Behavior Specific Praise

When used with fidelity and at high rates, praise can be an excellent tool for teachers in the classroom. Although praising students for their positive behavior is good, being specific about the behaviors teachers want to see more of, has shown to be even more effective (Thompson, Marchant, Anderson, Prater, & Gibb, 2012). One way a teacher can extend the use of positive reinforcement in the classroom is to implement Behavior Specific Praise (BSP). BSP is an evidenced-based strategy in which the teacher delivers detailed praise statements that explicitly describe the specific positive behavior that the student demonstrated (Gage, MacSuga-Gage, & Crews, 2017). By doing this, teachers are able to let students know what they did correctly (Thompson et al., 2012). For example, instead of saying, “good job,” a teacher may say, “good job waiting for your turn in line” or, instead of saying, “nice working,” a teacher may say, “I really like how you are taking turns with your partner.” BSP has been shown to increase on-task behavior, compliance, task completion, and even correct academic responses in class (Allday et al., 2012). It is most effective when the statements are specific, contingent upon student behavior, and delivered frequently (Duchaine et al., 2011).