Praise Sandwich

Those of you who teach may well know of the "praise sandwich".  The idea is that, when giving a struggling learner some feedback, it helps to give a piece of harsher criticism in between two pieces of praise.  In other words, you sandwich the crit between the positives.  The technique exists because of research studies into learning.  Those who struggle are far more likely to digest and make use of criticism if they're given twice as much understanding of their strengths.  Or so the theory goes.  For an example of a praise sandwich, scroll down.

This technique is for those who lack confidence.  If used all the time it can, in my view, overly coddle the learner; and we have to learn to survive harsh crits -- that's part of the process.  But when working with kids who have real difficulties, it does enable rather than push away.  It's also useful when folks are at the end of their tether.

Well, right now, I feel like a struggling kid.  It's one of those regression moments.

So this morning, I've been trying to create a praise sandwich for myself; because if we can't treat ourselves kindly, now and then, we're not being entirely honest, and if we're not being honest we hold ourselves back.  

See, I argue the technique occasionally has its place, especially if what we can't do seems bigger than what we can do and this false belief freezes us.  

I'll slice.  You butter.

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EXAMPLE OF A PRAISE SANDWICH:

It comes down to this:  "You've been doing so well with your storytelling skills.  It's important that you remember to use punctuation in your work, otherwise it's hard for the reader to understand you. But what I love in here is the way you've managed to communicate your character's inner thoughts -- that's something you've often found difficult, yet it's powerful in this story."  (Note: the praise is meant to be as specific as the criticism).

Comments

[Gwendolyn]

What a lovely idea. I have always tried to give praise and then criticism. Starting out with something positive. But it makes sense that for the suffering sensitive, I should also end with something positive. I would just hope the criticism wouldn't get lost.

[Sue]

You make a really great point, Gwendolyn. Whenever I've used this method, I've spent a good amount of time on the central crit because it's true, it can get lost otherwise. It's possible to reinforce the learning of the central crit later too - but I do think the praise makes the crit easier to digest and remember. Thanks for your comment!