Chapter 5

Chapter Five ~ Reinforcing Language: Seeing Children and Naming Their Strengths

Written by: Maureen Spaniak and Jen Perachio

The first two sentences in this chapter really made an impression on me: “Children build on their strengths, not their weaknesses. This is one of the most important things to keep in mind when teaching.” It is crucial that we, as teachers, see and say what we see children doing well and help them learn how they can improve. Teachers need to use reinforcing language in order for children to know they are on the right track and to help them grow further. We, as teachers, often overlook what students are doing well because we are focusing on what needs to improve….how sad! And there is a difference between reinforcing language and praise. Reinforcing Language describes specific positives in student’s work or behavior. Saying, “Great Job!” is a type of general praise. In order to see children’s strengths we must observe our children closely and get to know the whole child…what interests them, what saddens them, what delights them.

We use Reinforcing Language in a variety of ways:

• Coaching Performance ~ Good coaches use encouraging language to help players improve skills and good teachers should use this same language to help students in the classroom.

• Helping a Group Move Past a Stuck Point ~ When a teacher has a difficult group of students in a class, it can be challenging to have class discussions, even after the rules have been taught and established. A different approach may be to try to remark on the constructive behavior some students may be exhibiting. Having the student s share ideas of how to improve behavior and encouraging each other to try the suggestions may help the whole group’s behavior improve. When their efforts are noticed and they hear positive comments, they will feel successful and valued. Saying “ I like how Mary is sitting quietly” can send mixed messages: the reason to behave is to please the teacher and holds some children up as examples and excludes others.

• Pointing Out Individual Children’s Leading Edge Behaviors ~ Speaking privately to children to encourage them as they pursue their personal goals to improve behavior is very effective. When a teacher says, “I noticed you were sitting quietly during our sharing time. That really helped us have a great meeting today!” When the student is spoken to individually by the teacher, the child can focus on how he/she has grown, rather than worry about what the other classmates may be thinking.

• Describing Learning Histories ~ It is important to remind students that learning is an ongoing process, not simply an end product. It’s very effective to point out how far students have grown in their behaviors. Students feel proud when a teacher reminds them of how far they have come in learning or demonstrating a behavior….”Last week it took us 15 minutes to line up for dismissal, and this week we were able to line up in 10 minutes!”

Effective Reinforcing Language

Some points to remember when using reinforcing language:

• Name concrete, specific behaviors.

• Use a warm and professional tone.

• Emphasize description over personal approval.

• Consider adding a question to extend student thinking.

• Find positives to name in all students.

• Avoid naming some individuals as examples for others.

By using reinforcing language, you let students know what they are doing well either socially or academically.

Think back to the first sentence of the chapter where it stated that children build on their strengths, not their weaknesses. We can use reinforcing language throughout the school day….refer back to the variety of ways summarized earlier.

Lastly, we need to remember to use this kind of encouraging language with every student, not just the “best”, because if we do, we should see all children making progress in their growth.