Positive Descriptive Praise: How Positive Descriptive Praise Effects Classroom Relationships

Giordano, K. (Keri)¹, Garro, A. (Adrienne), Brandwein, D. (David)¹, Calcagno-Davi, B. (Briana)¹, Eastin, S (Shiloh)
¹Kean University

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 10-07-2019, 15:30 - 17:00

Keywords

descriptive praise, complimenting, positive reinforcement, praise, student-teacher relationship, classroom climate, school, child education

Summary

Positive reinforcement has been shown to have beneficial outcomes in student behaviors, and classroom relationships. While most teachers are trained to provide positive reinforcement, studies have shown inconsistency in quality and quantity of reinforcement behaviors (Bayat, 2011; Brophy, 1981; Brunett, 2011; Derevensky, 1997; Muller & Dweck, 1998; Weissbourd, 2009). The current study used positive descriptive praise as a form of daily reinforcement to foster healthy classroom relationships in 2nd through 5th grade students. The intervention aimed to use descriptive praise to strengthen the relationships amongst students and teachers.. Through descriptive praise, the teachers were trained to focus on positive qualities seen within each individual student in the classroom. A total of 80 student and 8 teachers participated, with 7 classrooms being experimental and 1 classroom being the control group. The effects on students were examined through a pre-post testing design. Overall, students in the control group showed significantly worse relationship scores post intervention compared to experimental students. 

Auteurs