Happy October! I hope your school year has been productive and that you know you are making a difference with your students.
This month, we'll take a look at positive reinforcement in the classroom. How can we effectively praise students? What are other ways we can reinforce positive behavior in the classroom?
If you haven't seen my newest book, Rigor for Students with Special Needs, take a look at a brand new review of the book. You can order a copy here with a 20% discount (use code IRK95).
Finally, for those of you asking where you can see me, I'm doing a four-part webinar starting October 30. You can find more information here. Have a great month!
Barbara
Effective Praise
The most visible shift you can make in your classroom is to increase the amount of praise you use with students. However, this doesn't mean to make random comments. I was in one classroom where the teacher said, "Good job!" every three seconds. Her students rolled their eyes and made faces each time. Saying good things just to say them is like doing 50 practice problems just so you can say you did them. The kids see right through you. There's a huge difference between mere catch phrases and true praise. True praise is:
P Personally meaningful
R Respectful of the individual
A Authentic
I Immediate
S Specific
E Encouraging comments.
Principal's Perspective
How do you positively reinforce student progress? Many schools have honor rolls, which celebrate achievement. I recommend that you add a Principal's Progress roll, which recognizes any student who makes progress. The ideal would be that each student in your school in on the progress roll.
