Student Interpretations of Teacher Verbal Praise in Selected Seventh- and Eighth-Grade Choral Classes

Abstract

This study was an investigation of the effect that familiarity with a teacher and rehearsal context might have on seventh- and eighth-grade choral students' interpretations of teacher verbal praise. Teachers (N = 4) labeled randomly selected videotaped examples of their praise according to the purpose it was intended to serve. Students (N = 80) viewed 16 brief (30-second) examples of the praise and labeled it as deserved (directed at the performance) or one of three instructional uses (i.e., to encourage, to gain student cooperation, or to send a message to other members of the class). Results showed students across choirs could separate deserved from instructional praise, but in 9 examples, familiarity with a context made a significant difference in labeling praise as deserved and in detecting a specific instructional purpose. Results suggest the importance of further investigations that determine how teachers intend praise to function and how their students interpret its use.

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