Celebrating Success: An Important Factor in Student Motivation
As the school year nears its end, it’s important to remember the importance of celebration. We tend to celebrate the big things–but often, it’s the little successes that keep us motivated. As educators, we can use celebration as a key ingredient to keep students and staff members moving forward.
Praise and compliments boost self-esteem and confidence. Think about the last time that you were complimented. How did it make you feel? Celebrating success helps to create positive learning environments.
Celebrating success, however, needs to be more than merely writing “Good!” on a student’s paper. The research on positive feedback supports specific praise. All of us want to know exactly WHY we’re being praised; then it becomes a motivator for further action.
In planning end of the year awards assemblies, we want to remember this and make sure that we celebrate accomplishments. And we need to make sure that we celebrate the successes of the adults in our schools, as well as the students.
Here at Byrne & Associates, we’re celebrating a number of successes from the 2012-2013 school year. We’re thrilled that Lac Courte Oreilles made AYP, thanks to the hard work of both staff and students. We’re also pleased that fifteen of the sixteen regular education sophomores at Tohono Oo’dham High School passed AIMS Reading on their first try–in a year when 90% of the teaching staff was new to the school! We just completed the first cohort training of the Native American Schools Writing Project and have several additional trainings planned this summer.
Recognition and acknowledgement of successes help to keep us going. Teaching and learning is hard work. We all need to both receive and give those pats on the back that let us know that our efforts are appreciated and that we’ve accomplished a goal and made movement forward.
Praise and compliments boost self-esteem and confidence. Think about the last time that you were complimented. How did it make you feel? Celebrating success helps to create positive learning environments.
Celebrating success, however, needs to be more than merely writing “Good!” on a student’s paper. The research on positive feedback supports specific praise. All of us want to know exactly WHY we’re being praised; then it becomes a motivator for further action.
In planning end of the year awards assemblies, we want to remember this and make sure that we celebrate accomplishments. And we need to make sure that we celebrate the successes of the adults in our schools, as well as the students.
Here at Byrne & Associates, we’re celebrating a number of successes from the 2012-2013 school year. We’re thrilled that Lac Courte Oreilles made AYP, thanks to the hard work of both staff and students. We’re also pleased that fifteen of the sixteen regular education sophomores at Tohono Oo’dham High School passed AIMS Reading on their first try–in a year when 90% of the teaching staff was new to the school! We just completed the first cohort training of the Native American Schools Writing Project and have several additional trainings planned this summer.
Recognition and acknowledgement of successes help to keep us going. Teaching and learning is hard work. We all need to both receive and give those pats on the back that let us know that our efforts are appreciated and that we’ve accomplished a goal and made movement forward.
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