Classroom Instruction part of the Education Reform Network

Guidelines for Effective Praise

• Elevation Educational Consulting
  Works with individual teachers, schools, districts to evaluate and improve literacy programs and instruction.
• Guidelines for Effective Feedback
  Advice from the Cornell Youth and Work Program (2002).
• Instructional Reinforcement
  Close-Up #3 in the School Imporovement Research Series (SIRS) published by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Authored by Kathleen Cotton.
• Praise in the Classroom
  This ERIC Digest gives insights into ways that praise can be more effective and consistent in early childhood settings. The Digest examines the effects of praise on self-esteem and autonomy, praise as a motivator, praise as a classroom management tool, and the distinction between praise and encouragement.
• The Instructional Hieracrchy: Linking Stages of Learning to Effective Instructional Techniques
  Learners typically advance through a predictable series of learning stages, such as acquisition, fluency, generalization, and adaptation. The chart provided here helps to look at particular instructional strategies that are helpful at each stage, along with the type of feedback that is most helpful for the student.
• The Place for Praise
  AFT President Sandra Feldman discusses how empty, indiscriminate, or overdone praise can have a contradictory effort of the goals genuine student progress and accomplishment. Specific praise provides direct feedback and further guidance for quality work.