Types of Praise: Public and Private

Public > Specific > Unconditional: "I love how you all lined up so nicely today. See you again tomorrow."

Private > Specific > Unconditional: "Well done! You did such a nice job showing your friend how to solve that math problem. See you tomorrow."

Public Praise:
Public-Specific-unconditional
example Great job class, I like the way the class listened today and stayed engaged in the lessons. 

Private Praise:
Private-specific-unconditional
Great job today Jane, I'm really proud of the work you did today in class even though it may have been difficult you pushed through and got your work done! You should be proud of yourself!

Public praise works best when its specific and unconditional.  Example: You all did a great job sharing and building with the blocks today. I am proud of your well you worked together.. 

Private praise works best also when specific and unconditional. Example:  You did amazing building your house today.  I could see many different areas that would be fun to play in.  Great thinking!

Public: Specific/unconditional   Ex. Well dine class like how you are all sitting
Private: Specific/unconditional  Ex. going to a specific student for how they did great on there written assignment 

There are 8 ways to show praise towards students from using a general to public statement which is least effective vs. a personal/private and specific statement about the process or choices students are using to reach an academic goal.  When teachers praise on ability only, even with high achievers, studies show when these students work towards a goal, they are less likely to be as successful at a high level.
Makes sense, like us all, we grow more when our growth mindset is used with specific personal feedback vs. generalizations. General nonspecific feedback is much more disconnected from individual perceptions than specific statements which reach the individuals learner and can provide more meaningful feedback,  which tends to lead toward specific targeting of growth areas.

Praise must be genuine and specific to effectively motivate students. The most effective type of Public Praise is specific and unconditional.  For example, "You were terrific today lining up in the hallway!"  The most effective type of Private Praise is also specific and unconditional.  "You did a great job today working through frustration.  :-)" Which is "powerful and highly effective."

The most effective type of public praise is specific and unconditional. 
An example of this would be: "Good afternoon boys and girls, I really like how you came in, sat down, and got right to work in your daily reading comprehension notebooks.

The most effective type of private praise is also specific and unconditional. This type of praise is the most powerful and most motivating of all 8 types of praise. 
An example of this type of praise would be: "Great job (student), I really like how you re-read what you wrote and added some more details to your story!"

When praising an entire class of students, it's important to be specific. For example, if you're addressing a very young class of children, it might be best to say to them, "You did a marvelous job lining up to go to the cafeteria, and you were extremely quiet and polite. That is great!" By making the praise unconditional - by not saying something about doing it again tomorrow or perhaps, "That's how you should line up every day!" You are making the praise more effective and without conditions. 

When praising an individual, it's also important to keep praise personal, specific and unconditional. For example, if a student in your classroom participated in class by reading a part aloud in a play, you can say, "Great job reading the part of Juliet today!" That praise is specific, unconditional and personal. 

Taking conditions out of praise is perhaps the best thing to take away from these two videos as I feel I have seen this, especially in younger children. 

Public: Specific unconditional is the most effective form of public praise. An example would be "Good job sitting still and listening class."  They know why they received praise and there were no conditions on it. 

Private: The best form of private praise is also unconditional and specific. A good example of this would be "Wow, I'm so impressed with the effort you put in with your math today!" 

The most effective type of Public Praise is specific unconditional.
An example of public, specific, unconditional praise is “fantastic transition everyone, you walked quietly down the hallway and went directly to your seat upon entering the classroom.”

The most effective type of Private Praise is specific unconditional.
An example of private, specific, unconditional praise is “wonderful work, you focused on the handout until you were able to answer all of the questions. Excellent job!”

Public praise works best when its specific and unconditional.  Example you all did a great job testing your robots I am proud of your effort. 

Private praise works best also when specific and unconditional. Example.  You did a great job testing your robot today nice work on the sheet.