Giving praise publicly means assigning status to a learner and their actions in front of other people.

This can often have a powerful effect, with learners feeling that their efforts have been openly acknowledged and validated by other members of the school community.

With that said, not everybody responds well to public praise.

Shy learners and learners who struggle to accept praise (for whatever reason) may not enjoy the experience of being praised in front of others.

On occasion, praising these learners publicly can have the opposite effect to what was intended.

For this reason, you should take a moment to think before delivering praise that is public.

Of course, if you know your learners well, this will be less of an issue.

Here are three examples of how and where to give public praise.

During a lesson

Here, we might decide to make a point of praising the efforts and endeavours of a particular learner in front of the rest of the class.

For example, we might take a couple of minutes at the end of the lesson to single out two or three individuals who have worked especially hard or who have made great progress despite facing setbacks.

We might even ask the rest of the class to applaud them, though this will depend on the relationship we have with our learners.

During an assembly

Many assemblies include sections in which learners are acknowledged for their efforts.

Taking advantage of such opportunities allows you to praise learners in front of a large audience.

This is usually most appropriate if the learners in question have gone above and beyond what is expected of them.

This reflects the higher status accorded by assemblies (with a larger number of learners and teachers present than in an individual lesson).

In front of parents or other teachers

Sometimes opportunities arise to praise a learner in front of other teachers – a tutor or head of year, for example.

Take advantage of these as they are a great opportunity to reward a learner for their efforts.

Equally good are parents’ evenings.

Here, you can praise the endeavours of a learner in front of their parents, rewarding all parties (the parents experience the reward vicariously).

Praise Outside Lessons

Another example of public praise involves finding opportunities to praise learners around school, when they are not in your lessons.

Here are three examples.

Corridors

If you see a learner in the corridor – before school, in between lessons, at lunch time – and you remember they recently did something in your lessons for which praise is warranted, take the opportunity to deliver it.

This is an excellent way to build rapport as it demonstrates to learners that you have thought about their efforts and view them as an important individual (someone worth thinking about).

For example, on your way to a lesson you might pass a learner in the corridor and say something like: ‘Ah, Elliott, I read your essay last night and was very impressed by how you tried to balance the arguments.’

Duty

If you have a break or lunch duty to complete, you can use it as an opportunity to praise learners.

This helps build rapport and reinforces those behaviours you choose to praise.

In this situation, you can deliver praise based on what learners have done in lessons, or you can focus your praise on things learners are doing at break or lunch time.

For example, you might thank a group of learners for setting a good example or praise a learner who puts their litter in the bin rather than dropping it on the floor.

Home Time

The end of the school day is an excellent time to deliver praise.

Learners will go home with it ringing in their ears.

In a secondary context, you can make a point of walking past the school exit once or twice a week as learners are leaving and use this as an opportunity to deliver praise.

This is also a good chance to build rapport – you can ask learners if they have had a good day, ask them what they are doing in the evening, and wish them well as they head home.

In a primary context, you can praise learners as they go out to the playground to be picked up. Or you can praise them as their parent or caregiver arrives to take them home.

In both cases, you are creating a positive situation for the learner to remember as they transition between school and home.