Constructive Criticism in the Classroom

Often times in life we are criticized for our own thoughts and actions. People try to tell us who to be and who not to be, and I have had many accounts of this in my life and in school. There is a problem that teachers often criticize kids for being themselves and they are marked down for this. It kills students creativity and creativity is something that makes us different. It hurts to see red ink everywhere on a paper your teacher hands back, it often brings students down and results in them not wanting to try again. Thats why all teachers should always mention the good, not just the bad, so that students can always have a positive message planted in their mind.

I am fortunate enough to go to a school were teachers were usually very supportive and striving to make me the best I can possibly be, but that is not the case for other schools I have been to. I had a teacher in middle school who would constantly point out my errors but never try to fix them. It often left me discouraged me from trying to fix my mistakes because my own teacher did not make the effort to teach me the the right answer to the things I have gotten wrong. This is why teachers should always point out the good in their students work and always correct students answers by using the students strengths to their advantage. This is where the idea of "Recognize and reinforce" comes into play.

Recognize and reinforce comes from the fundamental five and is a mindset that I support because it is all about constructive criticism. Teachers should constantly be thinking about this mindset because it points out the strengths in their students rather then marking them down for them. A great example of this is in the book I'm reading "Walking on Water" by Derrick Jensen. Jensen used to be a high jump coach at north Idaho college. He always made his athletes focus on the positives when they were high jumping. For an example, he would say "Todd your leg strength is amazing, because you're popping way up in the air, and your form isn't really helping you." Rather than "Tod your form stinks."(Walking On Water, 2003) This allowed his athletes to focus on the positives rather then the negative. He must of known what he was doing because because all of his high jumpers became All-Americans or honorable mentions All-Americans. One even became national campion.

I believe many teachers want to point out the good in their students work but don't necessarily know had to approach the situation. I think one thing teachers can easily do to improve on when trying to accomplishment is to not use red ink. Seeing red ink on a paper that is a big thing that makes students want to stop and give up. This is because red is a really "loud" color and is usually associated with stoping. Another thing teachers can do to improve is to make positive notes. Going back to how Derrick Jensen coached his team, he always told his athletes their strengths and how they can use them to improve on things they went doing to good. Instead of writing " Your Character needs more detail" try writing " I really like what you have written here, its very creative! What other things does your character like to do? (Walking On Water, 2003) This way the student knows that they have done a good job and they can do even better. Also this doesn't always have to be on paper, it can be verbal too. If a student gives you their paper to read, complement them on the things they've done good on and suggestions on the things they could work on.

There is another really easy thing teachers can do to boost their students confidence. Simply cut back on the amount of markings on a paper. I know for a fact I would rather have a couple of notes on a paper telling me what I did wrong then a hundred little dots and dashes everywhere on my paper. When I see this it makes me think I have done a hundred things wrong and thats a worse feeling that thinking I have made two or three errors. Still if you do cut back on the markings, do not point out the things a student has done wrong, point out something they have done really well, then what they could work on. Cutting back on marking up a paper can also allow the students to read through their own paper without having a bunch of distracting marks on the paper.

I have gotten a lot of papers back with a lot of red ink, marks, and notes that are anything but motivating. I can tell you personally that when a student gets back a paper with these things, the results can be disastrous. When I am handed back a paper, I decide in the first second I see it if I really want to go over it. When I mean by that is that when I see red ink on a paper I do not even bother to read it because I know its just a bunch of things I could of done better but I did not. The red ink is just a huge stop sign in my head letting me know I have failed even before reading a word. When I read a note that tells me "You need to fix this" It just adds to the pile of misery caused by all the rest of the negative things I have read. After I have gone through the paper, it just makes me want to not participate in the rest of class, I am to caught up in all the things I have done wrong. "Why keep going? I already failed." Unfortunately that is my mentality that the paper implants in my brain. It even sets me up to fail for the rest of the day because I can only focus on the errors I have made.

I know I take grades in differently that other students, everyone does, but I know when a students get back a marked up paper. Their head is resting on their hand and in the other their holding the paper. They just stare at it asking themselves "what did I do wrong?" It is tough to move on, even from a paper with some marks on it, but it is. It is so easy to just take a little more time to point out the positives in students work, it may not look like it but it makes a huge impact on their confidence, which is one of the biggest things that impacts a students learning.

Sources:

Cain, Sean, and Mike Laird. The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction. Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, 2011. Print.

Jensen, Derrick. Walking on Water: Reading, Writing, and Revolution. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2003. Print.