Praising change is all about positively reinforcing the changes our learners make, as individuals, groups or as a whole class.

The great benefit of praising change is that it provides the learner or learners who have made the change with a clear indication that we think this alteration is a good thing.

This encourages them to sustain the change.

Here are three examples of how it can work.

Example One

A learner begins the year struggling to meet our expectations.

They frequently challenge the rules we lay down and look for ways to transgress or undermine the norms we want to foster as part of our classroom culture.

As a result of this, we apply negative sanctions to demonstrate to the learner the consequences of their actions.

After a few months of hard work, the learner’s behaviour improves.

At this point, praise from us centring on the positive changes the learner has made can have a major impact.

It shows the learner we have noticed the effort they have put into altering their behaviour and that we are acknowledging this and reinforcing it in a positive manner.

Example Two

A group of learners fail to meet our expectations during the first half of a group work activity.

We go over and speak to them, explaining how disappointed we are and reaffirming what we expect from them, why we expect this, and what the consequences will be if this is not forthcoming (most likely, that they will not be allowed to work together again).

Five minutes later we return to the group and find their behaviour much improved.

Praising this change means we are praising the conscious decision members of the group have taken to follow our instructions and alter their behaviour for the better.

Decision-making of this type is something we want to promote and reinforce.

Praise can help us to do this.

Example Three

We set a learner a target that will help them to improve the quality of their work.

This target involves the learner in question changing a major part of their approach.

For example, we might ask a learner doing football in PE to look up before they receive the ball and to do this every time someone passes to them, even though they have never previously done it.

Making such a change is tricky.

It takes time.

Praising the change the learner makes encourages them, helping them to keep focussed on the important task of applying their target.

In addition, the praise further reinforces the idea that the new behaviour is good, tying together the initial feedback and the tangible results stemming from implementation.

Praising Effort

Making changes usually involves effort.

We can home in on this with our praise.

Doing so helps build rapport and foster positive relationships with learners.

Putting in effort is a process.

One that all learners can do, regardless of where they are at, what they know, or how highly they are achieving.

It is effort that underpins success, and effort that is an absolute prerequisite for sustained success.

When praising effort, it is good to draw learners’ attention to what you are doing and to make clear the link between effort and success.

Doing this helps learners to see why effort matters, and to realise that putting in effort tends to lead to good outcomes.

Some teachers and schools like to make a virtue out of effort by giving and recording specific effort grades.

For example, a school might choose to include effort grades on reports, or to make these available electronically to parents three times a year.

Such systems can be very effective.

Whether they suit your style of teaching and behaviour management is another question.

If they do, I encourage you to follow this approach.

You can habituate your learners into seeing effort as important by raising its status through the provision of effort grades.

If you do not have an affinity with this approach, take a more qualitative line.

This involves effort becoming a regular focus of the verbal and written praise you provide, as well as the basis for role models you identify and changes you ask learners to make.

Choose the approach that works for you – both have their benefits.

If you identify and keep to an approach that suits, your learners will reap the rewards.