Providing+Recognition

Providing Recognition = = =Read and Reflect=
 * Providing recognition is celebrating student success be it purely academic or successes experienced when putting forth effort.
 * I like to think my classroom is a very positive place. It’s a place where students are encouraged and I celebrate student success. I love to give a reward. It’s horrible, but I am such a food teacher. I love using food to get a point across. If we are talking about immigration, let’s have everyone bring in a dish from his or her culture. If we are talking Native Americans let’s make some of their traditional dishes. We are learning about the Northeast region, well we have to have some chocolate from Hershey Pennsylvania! I have been known to throw around some candy to get a groups attention. I know it’s probably not the healthiest thing, but if it gets them moving then I will take it!
 * Recognition Effictive/Ineffective--Some teachers argue that why in the world would we reward students for behaving how we expect them to behave? I can see that point, but I think I am just too generous to not offer rewards and incentives. We need to recognize those who are exceptional all of the time and those who are giving their very best effort.
 * Verbal recognition flows out of my mouth like a waterfall. I am always providing students with praise and encouragement. However after reading the selection, I see that my verbal recognition could use a little tweaking. It is true that at times my feedback can be automatic. I try so hard not to give any cues, verbal or nonverbal that a student is on the right track or flown off the rails when I am working with them. It takes a lot of effort on my part. The strategy of “pause, prompt, and praise” will be one that I begin to use more and more often.
 * Also often times my feedback is not very specific. I am always saying “Good Job!” or “Way to Go,” but rarely am I specifically praising students for what they did well. After reading the selection, I have attempted to provide the students with praise that is specific to the particular task. Just today, I handed out high fives for sticking with a math task that was hard. I was proud of them for not giving up and trying again and again to complete the step correctly. And I said, “High five for sticking with something that is hard.”
 * Questions about Providing Recognition....
 * Can there be too much?
 * Is being too positive diminish the praise given that is specific to a task?
 * What are some creative ways (beyond verbal) to provide recognition that do not cost a lot of money?

In terms of symbols and tokens, I would like to find a way to reward students for reaching goals that they set for themselves. In a few weeks, I am going to allow students to review how they did on a pre-test. The results were not spectacular, because this is covering 4th grade content that they have never seen before. I am going to have them use a goal sheet (modified from the Objectives reading selection) where we will set a goal for the class percentage and they will set a goal for their personal scores. Possibly these small charms will be the perfect reward for students as they attempt to and meet their goals. They can then wear their charms proudly to display that they have worked hard and accomplished the goal that they set for themselves .

=Apply and Reflect=

It feels like lately no one wants to take chances. Everyone is worried about the C+ at the top of the paper. I agree a C can be scary, but sometimes C’s happen. Low grades are a neon sign to us teachers that you need to be re-taught. If we ensured that everyone was 100% successful the first time around, our lives would be incredibly easy, but I am pretty sure we would not have a true picture of a student’s capability. Throughout my years of teaching, I have included safety nets to ensure that a student does not fall through the cracks. Receiving a C is a way for everyone to learn more.

I would use this poster created on the Big Huge Labs website to inform students that everything does not come easy. I have high expectations for you so I am going to challenge you. You are going to succeed eventually, but it is the struggle, the sweat, the effort that makes the learning last and what makes us truly proud of ourselves. You can do it and you will do it. It just might take a little struggle.