The expression “Brickbats and Bouquets” translates into “criticism and praise”. In other words it means conveying “the bad with the good”.
In teaching circles, teachers (particularly at a tertiary level) use an extension to this expression which enables teachers to constructively feedback to students – pointing out the good/ correct elements of their work alongside the not-so-good/ incorrect elements. This extension is called “The Praise Sandwich“; and in its delivery looks like this:
Step One – teacher communicates deserved praise in relation to an element of the student’s work that is good/ correct.
Step Two – teacher communicates constructive criticism in relation to an element of the student’s work that isn’t so good/ doesn’t address the given question/ is incorrect.
Step Three – teacher communicates deserved praise in relation to an element of the student’s work that is good/ correct.
So in effect a “club sandwich” involving three different layers is created:
Layer One – PRAISE
Layer Two – CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
Layer Three – PRAISE
Notice the 2:1 ratio of ‘praise’ to ‘constructive criticism’ ? The ‘Praise Sandwich’ deliberately enables the person applying this practice to award more praise than provide criticism.
Genuine “Constructive Criticism” is necessary to communicate (when warranted/ justified) to students; in order to help students grow/ learn and to indicate where they need to strengthen their understanding/ knowledge – for their understanding to become factually correct and therefore of benefit to them in the future. If “Constructive Criticism” isn’t communicated when justified, the student is likely to form the opinion that everything (100 %) of what they have communicated in their answers is correct/ without flaw…when in fact this isn’t the case.
And this (hiding the truth) will not do the student any favours, in terms of preparing them for life in the “real world”. I would much rather – for the student’s sake – that a student understands where the inaccuracies of their understanding/ knowledge lies, to then have the opportunity to improve in those areas – so as to be of more value to employers when they step into their first work role.
I would love to see more leaders (business owners/ managers/ coaches/ etc) practice the “Praise Sandwich”. It is a wonderful way to build-up other people (to instill confidence and empower), while also helping others improve their knowledge/ understanding/ skills in areas that need strengthening.