How many times do you tell someone "good job" each day? I know I repeatedly say it multiple times every day to the point that it starts to become MEANINGLESS. I started to think....
What kind of feedback does this give to my students?
Does this actually make them proud of their work?
NO! The only thing that "good job" is telling them is my approval that it is good enough. The students leave with no information on what specifically they did well or what areas they could work on. "Good job" has become one of those cliche phrases that we use on a daily basis when our kids are really asking for more. We are not appreciating the hard work that our students are putting in, instead we are only recognizing it. I do not believe that we will be able to entirely get rid of saying "good job" and I think that is okay. We just need to provide specific feedback more often and not over use the phrase.
I plan to continue to be aware of my word choice and correct my feedback as much as possible. I have been finding it easier to give specific feedback when I am writing it on their assignments. When I am speaking with students, the phrase just seems to slip out. I want to take the time to correct my feedback when I catch myself saying "good job"and am hoping I can break my habit and start a new habit of giving proper, specific feedback. I want my students to feel appreciated instead of just recognized.
I am going to be honest that this has been a hard thing for me. Just today I was talking to a student about their reading homework and it just slipped out! Inside their reading homework, I took the time to write specific feedback, but then when I gave it to them and we were finished talking, I told them good job! Immediately I was thinking, I can't believe I just said that! Then I corrected myself and gave that student a compliment on something specific that they did. I believe the first step to breaking this habit is to become aware of yourself using the phrase. Now that I am aware, I tend to correct myself shortly after with something more specific. From here, I plan to keep trying to phase "good job" out of my regular feedback talk. I believe that I am getting better at this every day but still have a far way to go!
