Behavior-Specific Praise: Letting Students Know Exactly What They Did When You Reinforce Them

Behavior-Specific Praise Defined

Behavior-specific praise refers to the practice where the teacher recognizes the student for engaging in appropriate behavior and tells the students exactly what the behavior was that the teacher liked. Positive attention is most effective when it is immediate and when it is specific. Statements like, “Thank you for raising your hand,” “You were a big help to Donny with his math problem,” and “Thank you for walking in the hall” are behavior-specific praise statements.

Comments such as, “Way to go,” “Good job,” or “Nice” are generalized praise statements that can leave the student wondering what he or ...