Child Behavior: Winning Compliance Using the Language of Praise and Encouragement

The Psycho-Educational Teacher

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Generally, we are more likely to notice and to pay attention to negative behaviors than to positive behaviors. In addition, an ineffective practice like withholding a reward that the child already earned with the intention to punish inappropriate behavior only promotes negative and inconsistent interactions between the teacher and the habitually disruptive student. According to Jolivette, Peck-Stichter, and McCormick (2002), students disruptive behaviors actually increased when the number of disapproving remarks made by the teacher tripled. One of the most powerful and easy-to-implement strategies that any teacher can use to reduce habitually disruptive behaviors in the classroom is giving praise. When we praise a child, we are simply giving a realistic and positive appraisal of the childs performance (Schaefer and Millman, 1994). Mesa, Lewis-Palmer, and Reinke (2005) define praise as a verbal comment or a physical gesture that the teacher uses to indicate approval of academic and/or social behavior. When used therapeutically, praise functions to improve the teacher-student interaction. Lampi, Fenty, and Beaunae (2005) state that using praise increases on-task behaviors and reduces problem behaviors in the classroom. Baker (1995) found that students like to receive positive feedback, and that students rated their relationship with their teachers higher when the teachers

gave consistent and genuine praise. Lampy et al. also suggested that some teachers might be unintentionally increasing students inappropriate behaviors by not giving praise to students following appropriate behaviors. The authors also indicate that infrequent praise, combined with a high rate of reprimands, lead to a deteriorating cycle of worsening student behavior. Mesa et al. found that when the teacher praise averages two or more per minute, the students disruptive behaviors decrease. When praise averages less than one per minute, students problem behaviors increase. Walker (1997) warns teachers that using praise alone is not going to be effective for deviant and oppositional-defiant students. To use therapeutic praise with emotional and behavioral disordered students (EBD), we need to reinforce our classroom behavior management with both positive (rewards) and negative (penalties) consequences. On my two articles, Behavior Modification: Guidelines for Giving Rewards and Reinforcement and Behavior Management: Enforcing Rules and Consequences, you get these guidelines. You can read these articles on Scribd, or go to my blog, The Psycho-Educational Teacher. Lampy, Fenty, and Beaune (2005) suggest the following guidelines for giving praise to children: 1. Praise should adhere to the if-then rule, that is, if the student is behaving in the desired manner, then the teacher should praise. 2. Students are capable of performing more than one behavior at a time; therefore, it is important that we are specific to avoid confusion about which behavior we are praising. Praise should be both descriptive and specific. 3. Praise should flow with the class or individual activities to avoid causing disruptions. 4. Teachers should vary the praise they give. Students may tune out if the teachers praise is always the same.

General Guidelines for Giving Praise

5. All children benefit from hearing positive statements from adults. This is particularly true for low-performing students and for students with behavior difficulties. We need to find ways to praise and encourage low-performing and/or habitually disruptive students at the same rate, or higher, than we praise regular age-peers.

6. Match verbal and nonverbal communication, for example, saying, I like to see you sharing with a smile. Be pleasant, enthusiastic, and positive. 7. Praise observable actions of the child. We need to use statements that are specific to the action and that describe what the child did well, for example, Matthew walked back to his seat very quietly. Thank you, Matthew. Ruben, your spelling test was 90% correct. I liked the way you distributed the protractors, Eddie. You were fast and quiet. It was great how you waited your turn, Nicki. I can really tell Sarah is thinking by what she just said. Excellent! It took you less time to finish your worksheet today, and you completed three more problems. I like that you raised your hand when you wanted to share something with the class, Steven. 8. Avoid praising the whole child (global praising), for example, You are always so quiet. 9. Avoid vague statements like Fantastic, Nice job, You did well on the spelling test, or You are doing great. When you use these kinds of statements, and we all do, make sure to add a specific description of the good thing that the child did. 10. Praise the class as a group and as individuals. Practice saying nice things to your class, for example, It makes me very happy seeing my class helping each other and working together; I am glad Dinosaurs, Alligators, and Komodo Dragons sharpened their pencils before class. Now you are all set and ready to go. Good job, teams! I really enjoy the way my class sits quietly and listens to me when I am reading the story; or It is being a long time since I had to take any objects from students in this class. You really know how to show that you are responsible people. 11. Rather than giving negative attention to misbehavior, refocus on the children that are behaving; smile at them and praise them. Some examples: Rows two and six are showing good listening behaviors; you are looking at me while I speak and you are writing key words on your notebooks.

I really like the way that Table One and Table Four listened while I gave directions. That is really polite of you, thank you.

Alligators, good job in sharing your materials with each other. Ninja Warriors and Komodo Dragons have their art materials ready. Manuel, Sammy, and Nancy have all their supplies on their desks and are seated quietly waiting for more instructions. Good!

Alligators and Ninja Warriors just earned another token by sitting and listening to me while I was reading. Good job!

When we notice and praise the target behavior in students who exhibit the behavior, these students model the behavior to noncompliant students. In addition, when we pay attention to good behavior through praise, we are using praise as a positive social reinforcement. 12. Use the ignore-attend-praise technique. Ignore the student or students who are off task, praise the student, row, or table that complies, and then praise the first child from the offtask group that complies and returns to task. Do not compare the students. 13. Use the prompt and praise technique. When a student exhibits an inappropriate behavior (e.g. talking without raising the hand), remind the child of what you expect her to do. You might say, Lucy, what we do in this class when we want to talk? Then praise the child when she exhibits the appropriate behavior. 14. Pair proximity with praise (Lampy, Fenty, and Beaunae, 2005). For example, stop by the students desk and say, Thank you Ashley, for working so hard and staying on task. 15. Show faith in children so that they learn to believe in themselves. Avoid having and/or communicating negative expectations to students. Schaefer and Millman (1994) state that when we praise children, they draw positive inferences about themselves from our descriptive comments about why we admire their positive behavior. This way, our students learn how to praise themselves. 16. With a difficult student, praise past successes to remind the child that he is capable of performing positive behaviors in the present. For example, Remember this morning you were pushed in line and did not get mad. The way you managed the situation without fighting was really nice to see.

17. Use indirect praise, that is, talking to a third party (e.g. another teacher), you make a positive comment about the student and you raise positive expectations about her behavior at a time when the child can hear you. 18. Show appreciation for the childs contributions, for example, You really made us laugh this morning, Ricky, thank you or I liked the way you helped without being asked. 19. Recognize small improvements. Praise effort rather than accomplishment. 20. Praise progress, and downplay setbacks by saying, Is all right. Tomorrow is another day to try. 21. Downplay failure, and help the child focus on her effort, for example, It is okay; the important thing is that you are going to keep trying. 22. Give personalized praise or compliments. Bloomquist (1996) presents the following guidelines to give personalized praise: a. Make eye contact. b. Speak clearly. c. Identify an appropriate behavior to compliment. d. Give the compliment at the appropriate time. e. Personalize the compliment, e.g., I like your new sneakers. I saw them on TV and they look cool. f. Follow up the compliment with an expression of interest. For example, You really ran fast in the relay races yesterday. Do you play on the soccer team? 23. Therapeutic teachers speak the language of encouragement. From Schaefer (1994) we list some examples: a. Urgings: Come on, I know you can do it! Keep trying; and Dont give up. b. Coaxing (using soothing words, humor, or a pleasant manner to persuade): It is really easy once you get used to it and I will give it a shot and see how it goes. If you make a mistake, so what? c. Challenging: Do not let long division defeat you. d. Teamwork: Let us try together, and then gradually you fade out.

e. Support: I am sure you can handle this yourself, but if you need my help, let me know.

Praising Effort
Ignore the students mistakes and praise his effort. As the childs performance improves, help him understand that errors and mistakes are part of learning, and they are necessary so that learning can take place. It is important that we pay attention to small changes and we praise the first signs that indicate movement towards a goal. Some examples of effort praise are: Your math is improving every day. I am really glad you _____. Anthony is a hard worker today. The important thing is that you tried your best. I admire how hard you worked on this essay. That is the neatest job I have seen you doing. I love seeing you doing your class work.

Focus on strengths and assets rather than on weaknesses and errors. We can praise the part of the task the child has already gotten right, minimize errors, and then tell the student what she needs to do to complete the task successfully.
References

Baker, J. A. (1999). Teacher-student interaction in urban at-risk classrooms: Differential behavior, relationship quality, and student satisfaction with school. Elementary School Journal, 100(1), pp. 57-70. Bloomquist, M. L. (1996). Skills training for children with behavior disorders: A parent and therapist guidebook. NY: Guilford Press. Jolivette, K., Peck-Stichter, J., & McCormick, K. M. (2002). Making choices- Improving behavior- Engaging in learning. Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol. 34(3), pp. 24-29. Lampi, A. R., Fenty, N. S., & Beaunae, C. (2005). Making the three ps easier: Praise, proximity, and precorrection. Beyond Behavior, 15(1), pp.8-12. Mesa, J., Lewis-Palmer, T., & Reinke, W. (2005). Providing teachers with performance feedback on praise to reduce problem behavior. Beyond Behavior, Vol. 15(1), pp. 3-7.

Schaefer, C. E. (1994). How to influence children: A handbook of practical child guidance skills. (Second Edition.) Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Schaefer, C. E., & Millman, H. (1994). How to help children with common problems. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Walker, H. M. (1997). The acting-out child: Coping with classroom disruption. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

About the Author

Carmen Y. Reyes, The Psycho-Educational Teacher, has more than twenty years of experience as a self-contained special education teacher, resource room teacher, and educational diagnostician. Carmen has taught at all grade levels, from kindergarten to postsecondary. Carmen is an expert in the application of behavior management strategies, and in teaching students with learning or behavior problems. Her classroom background, in New York City and her native Puerto Rico, includes ten years teaching emotionally disturbed/behaviorally disordered children and four years teaching students with a learning disability or low cognitive functioning. Carmen has a bachelors degree in psychology (University of Puerto Rico) and a masters degree in special education with a specialization in emotional disorders (Long Island University, Brooklyn: NY). She also has extensive graduate training in psychology (30+ credits). Carmen is the author of 60+ books and articles in child guidance and in alternative teaching techniques for students with low academic skills. You can read the complete collection of articles on Scribd or her blog, The Psycho-Educational Teacher. To preview her books, and download the free eguide, Persuasive Discipline: Using Power Messages and Suggestions to Influence Children Toward Positive Behavior, visit Carmens blog.