Not in Praise of Praise

What's In This Kit?
This training kit introduces the concept of using encouragement instead of praise with young children in the classroom. It contains:

• Expected training outcomes
• Preparation instructions
• Training strategies and tips
• Implementation steps
• Follow-up activities for teachers
• Follow-up activities for administrators/directors
• A learning assessment
• A training evaluation/further needs assessment
• A resource list
• The article "Not in Praise of Praise" by Kathleen Grey
• A training certificate to award to teachers for attendance and participation
• A certificate for the trainer and other presenters

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audience for this kit is beginning and intermediate teachers working with children from birth to age 8.

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is 30-60 minutes. Implementation time is 1.5 hours.

Training Outcomes:

1. Teachers will understand the advantages and disadvantages of praise.
2. Teachers will identify different positive discipline strategies to use in place of praise.
3. Teachers will practice changing praise statements into reflective listening or encouraging statements.
4. Teachers will refine teaching skills in using reflective listening or encouragement to supplement or replace praise in the classroom.

These training outcomes address the following professional standards:

• H-13a; H-14a, H-14b; H14-d, H-17c of the Accreditation Criteria and Procedures of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 1998).
• Standard 1 of NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation, Initial Licensure Level (NAEYC, 2003).
• Standard 1304.22 of Head Start Performance Standards (Federal Register: Nov. 5, 1996, Volume 61, Number 215).

Note: Downloadable PDFs are only available for download in pdf format. Directions for downloading follow immediately after purchase.