Say "Good Job!" But tell them why!

In my first blog, About Me, I stated that I was majoring in Physical and Health Education. As soon as I read Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job!” by Alfie Kohn, I connected it to some of the content I learn last semester in my PED 243 class, Foundations of Movement. After reading Kohn story I believe it contradicted with what I learn because I thought it was good to tell children “Good Job!” Telling them “good job” is a motivation for them to keep striving to keep performing and it is also telling them not to give up. Then I made some connections and realize what Kohn was saying did not contradict with what I learn. When teaching a child to do something it’s good to tell them “good job” but it is also important to tell them why they are doing a good job. Kohn stated,

“Say what you saw. A simple, evaluation-free statement tells your child that you notice. It also lets her take pride in what she did. In other cases, more elaborate description may make sense. If your child draws a picture, you might provide feedback-not judgment- about what you noticed: “This Mountain is huge!” “Boy, you sure used a lot of purple today!”

I connected this statement with the content I learn about augmented feedback. A lot of this information I will be talking about is from the book I used during class which is called A Practical Guide to Motor Learning, Second Edition by Douglas E. Young, Michael G. LaCourse, and William S. Husak.

Augmented feedback is where “Instructors and coaches can provide a wealth of information to a performer during the learning process. This information can vary in its form, content, and function. In order to describe this information, numerous terms that defines and separated the various kinds and characteristics of feedback have been used.” (Pg 180)

The types of Augmented feedback are Knowledge of results (KR), Knowledge of performance (KP), and Social reinforcement (SR).

Knowledge of results is giving “information regarding the response outcome or overall success.” “KR is imperative for performance and learning without it, subjects may not improve or learn a task effectively.”

Knowledge of performance is “information given in regard to the movement pattern produced by the performer. This augmented feedback can directly change specific parts of behavior, and can effectively direct response toward the correct pattern of action.”

Social reinforcement “is a type of feedback which provides non-movement related information. SR is an important feedback variable because it plays a significant role in motivating performers.

When just saying “good job” it is a Social reinforcement. I believe what Kohn is trying to say is you can say “good job” but try adding some Knowledge of results and Knowledge of performance with you Social reinforcement. It is more beneficial because at the end you are still motivating them and letting them know why it is good or right.

Comments: I will like to if Kohn changes my classmates way of thinking about the word “Good Job!”