the ability to be great encouragers. Students need to feel that there is nothing that they can not do if they just try. Giving students encouragement allows them to feel positive about themselves which will make them a well rounded person in society. This well rounded person will not want to quit or fail but, be able to make sound decisions when they are faced with obstacles or challenging situations.

A question that needs to be addressed is, “What is Encouragement ?” Encouragement is to give support, confidence or hope to someone; to urge someone to do something (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) .

In order for a teacher to be encouraging they must understand how they should express encouragement. Some teachers use praise as a form of encouragement in order to enhance a students progress towards self-esteem, self-reliance, achievement and motivation for learning. However, current research poses the possibility that some common uses of praise and the environment teachers try to create by using praise may not be beneficial. In its common usage praise is the act of making positive statements about a person, object or idea, either in public or privately. Most people are responsive to praise and will increase in self-esteem or confidence if a suitable amount of praise is received -- in fact some psychological theories hold that a person's life is comprised largely of attempts to win praise for their actions (Wikipedia). Students become dependent on rewards. Even if teachers could praise students systematically, there is still some indication that such praise would not be effective. Researchers point out that at best praise is a weak reinforcer. Not all young children are interested in pleasing the teacher, and as children grow older, interest in pleasing the teacher diminishes significantly (Hitz, Driscoll). If the teacher acquirers the knowledge and skills to increase his/her ability to exert an effective influence on a student, the student will have confidence in their ability (Dirkmeyer). When the teacher gains sincere belief in a students willingness and abilities the teacher can implement encouragement rather than praise. Encouragement, on the other hand, refers to a positive acknowledgment response that focuses on student efforts or specific attributes of work completed. Unlike praise, encouragement does not place judgment on student work or give information regarding its value or implications of student status. Statements such as "I knew that you were my best student Cassie," or "Michael you always get all the problems correct," are examples of praise. They are nonspecific, place a judgment on the student, and give some indication of the student's status in the group (Hitz).

Encouraging a student reflects a person that will gain life long skills to use in their daily walk of life. Students will feel excited to be rewarded with a “Great Job”, or “ I knew that you could do it ”. The way that a teacher addresses their class when they introduce a new assignment should be expressed to the student in a way that allows them to feel as if they must complete the assignment for themselves and the grade instead of for the teacher. A teacher should avoid messages that reinforce their power as an instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic motivation is the use of rewards and punishments in order to push students, as well as other unmotivated people, into becoming self-motivated with the desire to learn and to do things required of them. Instead of teachers saying, “ I require,” “ you must,” or “ you should,” stress “ I think you will find…” or “ I will be interested in your reaction” (Source: Lowman, 1990).

When encouraging students a teacher should offer:

(1) Specific feedback rather than general comments (2) Focus on improvement and efforts rather than evaluation of a finished product (3) Help students develop an appreciation of their behaviors and achievements (4) Sincere, direct comments delivered with a natural voice (5) Ability for students to works toward self-satisfaction from a task or product

Students who have a sense of personal power tend to implement self-regulatory strategies and to set higher goals for themselves. Teaching students to set challenging, realistic goals raises their sense of personal power (Schunk). Whether the teacher motivates by giving challenging problems, giving praise or by developing team challenges, the student will definitely build self-confidence in them self and they will become a stronger student. Some students hesitate to take risks or accept a challenge. They feel that an incorrect answer in class can result in their peers ridiculing them. As a result they decide not to express the answer to a question that the teacher asked. These students have concluded that the price they pay for taking risks and making mistakes is not worth the rewards should they happen to succeed( Nelson). In one journal, it described three techniques for encouraging students to take risk.

These techniques are: (1) add the words “Stretch”, “Risk” and Challenge to your teacher talk. (2) Have students use “Risk Pads“. Once a new concept has been taught, students should be told to take out their risk pad.

   A problem should be put on the board.  Students should be challenged to take a risk with this problem.  
   Telling them “Let’s see what we can learn from our risk.”

(3) Demonstrate your own willingness to take risk. Set up a risk taking model for the students by showing them that you are not afraid to take acceptable risks. When the teacher make mistakes, remind students that “ Mistakes are a great opportunity to learn.” Through the teachers examples, students will be able to see that taking risks is a valuable and necessary part of learning and growth(Schunk).

Roles and Responsibilities for Students It is proven that students that work together in teams benefit greatly from group participation called Collaborative Groups. Collaborative learning is a way of structuring your classroom so that your students work together to accomplish shared goals and products. By working together the learning of each individual is maximized. In a collaborative group each student is individually responsible for the success or failure of the entire group. Business and industry leaders tell us that they want schools to teach students to work collaboratively on projects because this is a necessary work skill. There are many ways to set up collaborative groups. How you set up your groups will depend on the activity, the age, ability and social skills of your students, and the time you plan for your collaborative group activity. Here are some good general guidelines to follow: When setting up collaborative groups try to foster groups that encourage positive interdependence. This means that the students in each group need each other's skills to succeed. Make sure you have a system in place for individual accountability. Know how you will make sure each student does his/her fair share of work, and that all students learn. At the end of each group period give your group time to process and reflect on how the group performed. Each member of a collaborative group should be assigned a specific role. Roles will be determine by the task assigned to the collaborative group(EWYL).

In an interview with Cynthia, a retired middle school science teacher, she shared her strategy on how she encouraged her 7th grade earth science students that they could succeed. Cynthia expressed that “ Team Challenges” aided in encouraging her students to produce quality work. For the challenge, the class was split into two groups. Each team would have an opportunity to earn extra credit points to be applied to the next test grade. All students had to pay attention to the question. While Team A attempted to answer the question, Team B would have the opportunity to gain points by answering the question if Team A’s answer was incorrect. This technique required everyone to participate.

Cynthia emphasized that she didn’t ever want the students to compare themselves to one another, but to work as a team. She refrained from public criticisms of students performances and from comments or activities that pit students against each other. Teachers who encourage students create an environment in which students do not have to fear continuous evaluation, where they can make mistakes and learn from them, and where they do not always need to strive to meet someone else's standard of excellence. Most students thrive in encouraging environments where they receive specific feedback and have the opportunity to evaluate their own behavior and work. Encouragement fosters autonomy, positive self-esteem, a willingness to explore, and acceptance of self and others (Hitz). All educator, teachers, parents and students can learn how to encourage others. In return, they might find some of the most perplexing and difficult problems in their lives to be challenging and rewarding.



Bibliography:

  • Schunk, D.H., & Zimmerman, B.J. In J. Juvonen & K.R. Wentzel (1996). Modeling and self-efficacy influences on children's development of self-regulation. Social motivation: Understanding children's school adjustment, , 154-180.

http://www.plsweb.com/resources/newsletters/enews_archives


  • From Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Developing Mutual Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in Your Classroom, Revised 3rd Edition, by Jane Nelson, Lynn Lott, and H. Stephen Glenn (pg. 155).



  • Lowman, J. "Promoting Motivation and Learning." College Teaching, 1990, 38(4), 136-39.

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html


  • Earn While You Learn Institute (EWYL), 2005; Krause Center for Innovation - Foothill College 3.5 Collaboration

http://www.krauseinnovationcenter.org/ewyl/modules/module3-5.html


  • Hitz, Randy - Driscoll, Amy, 1989; ERIC Clearinghouse on “Elementary and Early Childhood Education”

http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9213/praise.htm


  • Personal Interview. “Cynthia Pope”. September 20, 2006


Wikibooks Questions:

1. What does a teacher need to recognize about a student?

  A.  skills
  B.  willingness
  C.  abilities
  D.  all of the above

2. What do students find difficult when their required to participate in class?

  A.  not prepared for class
  B.  encouragement
  C.  being ridiculed by peers
  D.  afraid teacher will scold them


3. Why are “ Team Challenges” beneficial?

   A.  student will work harder for extra credit
   B.  learn how to work in groups
   C.  both a and b
   D.  None of the above

4. What type of technique should be used when a new concept is taught?

   A.  to try a sample problem on risk pad
   B.  step out of your security of familiar
   C.  add challenging talk
   D.  punishment and rewards

5. What should a teacher refrain from?

   A.  rewarding with candy
   B.  challenges
   C.  difficult problems
   D.  public criticism


Essay Question:

What are techniques for encouraging students to take risks?


Answer Key:

1. D 2. C 3. C 4. A 5. D

Essay Question: Techniques for encouraging students to take risks are, (1) Adding stretch, risk and challenge to your teacher talk (2) Have students use “Risk Pads” and (3) teacher should demonstrate their own willingness to take risk (4) Team challenges

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