Classroom SystemsSchool-wide PBIS

Positive Acknowledgement Ratio

Chris Borgmeier, PhDPortland State Universitycborgmei@pdx.edu www.pbisclassroomsystems.pbworks.com

PBIS Classroom System:Next Steps

1) Brief presentation of practice

2) Time to individualize practice to fit your classroom, context & needs

3) Brief presentation of Reminders & Supports to use your practice

4) Time to develop an individualized Plan for Support

Follow Along in the 4 to 1 Ratio Guide

Definitions of Acknowledgement of Positive & Problem Behavior

 Acknowledgment: responding to student behavior (verbal or gesture) in a way that provides attention for positive/desired behavior or problem/non-desired behavior.

The focus of the acknowledgement determines whether it is a positive (response to desired behavior) or problem acknowledgement (response to non-desired behavior), while the tone and verbage should always maintain respect for the individual, the determining factor is the type (desired v. non-desired) of the behavior being acknowledged.

Why Acknowledge Desired Behavior?

Reinforce the teaching of new behaviors

Behavior is likely to become a habit and recur in the future only if demonstrating it has been beneficial

Harness the influence of kids who are showing expected behaviors to encourage the kids who are not

Strengthen positive behaviors that can compete with problem behavior

Improve school climate

Create positive interactions and rapport with students

Why Increase Positive Acknowledgements?

After withdrawing praise from a classroom, off-task behavior increased from 8.7% to 25.5%

When the rate of criticism was increased, off-task behavior increased from 25.5% to 31.2% with over 50% off-task behavior on some days

In classes where teachers provided less than 65% positive statements, the percentage of students reporting that they like school decreased over the course of the school year

In classes where teachers provided more than 70% positive statements, students reporting that they like school remained high across the school year

• BECKER, ENGLEMAN, & THOMAS, 1975

5:1 Ratio

Pay attention to What you Want to See

Acknowledge positive behavior 5 times more often that you respond to negative behavior

Keep it genuine; not the same for all kids

Negative interactions are not wrong and are sometimes necessary; the key is the ratio

There is a ceiling effect at 13 to 1 – but we are at very little risk of achieving this in schools; more often we are at 1:1 or even more negatives than positives

5:1 ratio, it’s not just for kids

Business teams High Performance teams = 5.6 to 1 Medium Performance teams = 1.9:1 Low Performance teams = 1 to 2.7

Losada, 1999; Losada & Heaphy 2004

Married couples that last 5.1 to for speech acts and 4.7 to 1 for observed

emotions Gottman, 1994

Gottman Study: 5 to 1 Ratio

predicted whether 700 newlywed couples would stay together or divorce by scoring their positive and negative interactions in one 15-minute conversation between each husband and wife. Ten years later, the follow-up revealed that they had predicted divorce with 94% accuracy.

Marriages that last: 5.1 to 1 for speech acts and 4.7 to 1 for observed

emotions Marriages likely to end in divorce:

1 (+) to1.3 (-) ratio likely to end up in divorce

Non-contingent Attention

Provides time and attention that is not tied to performance

Fulfills the need to be noticed and valuedBenefits

Student teacher rapport Positive role-model for social interaction Improved climate overall

Greeting, show interest, invite questions, interest conversations, provides opportunity to relate to all students – even those with challenging behavior

Positive Interactions

Positive interactions can be provided in a variety of ways:

verbal praise positive feedback re: appropriate behavior

nonverbal acknowledgement smiling, nodding, winking

non-contingent attention welcoming, greeting, asking if assistance is needed

Research on Praise & Acknowledging Positive Behavior

Praise has the strongest research, with increases shown in:

Students’ correct responsesWork productivity and accuracyAcademic performanceOn-task behavior and attentionCompliance, positive comments about

self Cooperative play

Simonsen, Fairbanks, Briesch, Myers, & Sugai, 2008

Critical Features of Acknowledgement

Acknowledgment of Positive Behavior (praise) is most effective if it is immediate, specific, sincere, varied, student referenced Immediate Specific: explicitly describes the desired behavior

performed Sincere: credible and authentic Varied: varied word choice, varied academic and

behavior praise, whole group, small group and individual Student referenced: compares student performance to

previous performance and does not compare students to others; acknowledge effort 

Positive Acknowledgement/ Praise examples

 “Excellent job listening and following directions the first time.”

“Your eyes are on me and your mouth is quiet. Thank you for being ready to learn.”

“Wow, you completed your math work correctly before the end of class.”

When Acknowledging Positive Behavior

Identify the specific behavior being acknowledged

Link the behavior to one of the SW-Rules

GOOD EXAMPLE “Wow, thank you for helping to clean up the spill,

that was very Responsible of you”

NOT AS GOOD “Thank you, good job!”

Procedural Steps for increasing Positive Acknowledgement Ratio

1) Identify challenging times, routines and behaviors that occur throughout the day

2) Identify desired behaviors to focus on praising, particularly during challenging times

3) Identify a range of phrases, gestures, methods for acknowledging targeted desired behaviors, particularly identify ways to replace corrections with acknowledgement of proximal peers for desired behavior

4) Monitor for desired behaviors & acknowledge individuals or group of students immediately following desired behavior

5) Implement personal prompts and monitoring to encourage replacement of corrections with acknowledgments

Increase positive feedback

ID a specific problem behavior you would like to see less of and define the opposite of this behavior

Teach the expected behavior, ignore the problem behavior and “catch” the students meeting expectations w/ specific positive feedback

Coaching Classroom Management, 2006

Decrease corrections

Ignore minor misbehavior, if attention seeking in nature; provide positive feedback to students engaged in positive behavior

Ensure students know expectations – teach/re-teach & provide positive feedback

Provide “precorrections” in advance to set up positive behavior

Coaching Classroom Management, 2006

Step 1: Identify Challenges & Positive Acknowledgements

Your Turn

Take a few minutes to Complete Step 1 of the Worksheet

Remember, we’d like to collect a copy of your worksheet at the end of the training today to plan for support

FLIP THE RATIOTrading Negative Acknowledgements for Positive

Your Turn

Take a few minutes to Complete Step 2 of the Worksheet

Share your strategies with a partner

Instruction influences behavior

Environmental management

“…Much teacher praise is reactive to and under the control of student behavior rather than vice versa.” (Brophy, 1981)

Set up Systems to Increase Positive Acknowledgement

Good Behavior Game (whole group contingency) T-chart Teach behavioral expectations Student points for positive behavior following

expectations Teacher gets points for negative behavior

Hand out Acknowledgement Tokens or Tallies for positive behavior

Small Group Contingency

• Pros & Considerations• Promotes team work -- reward is given to all

members of a group.• Uses peer influences to correct inappropriate

behavior• The Team competition can promote higher

interest and participation Can result in conflict within the classroom Individual performance can affect the entire group.

Must teach appropriate, respectful ways to encourage and redirect peer behavior

• Group may not have equal chance for success (may need to change the groups periodically)

Example: Small Group ContingencyMrs. Robinson’s class is divided into 4 groups.

• Example A: Members of the group help earn tokens for their groups. Groups that earn at least 20 tokens by the end of the day compete in the “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” game.

• Example B: The group with the most points gets to be the first dismissed to lunch.

• Example C: The 2 groups receiving the highest number of tokens for the day get a “free homework” pass.

• Less Competitive Alternative: When a group gets to 20 points each member of the group earns 5 extra minutes of break time

ACTIVITY: Discuss Ways to Encourage & Monitor your Ratio

Post a visual reminder to praise students in area viewed frequently

Praise in Pairs: After praising one student, find another student exhibiting similar behavior to praise

Acknowledge creatively – use gestures (thumbs up, OK sign, clapping, nod, high five) tangibles (stickers, stars), points toward whole class or individual reward, calling parent to report student success

MonitoringMove Pennies or paperclips from one pocket to other based

positive & negative acknowledgements Index Card Tearing (long side for positive, short side for

negative)Hash marks on tape on your arm or pant leg

Step 3: Individual Plan for Prompting & Supporting Practice

Your Turn

Take a few minutes to Complete Step 3 of the Worksheet

Make sure to Identify meaningful& feasible supports Identify Personal Strategies for supporting

implementation Develop Peer Strategies for support – you can discuss

with a peer

Team & School-wide SupportsTeam Supports (e.g.

Dept., Grade Level, PLC) Make Classroom

improvement a regular part of meetings and activities

Begin meeting w/ 2 minute check: Check-in, share ideas & give

feedback to: Encourage implementation Check-in, problem solve,

enhance implementation

School-wide Supports Reminder on Morning

announcements Regular review/check-in

at staff meeting Rewards for

implementers Recognize your Buddy Recognize someone you

observed engage in the practice

Daily or weekly implementation checks via email link Put sticker on staff board

to rate implementation

Group Discussion

What school-wide strategies would be helpful for you in supporting your implementation? Regular reminders over announcements? Staff meeting review & sharing? Collect implementation data?

Daily email, survey monkey?

References

Descriptive Readings Brophy, J. (1981). Teacher Praise: A Functional Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 51(1), 5-32. Conroy, M. A., Sutherland, K. S., Snyder, A., Al-Hendawi, M. & Vo, A. (2009). Creating a positive classroom

atmosphere: Teachers’ use of effective praise and feedback. Beyond Behavior, 18(2), pp. 18-26. Gable, R. A., Hester, P. H., Rock, M. L., & Hughes, K. G. (2009). Back to Basics Rules, Praise, Ignoring, and

Reprimands Revisited. [Article]. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(4), 195-205. Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D. & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based practices in

classroom management: Considerations for Research to practice. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(3), pp. 351-380.

Sprick, R., Knight, J., Reinke, W., Skyles, T., & Barnes, L. (2009). Coaching Classroom Management: Strategies and tools for administrators and coaches (2nd ed). Pacific NorthWest Publishing, Eugene, OR.

Research Studies demonstrating outcomes associated with the use of praise to reprimand Becker, W.C., Engelmann, S., & Thomas, D.R. (1975). Teaching 2: Cognitive Learning and Instruction. Chicago: Science

Research Associates. Pfiffner, L. J., Rosen, L. A., & O'Leary, S. G. (1985). The efficacy of an all-positive approach to classroom

management. [Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't]. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18(3), 257-261. Sutherland, K. S., Wehby, J. H., & Copeland, S. R. (2000). Effect of varying rates of behavior-specific praise on

the on-task behavior of students with EBD. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8(1), 2-+.

Relationship between praise, rewards, and intrinsic motivation Akin-Little, K. A., Eckert, T. L., Lovett, B. J., & Little, S. G. (2004). Extrinsic reinforcement in the classroom:

Bribery or best practice. [Article]. School Psychology Review, 33(3), 344-362. Cameron, J., & Pierce, W. D. (1994). Reinforcement, Reward, and Intrinsic Motivation: A meta-analysis.

Review of Educational Research, 64(3), 363-423. Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of

extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627-668.