Feedback

When examining many different studies on what helps children make the greatest progress, feedback is often cited as being one of the most influential factors.  By feedback we mean what we say to children, the comments teachers write in their books, giving children an opportunity to give us feedback so we know how we are doing as parents and teachers and feedback between peers.  The video below from Carol Dweck tells us that it is important to praise children’s efforts rather than stating how clever they are.  If you praise a child for persevering they will go on trying.  It is also important to talk positively around your children – comments such as “Oh well, I was never really that good at maths when I was your age,’’ or “I never enjoyed PE and games when I was at school,” will have quite an influence on your child’s attitude.