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Effective Words of Praise

22 Apr

How do we best help motivate children to achieve their very best? Although many forms of praise often focus on talent or intelligence, what we should really focus on praising is effort and hard work.

As the BBC covers in their article, “The words that could unlock your child,” a study by psychologist Carol Dweck found that students who are praised for effort rather than intelligence not only will seek out challenge (as opposed to their intelligence-praised counterparts who will avoid challenge), but also actually increase their performance following failure. The theory is that:

“Intelligence-based praise orients the receiver towards the fixed mindset – it suggests to them that intelligence is of primary importance rather than the effort through which intelligence can be transformed…if, on the other hand, she (the child) really believes that effort trumps talent – labelled the ‘growth mindset’ – she will persevere. She will not see failure as an indictment, but as an opportunity to adapt and grow. And, if she is right, she will eventually excel.”

Be sure to read the full article on the BBC’s website for the fascinating details of this study and the implications for motivating your own children. And check out our recent post on “Student Motivation.”

Student Motivation

9 Mar

Why is it that some students seem so unmotivated to learn?

In a free report on Inside the School, “Five Ways to Motivate Unmotivated Students,” educator and school psychologist, Dr. Allen Mendler, acknowledges that motivation is different for every student, and so he presents us with:

…five ways teachers can motivate unmotivated students beyond traditional leverage…

These five ways focus on “helping difficult youth succeed” and consist of: emphasizing effort and praising mistakes, challenging a failure mentality, noticing and building upon strengths, giving students more than one chance on an assignment, and connecting with students. Be sure to download the free report for all of the details on these five tips.

Rick Lavoie is another educator and presenter with a great deal of information to share on student motivation. If you’ve ever seen him speak, particularly on “The Motivation Breakthrough,” you know how powerful this information can be in understanding how different people are motivated (because everyone is motivated by something) and therefore how we can reach children who seem on the surface “unmotivated,” but who are really just motivated in different ways. Be sure to check out his website for more details on his workshops, videos, and books, which are packed full of useful information on motivation and other key educational topics.

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