Page A3
FEB. 25, 1998
(Cljc P ortlan ò (Obstruer
Making Learning Rewarding
B y C atherine P aglin
“Son, I will give you a dollar for
every A on your report card.”
“Your choice o f adjectives is ex
cellent. I can tell you worked hard to
make your writing more descriptive.”
“Congratulations on the algebra
test. Y ou’re lucky you inherit your
math genes from my side o f the fam
ily ”
“Since everyone turned in a book
report we will have an extra recess
today.”
Rewards for learning take many
forms-praise, gold stars, candy, field
trips.
W hether such rewards motivate
more learning, discourage learning
or have no effect at all is the subject
o f debate.
Research reviewed by the North
west Regional Educational Labora
tory gives parents and teachers guid
ance on this subject. Praise is the
most commonly used reward or rein
forcer in the classroom. It turns out
that not all praise is created equal. In
the language o f praise a whisper
speaks louder than a shout. A quiet,
"Anthony, 1 noticeyou’vebeen work
ing hard on the story problems." will
spark greater achievement gains than
“Class, I want to announce that A n
thony got all the story problems right
today.”
Praise is also more effective in
motivating learning when the teacher
compares the student’s present per
formance to that o f the past, rather
than to the performance o f class
mates: “ Emily, your science report
is excellent; you chose a more diffi
cult topic than last time and gave a
more organized presentation," rather
than “Emily, your science report was
the best in the class. You are one o f
the few who understands what re
search is all about.”
Effective praise is specific and
informative. “The interesting ex
amples you chose help show the dif
ference between the book and the
movie versions o f Jane Eyre,” rather
than “Good essay.”
If a little praise is good, is more
better? No. Teachers who are care
ful with giving praise are more effec
tive than those who gush over a cor
rect answer. “Yes, that’s right,” is
sufficient praise o f a student’s con
tribution to a discussion. “Fantastic,
you’re a genius,” is overdoing it.
Praise encourages learning when it is
sincere and believable.
E ffective praise focuses on a
student’s effort and ability; ineffec
tive praise attributes a student’s suc
cess to ability alone and factors out
side the student’s control such as
luck, heredity, or getting an easy
assignment.
Aside from praise focuses on a
student's effort and ability; ineffec
tive praise attributes a student’s suc
cess to ability alone and factors
outside the student’s control such as
luck, heredity, or getting an easy
assignment.
A year ago...
Oregonians
Gauge
Education
Trends
O re g o n c itiz e n s h a v e g iv e n a
glimpse of their thinking about 12
tre n d s in p u b lic e d u c a tio n . T he
trends were identified by the North
west Regional Educational Labora
to ry th ro u g h a n a ly s e s o f m a jo r
reports and com m ents voiced by
educators. Then Oregonians, as part
of a larger study, were surveyed by
telephone. Here are the trends, in
descending order, followed by what
citizens said:
Trend I — Increasingly unstable
and un p red icta b le stru c tu re s f a r
decisionmaking and resource allo
cation. Forty percent of Oregonians
think that frequently changing state
and federal education policies and
budgets are making it difficult for
schools to plan for the future.
Trend 2— Renewed fo cu s on cur
riculum a n d in stru ctio n , on how
students learn and what they know
and can do. O regonians are essen
tially unanimous in rating “teaching
basic skills” as the most important
em phasis o f ed u catio n , alth o u g h
they see other learning skills, such
as decisionm aking and the ability
to use computers, as important too.
Trend 3— In creasing em phasis
on stand a rd s a n d a cco u n ta b ility.
M ost O regonians (61 percent) are
optimistic that O regon’s education
al sta n d a rd s to im p ro v e stu d e n t
learning can be successfully imple
mented.
Trend 4— Persistent a nd increas
ingly severe resource d isp a ritie s
among school communities. Orego
nians have mixed opinions on this:
34 p e rc e n t stro n g ly b e lie v e that
school funding is not d istrib u ted
equitably; 6 percent are quite sure it
is e q u ita b le ; and 25 p ercen t ju st
don’t know.
Trend 5— Increasing enrollments
and concentrations o f poor, minori
ty, and special-needs students. Thir
ty-six percent o f O reg o n ian s say
that poor, m in o rity , and sp ecial-
needs students have increased a lot
in their schools locally.
T re n d 6 — I n c r e a s in g s ta te
involvem ent in local im provem ent
decisions a nd efforts. Forty-three
percent of Oregonians feel that tne
state’s involvement in local school
affairs is too great.
Trend 7— D eclin in g resources
force competition fo r public funds.
Seventy-nine percent o f O regoni
ans believe education should rank
as a top funding priority.
T re n d 8 — C h a n g in g ro le f o r
individual school com m unities in
decisionm aking. T hirty-eight p er
cent of Oregonians say they would
like to be more involved in school
decisionmaking.
Trend 9— Increasing integration
o f se rv ic e s to su p p o rt c h ild re n .
Many O regonians agree that more
support services should be provided
at sc h o o ls, a lth o u g h th ey d o n ’t
regard all services as equally neces
sary. First on the list of onsite ser
vices is child care and after school
recreation programs, next is mental
health counseling, and then onsite
drug and alcohol treatment.
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