Process-based praise / product-based praise. Growth mindset / fixed mindset. Intrinsically motivated / extrinsically motivated.
These are all buzz words in the field of education right now. Personally, I find the topic fascinating.
At our parent support group last night we discussed the importance of person-based praise and how our own words and actions can help to shape the way our children feel about their own abilities. As a desired result of this kind of feedback, our children will have the tools to be confident, independent thinkers who find the value in trying hard, celebrating their own successes, and being okay with learning from their own mistakes.
A book that I recommend to families is Getting to Calm: The Early Years. In it, Laura Kastner discusses the GOLD standard for giving. To be effective, praise must be:
Genuine - young children know when they're being played with extreme praise. By praising children on traits they have the power to change - and showing genuine interest and care for these pursuits - praise feels more trustworthy.
Instead of: This picture belongs in a museum!
Try: I love the way the way the blue of the sky meets the green of the hill.
Occasional - excessive and frequent praise can make children feel uncomfortable. They also start to tune it out. Save praise for times when your child can reflect and learn from your words.
Instead of: Amazing! Good boy!
Try: I was impressed by how well you listened to the coach and tried your best during the game.
Limited and specific - despite adults seemingly being programmed to tell children 'good job' for their work, these kinds of general praise remarks really mean nothing to children. Research shows that general praise actually has a negative effect, decreasing interest, reducing achievement, stealing a child's pleasure, and creating praise junkies over time (eek! no pressure...).
Instead of: Good job! Amazing work!
Try: I appreciate that you cleared every dish off the table tonight.
Decent effort - the key to praising young children is to focus on traits they can change. When children receive feedback for a growth mindset, they learn that hard work and effort can pay off. On the flip side, when feedback focuses on fixed traits - such as intellect or "potential" - children may start to assume these identities. Once these mindsets are established, it can be very hard to break free.
Instead of: Your picture was the best in the class!
Try: Your effort to add lots of colors and details in your art is really paying off.
Nearly all of the parents last night agreed that, while a critical pursuit, making these changes to our parenting styles is not easy! It requires effort (ha) and energy to limit and refine our praise toward children to make it more meaningful.
It's also not going to happen overnight. One parent suggested taking note of how many times we say 'good job' during the day. From there, parents can set a goal or two for tweaking our praising behaviors. Over time, with small adjustments, this kind of feedback will start to get easier and easier. And the outcome? Happier, emotionally-healthier, confident, risk-taking children.
The Hanen Center provides another great article about praise and how to effectively start implementing person/process-based praise into our daily lives.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Friday, October 7, 2016
Process and Product
"My child used to do this coolest projects at her old school," said a parent during my first year teaching preschool.
"Like what?" I asked.
"At Halloween she made a bat hat that was so cute! I should show you the picture of her class with their bat hats. Oh, and they made this pillow for Mother's Day and she painted I Love My Mom on it. I still have it on my couch."
At the time, all I could do was smile and nod (and try to hide some hurt feelings because of her implication that our projects were not "cool.").
It's actually taken me a while to fully grasp the reasons and importance behind our school's philosophy about art. And that is...
preschool art is not about the end result, or the product. It is about the journey, or the process.
When a child is given materials and encouragement (rather than explanations and directions), they are free to create and explore using their own background knowledge and interests. Somewhere along the way they learn to make their own choices. They learn autonomy. They learn persistence and determination and resilience. They learn self-reflection. They learn to be risk takers. They learn that what they create may be different from others and that's okay.
By limiting the amount of adult micromanagement, children learn the value in the process of creating for creation sake. They begin to make their own judgments and require less adult feedback to feel validated and empowered. As our children continue throughout life, this intrinsic motivation and positive self talk is what is going to help them thrive.
Just to be clear, just because we focus on process art at preschool does not mean that I don't have several objectives for each activity in the back of my head. Rather than making sure that children put the appropriate number of legs on their spiders, I focus my attention on individual goals for individual children: For some children, I take note that they came on their own to even try the activity (unfamiliar can be intimidating!). For others, it's a success if they worked longer than one minute. For others, it's can they try it again but using a different technique? This list goes on and on.
As you can see, process art is not lazy or thoughtless. It's actually just the opposite.
"Like what?" I asked.
"At Halloween she made a bat hat that was so cute! I should show you the picture of her class with their bat hats. Oh, and they made this pillow for Mother's Day and she painted I Love My Mom on it. I still have it on my couch."
At the time, all I could do was smile and nod (and try to hide some hurt feelings because of her implication that our projects were not "cool.").
It's actually taken me a while to fully grasp the reasons and importance behind our school's philosophy about art. And that is...
preschool art is not about the end result, or the product. It is about the journey, or the process.
When a child is given materials and encouragement (rather than explanations and directions), they are free to create and explore using their own background knowledge and interests. Somewhere along the way they learn to make their own choices. They learn autonomy. They learn persistence and determination and resilience. They learn self-reflection. They learn to be risk takers. They learn that what they create may be different from others and that's okay.
By limiting the amount of adult micromanagement, children learn the value in the process of creating for creation sake. They begin to make their own judgments and require less adult feedback to feel validated and empowered. As our children continue throughout life, this intrinsic motivation and positive self talk is what is going to help them thrive.
Just to be clear, just because we focus on process art at preschool does not mean that I don't have several objectives for each activity in the back of my head. Rather than making sure that children put the appropriate number of legs on their spiders, I focus my attention on individual goals for individual children: For some children, I take note that they came on their own to even try the activity (unfamiliar can be intimidating!). For others, it's a success if they worked longer than one minute. For others, it's can they try it again but using a different technique? This list goes on and on.
As you can see, process art is not lazy or thoughtless. It's actually just the opposite.
Sometime art is messy and all over the place! It's multiple colors - all over each other - until they fill the entire paper and even the clips have to be moved because it just would not be done until every square inch of paper is covered!
Sometimes art is reflective and works to make sense of concepts being learned in the classroom and in life. It requires sitting down. Sometimes we can even see something that we recognize.
Sometimes art shows clear developmental stages, follows patterns, and is "neat." The take away here is this: no matter what art looks like, for preschoolers, it is always purposeful.
Check out this site for helpful ways to talk with your children about their art: http://creativityintherapy.com/2016/07/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-their-art/
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Trial and Error
As parents and teachers, our first instinct is often to be proactive when it comes to potential problems that our children might encounter.
We provide reminders throughout the day ("be careful!"). We remove potential hazards from the area. We create rules ("slides are only for going down, not up") that we think will provide order to an otherwise busy and unpredictable environment.
I'm certainly not discounting the gut instincts of parents who deem these actions important for certain children in certain situations.
However, for most of the 3 - 5 year old children at our school, a certain amount of risk is healthy and important for cognitive development. We have real hammers and nails. We have uneven (and sometimes tippy) logs for imaginative play. We often work with sharp wood pieces and messy - sometimes uncomfortable - art materials. Through supportive "supervision without constant intervention," we allow children to explore the world around them and, yes, even make mistakes.
When we back off on some of our less critical rules and provide opportunities for children to make their own, this is where real growth and learning occurs.
Case in point:
Despite multiple attempts by the parents (and teachers at times) to persuade her otherwise, one girl adamantly arrived at school every day in flip flops. While mom and dad and I had discussed the issue (we run! we climb! we're outside a LOT!), it had become a battle that the parents had wisely decided to relent. It was time for her to figure it out on her own.
Fast forward to yesterday and a group of girls were in the middle of a fabulous game of something-or-other that involved going up the slide, down the rickety ladder, up the stairs, and then backwards down the climbing wall (all the "wrong" way to do those things, right?).
Friend 1 went down the wall. No problem. Friend 2 when down. No problem. Friend 3 went down. No problem. And then the girl with flip flops went down. Except her flip flop caught on the top "step" and down she went - on her back - and landed with a thud on the ground.
Oh boy, it hurt. She cried. Nearly all of the children abandoned their games and ran to see if she was okay. She got a drink of water. The teacher gave her some hugs and some cool band-aids.
And then there was the take-away - oh so pointedly claimed by the girl herself - that flip flops were not the best choice at school.
On the outside, I listened to her and even maybe gave her a little nod. On the inside, I jumped for joy that she had some to this conclusion on her own. I was so proud of her! Despite my natural inclination for wanting to validate her, I also wanted her to totally own this experience and take away without an adult's "final word". And she did! (And I think the other children learned a little something from her mistake as well).
AMENDMENT: yep, you guessed it. She came to school in flip flops again. Got to love the predictable unpredictability of preschoolers!
We provide reminders throughout the day ("be careful!"). We remove potential hazards from the area. We create rules ("slides are only for going down, not up") that we think will provide order to an otherwise busy and unpredictable environment.
I'm certainly not discounting the gut instincts of parents who deem these actions important for certain children in certain situations.
However, for most of the 3 - 5 year old children at our school, a certain amount of risk is healthy and important for cognitive development. We have real hammers and nails. We have uneven (and sometimes tippy) logs for imaginative play. We often work with sharp wood pieces and messy - sometimes uncomfortable - art materials. Through supportive "supervision without constant intervention," we allow children to explore the world around them and, yes, even make mistakes.
When we back off on some of our less critical rules and provide opportunities for children to make their own, this is where real growth and learning occurs.
Case in point:
Despite multiple attempts by the parents (and teachers at times) to persuade her otherwise, one girl adamantly arrived at school every day in flip flops. While mom and dad and I had discussed the issue (we run! we climb! we're outside a LOT!), it had become a battle that the parents had wisely decided to relent. It was time for her to figure it out on her own.
Fast forward to yesterday and a group of girls were in the middle of a fabulous game of something-or-other that involved going up the slide, down the rickety ladder, up the stairs, and then backwards down the climbing wall (all the "wrong" way to do those things, right?).
Friend 1 went down the wall. No problem. Friend 2 when down. No problem. Friend 3 went down. No problem. And then the girl with flip flops went down. Except her flip flop caught on the top "step" and down she went - on her back - and landed with a thud on the ground.
Oh boy, it hurt. She cried. Nearly all of the children abandoned their games and ran to see if she was okay. She got a drink of water. The teacher gave her some hugs and some cool band-aids.
And then there was the take-away - oh so pointedly claimed by the girl herself - that flip flops were not the best choice at school.
On the outside, I listened to her and even maybe gave her a little nod. On the inside, I jumped for joy that she had some to this conclusion on her own. I was so proud of her! Despite my natural inclination for wanting to validate her, I also wanted her to totally own this experience and take away without an adult's "final word". And she did! (And I think the other children learned a little something from her mistake as well).
AMENDMENT: yep, you guessed it. She came to school in flip flops again. Got to love the predictable unpredictability of preschoolers!
Conflict Resolution 101
Conflicts. They are an everyday, ongoing occurrence in the preschool classroom.
They are also a critical part of the preschool classroom. For many children, preschool is their first opportunity for learning how to get along with others. For others, perhaps those who have gone to daycare or have siblings, preschool is more like Conflict Resolution 102.
Nevertheless, we take problem solving seriously here at preschool. Really my ultimate goal is for my students to be able to solve their own "mouse" problems with little to no adult intervention by the time they walk out of my door to kindergarten. So what's a mouse problem you ask? Well, really anything that is not dangerous or threatening. "Elephant" problems, on the other hand, require immediate teacher help. I would say nearly 95% of our problems at preschool are mouse problems - wanting the same toy, for example.
In the classroom we have a problem-solving basket that includes different choices for working through problems. Some of these include:
- using a sand timer to take turns
- rock, paper, scissors
- eeny, meeny, miny, mo
- go make a different choice
- find a way to play together
And these are are well and good strategies for working through conflicts. We discuss during non-heated times of the day. We model. We role-play. These strategies are important to empower our students and support their autonomy.
So what's the problem? Easy peasy right?
Well, preschoolers are emotional! They're self-indulgent by nature! One could even argue they are irrational at times!
For example, during a recent conflict over a toy, it was quickly apparent that teacher intervention needed to occur when the girls started to get physical:
Situation: two girls were arguing over a plastic cow in the block area. Grabbing began to occur.
Me: what is the problem here? (taking the cow behind my back)
Girls: I want the cow! No, I had it first!
Me: I can see that you both want the cow (stating the problem). Is grabbing it away from each other working for you (determining the problem's value)?
Girls: No!
Me: So how are we going to solve this problem? (motioning towards our problem solving basket)
Girl A: get the sand timer
Girl B: rock, paper, scissors
Me: Okay, so which one are you going to choose? (make a plan)
So, I can tell you that this is where it all fell apart. Neither girl was willing to compromise in order to get to the next step which is to follow through with the plan. And, since it was clear that my attention was needed elsewhere in the classroom, I asked a simple question:
"So do you want to hear how Teacher Kari would solve this problem?" They nodded. I proceeded to take the cow away from the block area with a short explanation of why I made that choice. As I looked back, they both looked a little bewildered at first. But then - off they went - to another area.
The take away? Conflict resolution is a work in progress. It takes time. It takes consistency. It takes willing participants. However, with work (and perhaps some compromises), they will get there. And perhaps someday they won't rely on the teacher for intervention because she might not provide a solution that you like!
They are also a critical part of the preschool classroom. For many children, preschool is their first opportunity for learning how to get along with others. For others, perhaps those who have gone to daycare or have siblings, preschool is more like Conflict Resolution 102.
Nevertheless, we take problem solving seriously here at preschool. Really my ultimate goal is for my students to be able to solve their own "mouse" problems with little to no adult intervention by the time they walk out of my door to kindergarten. So what's a mouse problem you ask? Well, really anything that is not dangerous or threatening. "Elephant" problems, on the other hand, require immediate teacher help. I would say nearly 95% of our problems at preschool are mouse problems - wanting the same toy, for example.
In the classroom we have a problem-solving basket that includes different choices for working through problems. Some of these include:
- using a sand timer to take turns
- rock, paper, scissors
- eeny, meeny, miny, mo
- go make a different choice
- find a way to play together
And these are are well and good strategies for working through conflicts. We discuss during non-heated times of the day. We model. We role-play. These strategies are important to empower our students and support their autonomy.
So what's the problem? Easy peasy right?
Well, preschoolers are emotional! They're self-indulgent by nature! One could even argue they are irrational at times!
For example, during a recent conflict over a toy, it was quickly apparent that teacher intervention needed to occur when the girls started to get physical:
Situation: two girls were arguing over a plastic cow in the block area. Grabbing began to occur.
Me: what is the problem here? (taking the cow behind my back)
Girls: I want the cow! No, I had it first!
Me: I can see that you both want the cow (stating the problem). Is grabbing it away from each other working for you (determining the problem's value)?
Girls: No!
Me: So how are we going to solve this problem? (motioning towards our problem solving basket)
Girl A: get the sand timer
Girl B: rock, paper, scissors
Me: Okay, so which one are you going to choose? (make a plan)
So, I can tell you that this is where it all fell apart. Neither girl was willing to compromise in order to get to the next step which is to follow through with the plan. And, since it was clear that my attention was needed elsewhere in the classroom, I asked a simple question:
"So do you want to hear how Teacher Kari would solve this problem?" They nodded. I proceeded to take the cow away from the block area with a short explanation of why I made that choice. As I looked back, they both looked a little bewildered at first. But then - off they went - to another area.
The take away? Conflict resolution is a work in progress. It takes time. It takes consistency. It takes willing participants. However, with work (and perhaps some compromises), they will get there. And perhaps someday they won't rely on the teacher for intervention because she might not provide a solution that you like!
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