Increase Good Behavior Using Rewards And Positive Reinforcement

Increase Good Behavior Using Rewards and Positive Reinforcement © Megan Sheakoski Jun 18, 2008

Effective classroom management is vital to creating and maintaining a positive learning environment and classroom culture. Motivate with praise, notes, and class rewards.

Teachers need to have a plan to not only address negative behaviors, but to encourage desired behaviors. Organization and preparedness are the keys that produce effective management. Positive reinforcement and reward systems are an important part of any elementary teacher’s classroom management plan. Teacher and peer praise, notes to parents, the Music Marbles class reward system and a Shining Stars bulletin board are all ways to motivate elementary school students.

Verbal Praise by Teacher

Praise, when used consistently and correctly, can cause a palpable change in the classroom. Students who have been disruptive or inattentive, when praised for positive efforts, can become contributing members of the classroom.

 To be most effective teacher praise should be personal, genuine, specific and descriptive.  For example, instead of good job, a teacher might say, “Tommy, I like the way you raised your hand when you knew the answer to the question.”  This not only encourages the student to raise his hand instead of yelling out answers, but the rest of the class as well.

Peer Praise

Student should be encouraged to praise each other in the classroom.  Praising other students needs to be explicitly taught and modeled. The more students practice praising each other the more natural and effective the praise is.  A fun way to praise is to have students clap or cheer, “Woo Hoo!” when they see a fellow student doing something positive.

Happy Notes

Encourage good student behaviors in the classroom by enlisting parent help.

 Teacher can send home a “Happy Note” on cheery yellow paper notifying parents of their student’s success in the classroom.  The notes should be sent home for both positive behavior and academic achievement.

Music Marbles

A class reward system is used to motivate and praise the entire class. One type of reward system that works especially well with primary students is Music Marbles.

 Marbles are placed into a jar for positive student behavior.  Marbles can be earned by an individual or the whole class for behaviors such as completion of homework, following directions, and working quietly.  When the jar is full the entire class earns the music of its choice to be played at different times during the day.

Shining Stars Bulletin Board

Everyone performs better when their hard work is rewarded publicly.

 Students maintain proper behaviors more often when their successes are displayed on a classroom bulletin board for their peers and visitors to admire.  A “Shining Stars” bulletin board that displays each student’s picture on a star and the accomplishments of the class recognizes the diligent efforts of the group. Praise and the use of token reward systems can motivate students and create a safe, open atmosphere. As students begin to exhibit desired classroom behaviors, teachers need to raise behavior expectations and begin to wean reward systems to encourage intrinsic motivation.

The copyright of the article Primary Classroom Management Ideas in Primary School Culture is owned by Megan Sheakoski. Permission to republish Primary Classroom Management Ideas in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Praise in the Classroom.

Most educators agree that children need to be in supportive, friendly environments. But recent research indicates that some teacher attempts to create such environments by using praise may actually be counterproductive. The purpose of this digest is to give teachers new insights into ways to make their statements of praise more effective and consistent with the goals most early childhood educators have for children, namely, to foster self-esteem, autonomy, self-reliance, achievement, and motivation for learning. Most teachers praise students in order to enhance progress toward these goals. However, current research poses the possibility that some common uses of praise may actually have negative effects in some or all of these areas.

PRAISE: EFFECTS ON SELF-ESTEEM AND AUTONOMY

Some praise statements may have the potential to lower students' confidence in themselves. In a study of second graders in science classrooms, Rowe (1974) found that praise lowered students' confidence in their answers and reduced the number of verbal responses they offered. The students exhibited many characteristics indicative of lower self-esteem, such as responding in doubtful tones and showing lack of persistence or desire to keep trying. In addition, students frequently tried to "read" or check the teacher's eyes for signs of approval or disapproval. In a series of six studies of subjects ranging in age from third grade to adult, Meyer (1979) found that under some conditions, praise led recipients to have low expectations of success at difficult tasks, which in turn decreased the persistence and performance intensity at the task. It seems that certain kinds of praise may set up even the most capable students for failure. No student can always be "good" or "nice" or "smart." In order to avoid negative evaluations, students may tend not to take chances and attempt difficult tasks. PRAISE AS A MOTIVATOR

Many teachers attempt to use praise as a form of positive reinforcement in order to motivate students to achieve and behave in positive ways. However, as Brophy (1981) points out, trying to use praise as a systematic reinforcer in a classroom setting is impractical. Even if teachers were able to praise frequently and systematically, say once every 5 minutes, the average student would still be praised less than once every 2 hours. Brophy's research disclosed the reality that much teacher praise is not deliberate reinforcement, but rather, is elicited by students--the students actually condition the teacher to praise them. Even if teachers could praise students systematically, there is still some indication that such praise would not be effective. Researchers point out that at best praise is a weak reinforcer. Not all young children are interested in pleasing the teacher, and as children grow older, interest in pleasing the teacher diminishes significantly. Esler (1983) reports that correlations between teachers' rates of praise and students' learning gains are not always positive, and even when correlations are positive, they are usually too low to be considered significant. Some researchers (Martin, 1977; Stringer and Hurt, 1981) have found that praise can actually lessen self-motivation and cause children to become dependent on rewards. Green and Lepper (1974) found that once teachers began praising preschool children for doing something they were already motivated to do, the children became less motivated to do the activity. Research demonstrates that various forms of praise can have different kinds of effects on different kinds of students. Students from different socioeconomic classes, ability levels, and genders may not respond in the same way to praise. The use of praise is further complicated by the fact that it may have differential effects depending on the type of achievement being measured. For example, praise may be useful in motivating students to learn by rote, but it may discourage problem solving.

PRAISE AS A CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TOOL

Teachers of young children are especially likely to try to use praise as a way to manage individuals or groups of children. A statement such as "I like the way Johnny is sitting," is often aimed not only at Johnny's behavior but also at nudging children in the group to conform. Teachers of older students would never get away with such control techniques. Even young children who may not be able to articulate their frustration with such blatant manipulation may show their resentment by defiantly refusing to conform or by imitating the "misbehaving" child. Kounin (1970) did extensive observations in kindergarten classrooms in order to gain insight into effective management practices. He found that smoothness and maintenance of the momentum of classroom instruction and activities were the most powerful variables in controlling deviant behavior and maintaining student attention. Praise did not contribute to effective classroom management. PRAISE VERSUS ENCOURAGEMENT

Research does indicate that there are effective ways to praise students. The terms "effective praise" and "encouragement" are often used by researchers and other professionals to describe the same approach. In this paper, we will refer to both as "encouragement." To praise is "to commend the worth of or to express approval or admiration" (Brophy, 1981, p.5). Dreikurs and others (1982) say that praise is usually given to a child when a task or deed is completed or is well done. Encouragement, on the other hand, refers to a positive acknowledgment response that focuses on student efforts or specific attributes of work completed. Unlike praise, encouragement does not place judgment on student work or give information regarding its value or implications of student status. Statements such as "You draw beautifully, Marc," or "Terrific job, Stephanie," are examples of praise. They are nonspecific, place a judgment on the student, and give some indication of the student's status in the group. Encouragement, on the other hand: *Offers specific feedback rather than general comments. For example, instead of saying, "Terrific job," teachers can comment on specific behaviors that they wish to acknowledge. *Is teacher-initiated and private. Privacy increases the potential for an honest exchange of ideas and an opportunity for the student to talk about his or her work. *Focuses on improvement and efforts rather than evaluation of a finished product. *Uses sincere, direct comments delivered with a natural voice. *Does not set students up for failure. Labels such as "nice" or "terrific" set students up for failure because they cannot always be "nice" or "terrific". *Helps students develop an appreciation of their behaviors and achievements. *Avoids competition or comparisons with others. *Works toward self-satisfaction from a task or product. Children have an intrinsic desire to learn. Ineffective praise can stifle students' natural curiosity and desire to learn by focusing their attention on extrinsic rewards rather than the intrinsic rewards that come from the task itself (Brophy, 1981). This kind of praise replaces a desire to learn with blind conformity, a mechanical work style, or even open defiance. On the other hand, teachers who encourage students create an environment in which students do not have to fear continuous evaluation, where they can make mistakes and learn from them, and where they do not always need to strive to meet someone else's standard of excellence. Most students thrive in encouraging environments where they receive specific feedback and have the opportunity to evaluate their own behavior and work. Encouragement fosters autonomy, positive self- esteem, a willingness to explore, and acceptance of self and others. FOR MORE INFORMATION

Brophy, J.E. "Teacher Praise: A Functional Analysis." REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 51(1) (1981): 5-32. Dreikurs, R., Greenwald, B., and Pepper, F. MAINTAINING SANITY IN THE CLASSROOM: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES. New York: Harper & Row, 1982. Esler, W.K. A REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON TEACHING. Paper presented at the Convention of the Association of Teacher Educators, Orlando, Florida, 1983. Green, D., and Lepper, M.R. "How to Turn Play Into Work." PSYCHOLOGY TODAY 8(4) (1974): 49-54. Kounin, J. DISCIPLINE AND GROUP MANAGEMENT IN CLASSROOMS. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970. Martin, D.L. "Your Praise Can Smother Learning." LEARNING 5(6) (1977): 43-51. Meyer, W. "Informational Value of Evaluative Behavior: Influences of Social Reinforcement on Achievement." JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 71(2) (1979): 259-268. Rowe, M.B. "Relation of Wait-Time and Rewards to the Development of Language, Logic and Fate Control: Part II--Rewards." JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING 11(4) (1974): 291-308. Stringer, B.R., and Hurt, H.T. TO PRAISE OR NOT TO PRAISE: FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE UTILIZING PRAISE AS A REINFORCING DEVICE IN THE CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION PROCESS. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Speech Communications Association, Austin, Texas, 1981.

For Families > Keeping Kids Healthy > Raising Healthy Kids Can you praise your child too much? by Alexandra L. Barzvi, Ph.D. and Anita Gurian, Ph.D.

An interview with Alexandra Barzvi, Ph.D., Clinical Director, Institute for Anxiety and Mood Disorders at the NYU Child Study Center conducted by Anita Gurian, Ph.D., Executive Editor, AboutOurKids.org

Q: Many parents, believing that praise helps build a child's self- esteem, constantly praise their children. Isn't this a good thing? Isn't praise better than criticism?

A: Praise is certainly good for children, but some kinds of praise are better than others. Too much unspecific praise, or overpraise, can become meaningless. Some parents throw out praises all the time, but unless they're specific they get lost. Praise that's too general, like "you're such a good child" that's not connected with a specific behavior, doesn't mean much. Too much praise can backfire; it doesn't allow the child to experience failure and to learn some ways to deal with it. We don't want to rescue children from normal life challenges.

Q: Do kids know the difference between different kinds of praise?

A: They certainly do. By age 7, kids can distinguish between general praise and specific praise. They know when they haven't earned the praise. A child should know exactly what he/she did to earn the praise.

Q: If constant praise isn't good for a child, are there certain ways to praise a child that are more helpful?

A: Praise can be a teaching tool. The point of specific praise is to be descriptive and concrete so kids learn how to change their behavior.

Q: What are some examples of specific and descriptive praise? How does this work in real life?

A: Here are some examples: If you want to help your child straighten out his room, catch him when he's doing something good like picking up toys which have been spread out all over the floor, and praise that act specifically with "I like the way your put your toys back on the shelves" or "You did a great job putting your toys back." If a child completes a hard puzzle, you might say "I like the way you kept trying to get the pieces in the right place." In that way you're praising a specific act, and you're praising the effort, not the outcome. That's an important point to remember.

Here's another example: When you're talking about academic work, remember, don't connect praise to the outcome. Rather than praise the A on a test with something like "You're so smart," praise the effort. "You really studied hard for that test." Praise something over which the child has control—focusing, paying attention, sharing, working hard, etc. Children who are constantly praised for being smart tend to avoid challenges because they think they may fail. A child who is praised for effort or other qualities over which s/he has control will gain self- confidence. Disciplining Teenagers - Seven Principles of Behavioral Psychology October 21, 2008 by

Mar Mar Recommend (10 ) Single page Font Size Read comments (1) Principle Four: Success is it's own reward. Success is an intrinsic motivator. As you extend appropriate freedoms and privileges to your teen, you allow lots of opportunity for success. Make a big deal out of the success. For example, give your teen a cell phone with

limited minutes, no text messaging or special features. When she stays within her minutes, reward her by adding more minutes and features.

Principle Five: Our choices reflect our maturity. Healthy decisions demonstrate increasing maturity and should be rewarded with commensurate privileges and freedom. Immature decisions indicate a need for more parental control. This is a logical consequence. Here's an example. Your teens curfew is 11pm. He wants to extend his curfew for Homecoming, to 12:30pm. If he strolls in at 1am, he's showing that he isn't ready for an extended curfew. Calmly inform him that his new curfew is 10pm next week. You aren't punishing, you are simply meeting her developmental needs.

Principle Six: Praise is a great reward, if it follows what I call 3S: Sensible, Sincere and Specific. Praise can be very demeaning if it's smarmy, patronizing or vague. Tell your teenager specifically what you like about his actions. Use words like, 'I admire', 'I'm proud' 'That's so cool how you...' Don't give backhanded praise: correction phrased as praise. Our 16 year old recently broke up with his girlfriend. It was not easy and he really handled it very well. We encouraged him to trust his instincts. We told him that we respected the compassion he demonstrated.

Principle Seven: Rewards are individual. What rewards one person might be a punishment to another. Know your teen. What does she like? What are her interests? What does she dislike? Base your rewards on this.

Basically, it's important to take your teens where they are. Love them intensely through their complicated years. Stay connected. It's way more than worth it.