Some Common Teaching Mistakes and What To Do Instead William L. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2016

Some Common Teaching Mistakes
 and What To Do Instead

William L. Heward, Ed.D., BCBA-D The Ohio State University Presented for Eldar ABA Studies Tel Aviv, Israel - June 14, 2016

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Major Contributors

Patricia M. Barbetta – Florida International U. Rodney Cavanaugh – SUNY Plattsburgh Theresa A. Grossi – University of Indiana Charles L. Wood - UNC Charlotte

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What’s a teaching mistake?

An action or inaction by teachers that: ★ is committed frequently, ★ is committed at all grade levels, ★ is committed with students of all ages and skill levels, & ★ contributes to poor learning outcomes.

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Each “What To Do Instead” strategy

★ is practical and relatively easy for teachers to use ★ has empirical support for its effectiveness in increasing student achievement.

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Mistake #1: Assuming students are
 learning when they are paying attention.

★ Students may be "on-task" throughout a lesson, but are they really learning? ★ Many lessons are structured such that a student can be perfectly on-task, yet make few, if any, lesson-related responses. ★ Active students learn more than do passive students (i.e., those who are simply "on-task”).

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On-Task Behavior Is Not the Same 
 as Active Student Response

Students are considered "on-task" when they appear to be attending to the task at hand and are not being disruptive. Students are

• ften judged as "on-task" even when they are

not making a lesson-related response.

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Examples of On-task Behavior

Looking at the teacher - Looking at a book Looking at a worksheet - Watching a video Turning pages - Watching a peer respond

On-task behavior is not a bad thing. It's just not as good as ASR

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Definition and Measurement of
 Active Student Response (ASR)

ASR occurs each time a student makes a detectable response to ongoing instruction. The kinds of responses that qualify as ASR are as varied as the kinds of lessons that are taught.

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Examples of Responses Measured
 Active Student Response (ASR)

Words read - Problems solved Facts stated - Sentences written Workbook questions answered Positive comments spoken Molecules analyzed - Artists identified Packages sorted - Scales played Boards cut- Animals classified Etcetera – Etcetera- Etcetera

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Definition and Measurement of
 Active Student Response (ASR)

ASR occurs each time a student makes a detectable response to

• ngoing instruction.

The kinds of responses that qualify as ASR are as varied as the kinds

• f lessons that are taught.

The basic measure of ASR is a count of the number of lesson-related responses.

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ASR or On-Task?

• Ms. Ayvazo praises her 2nd graders

for being such "good workers" and not talking out during independent seatwork. ★ On-task

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ASR or On-Task?

• Mr. Greenbaum allows the students who

finish the most math problems to line up first for recess. ★ ASR

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ASR or On-Task?

If 90% of Mr. Eldar‘s class turns in their work 5 days in a row with at least 85% of the exercises completed, they get to watch a movie on Friday. ★ ASR

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ASR or On-Task?

• Ms. Martinez, our elementary school

principal, gives a daily award to the class that completes the most
 academic worksheets. ★ ASR

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ASR or On-Task?

The students listened attentively as their gym teacher, Ms. Ayvazo, explained and demonstrated the appropriate form for shooting a free throw. ★ On-task

Instead of making Mistake #1:
 Provide each student with lots of ASR during the lesson.

★ This isn’t difficult in 1-to-1 tutoring; the real challenge is when there are more of "them" than there are of "us."

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Instead of making Mistake #1:
 Provide each student with lots of ASR during the lesson.

★ Some methods for increasing ASR during group instruction: ➢ choral responding ➢ response cards ➢ guided notes and structured worksheets ➢ fluency-building activities ➢ classwide peer tutoring

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Choral Responding

CR is appropriate for curriculum content that meets 3 criteria. Each question . .

• 1. has only one correct answer.
• 2. can be answered with a brief response.
• 3. is suitable for fast-paced

presentation.

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How To Do Choral Responding

• 1. Provide clear directions: Tell students

the type of response(s) desired and model

• ne or two trials. For example: "Listen.

Get ready to tell me the number of hydrogen atoms in a molecule of glucose." [pause, give response cue] "Twelve.”

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How To Do Choral Responding

• 2. Provide a “thinking pause” if needed:

Let the complexity of the question/ problem and students' relative level of mastery determine length of pause.

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How To Do Choral Responding

• 3. Give a clear signal for students to

respond: For example, "Class.", "How many?", a hand or arm movement). If the thinking pause is longer than a few seconds, give a ”Get ready" signal.

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How To Do Choral Responding

4. Provide feedback for the "majority" response:

➢ When only correct answers are heard: (1) confirm and praise correct responses (e.g., "Yes!/All right!” “You got it.” “Great!”), and (2) immediately present the next question, item, or problem. ➢ One or two incorrect answers: (1) state correct answer (e.g., "Yes, there are 12 hydrogen atoms in a molecule of glucose.”), and (2) a few trials later present the same item again.

➢More than a few incorrect responses: (1) State correct answer and give brief explanation (with demonstration and/or illustration if relevant), (2) immediately repeat the same question for CR, and (3) return to the same question a few trials later.

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How To Do Choral Responding

• 5. Randomly call on individual students to respond.

Ask the question first, then call an individual student’s name instead of giving the usual signal for everyone to respond. Use this tactic to enable low-achieving students to experience success in front of their peers.

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How To Do Choral Responding

• 6. Maintain a lively pace.

➢ Be prepared. ➢ Praise students for responding properly. ➢ Reinforce student participation: Consider a group contingency for appropriately timed responses and silence.

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WHEN TEACHERS PRESENT CHORAL RESPONDING AT A LIVELY PACE, THEIR STUDENTS . .

emit more responses respond with higher accuracy engage in less off- task and disruptive behavior

Carnine, D. W. (1976). Effects of two teacher presentation rates on off-task behavior, answering correctly, and participation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9, 199-206. Lambert, M. C., Cartledge, G., Lo, Y., & Heward, W. L. (2006). Effects of response cards on disruptive behavior and participation by fourth-grade students during math lessons in an urban school. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 8, 88-99.

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Use Choral Responding in Different Parts

• f the Class Period and School Day

➢ Lesson warm-ups/Review of previous lessons ➢ Intersperse CR trials within a lecture/lesson ➢ End-of-lesson review ➢ Transitions

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Have Fun with Choral Responding

➢ Students as Teachers ➢ Speed-up/Slow-down ➢ Match My Voice ➢ Simon Says ➢ Back and Forth Counting ➢ Group Contingencies/Rewards for CR Performance ➢ Teacher-Student Game ➢ Hot Potato/Around the World

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Handout: Choral Responding

Heward, W. L., & Wood, C. (2015). Improving educational outcomes in America: Can a low-tech, generic teaching practice make a difference? Oakland, CA: Wing Institute for Evidence Based Practice. Available at, http://www.winginstitute.org/uploadedFiles/News_And_Events/Summits/ 2013WingSummitWH.pdf

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Cards, signs, or other items that students hold up to display their responses to questions or problems presented by the teacher.

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Two Basic Kinds

★ Pre-printed Response Cards - Students selects from a personal set of cards the card with the answer he or she wishes to display. ★ Write-on Response Cards - Students mark

• r write their answers to each question or

problem on blank cards or boards which are erased between learning trials.

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Advantages of Pre-printed RC

★ Provide the highest rates of ASR. ★ Students can build repertoires with few errors by beginning with 2 cards and adding more. ★ Easy for the teacher to see. ★ Students can learn by watching others.

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Limitations of Pre-printed RC

★ Limited to the responses printed on the cards. ★ Limited to recognition tasks. ★ Not appropriate for lessons with a large number of different concepts/answers.

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Advantages of Write-on RC

★ Flexibility: multiple correct answers and creative responses are possible. ★ Require a recall response, rather than simpler recognition-type discrimination. ★ Spelling can be incorporated into the lesson. ★ Students can learn by watching others.

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Limitations of Write-on RC

★ Lower ASR rate compared to pre-printed RC because students must write and erase answers. ★ Error rates may be higher than with pre- printed RC. ★ Variations in students' writing can make some responses difficult to see.

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Comparing RC to Hand Raising: 4th-Grade Social Studies

Narayan, J. S., Heward, W. L., Gardner, III, R. Courson, F. H., & Omness, C. (1990). Using response cards to increase student participation in an elementary classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 483-490.

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Results

✓ Number of student responses per 20-minute lesson (ASR): ➢HR = <2 responses per student ➢RC = ~30 responses per student ✓ Using RC 20 minutes per day over a 36-week school year: more than 5,000 additional active responses per student. ✓ Mean score on 10-item same-day quizzes: ➢ HR = 6.9 (69% or D+ or C-) ➢ RC = 8.0 (80% or B-)

Narayan, J. S., Heward, W. L., Gardner, III, R. Courson, F. H., & Omness, C. (1990). Using response cards to increase student participation in an elementary classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 483-490.

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Results

✓ 19 of the 20 students in the class scored higher on quizzes following lessons taught with RC than they did on quizzes after HR lessons. ✓ Students prefered RC over HR

Narayan, J. S., Heward, W. L., Gardner, III, R. Courson, F. H., & Omness, C. (1990). Using response cards to increase student participation in an elementary classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 483-490.

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RC in Secondary Earth Science

✶ large suburban high school ✶ 32 students enrolled in two Earth science

classes

✶ 7 students with disabilities in each class ✶ classes co-taught by science teacher &

special education teacher

Reynolds, C.M. (2003). Opportunities to respond through the use of response cards. Master’s thesis, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY.

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RC in Secondary Earth Science

Student comments:

✶Wow, I’m actually getting smarter! ✶These things are more fun than what we did the

first part of the year, plus my grades are better.

✶I feel more confident. ✶They are helping me remember more. ✶I’m a believer.

Reynolds, C.M. (2003). Opportunities to respond through the use of response cards. Master’s thesis, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY.

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Suggestions for Using RC

★ Model several learning trials and provide students with practice using them. ★ Maintain a lively pace during lesson (keep intertrial intervals short). ★ Provide a clear and consistent cue for students to hold up and put down their cards.

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Suggestions for Using RC

★ If a question/problem results in too many errors, repeat it in a few trials. ★ Remember that students can benefit and learn from peers’ responses. Don't let students think that looking at classmates' response cards is cheating.

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Using Pre-printed RC

★ Make the cards easy to see (consider size, 
 print type, color codes). ★ Make the cards easy for students to manipulate and display. ★ Put answers on both sides of cards so students can see what they're showing the teacher.

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Using Pre-printed RC

★ Make the cards durable (heavy cardboard, lamination). ★ Start with a small set of cards (perhaps

• nly 2) and gradually add more cards as

students' skills improve.

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Using Write-on RC

★ Limit length of responses (e.g., 2-3 words). ★ Be sure students do not hesitate to respond because they are concerned about spelling; consider using: ➢the "don't worry" procedure, ➢writing new/key/technical terms and words

• n the board, and/or

★ pre-practice.

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Using Write-on RC

★ Students enjoy drawing and doodling on their response cards; allow them to play for a few minutes after a good lesson. ★ Keep a few extra markers on hand.

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Handouts: Response Cards

✓ Everyone participates in this class: Using response cards to increase active student response ✓ How to Get Your Own Set of Write-On Response Cards ✓ Designing a Lesson that Uses Choral Responding and/or Response Cards

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Mistake #2:
 Asking, "Do you understand?"

Students often answer "Yes;" when, if fact, they don’t understand. Because . . ➢teachers smile when students say "Yes.’ ➢they don't want to look bad. Their peers all seem to understand. ➢to avoid aversive consequences (e.g., disappointed looks from the teacher, recommendations to "pay better attention," re-teaching).

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Instead of making Mistake #2: 
 Have students actively respond throughout the lesson.

With frequent ASR throughout a lesson, a teacher never need ask, "Do you understand?” ASR: ★ provides immediate and ongoing feedback

• n students' learning

★ guides instructional changes during the lesson

Do You Understand?

She keeps saying, "Do you understand? Do you understand?" So finally, I say, "Yes, I understand." But I don't--not really. If you tell her you understand, then usually she lets you sit down. Maybe something's wrong with me. Other people seem to understand.

From What If the Teacher Calls on Me? by Alan Gross, 1980, Children's Press, Chicago.

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Instead of making Mistake #2: 
 Have students actively respond throughout the lesson.

Some methods for increasing ASR: ➢ choral responding ➢ response cards ➢ structured worksheets ➢ guided lecture notes ➢ fluency-building activities ➢ classwide peer tutoring

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Structured Worksheets

Structured worksheets (SWS) consist of a series

• f problems/items or a sequence of steps that

each student completes during teacher-led group instruction.

• 1. Unlike worksheets that students complete

independently, SWS are designed so that every student actively responds to a series of teacher-directed learning trials.

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Structured Worksheets

• 2. SWS can be very effective during the

acquisition stage of learning. Because students receive feedback after each response, the likelihood that they will repeat errors is greatly reduced.

• 3. Choral responding and/or response cards can be

used with SWS to give students ASR in addition to their written responses on the SWS.

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Guidelines for Using
 Structured Worksheets

★ Include completed problems/models for students to refer to while responding. Remember, SWS are used primarily in the acquisition stage of learning when students are trying to learn how to do something new. The models and prompts can be withdrawn in subsequent lessons after students begin to respond correctly.

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Guidelines for Using
 Structured Worksheets

★ Have students respond to single items with feedback and self-correction before they attempt a series of items or problems. ★ Build multi-step skills in chain-like fashion. After students have learned to perform the first step with high accuracy, learning trials can be expanded to include the next step, and so on.

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Guided Notes

handouts that "guide”students through a lecture, presentation, or demonstration with background information and visual cues that indicate where to write key facts, points, and relationships

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Rationale for Guided Notes

• 1. Lecturing is one of the most widely used

methods to present academic content to students.

• 2. Successful students take notes.
• 3. Many students do not know how to take

good notes.

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Rationale for Guided Notes

• 4. Some students with disabilities have

language and/or motor skill deficits that make notetaking difficult.

• 5. Teachers sometimes get side-tracked

from main points students need to know.

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Advantages of Guided Notes

★ Students must actively respond to and interact with the lesson's content (i.e., ASR is increased). ★ Because the location and number of key concepts, facts, relationships are highlighted, students are better able to determine if they're "getting it.”

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Advantages of Guided Notes

★ Students produce a standard set of accurate notes for subsequent study. ★ Teachers must prepare the lesson carefully. ★ Teachers are more likely to stay on-task with the lesson.

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The Most Important Advantage

★ Students at all achievement levels earn higher scores on quizzes and tests over curriculum content taught with GN (compared to scores over content taught when the students took their own notes).

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Guidelines for Using Guided Notes

★ Include background information so students' notetaking focuses on important facts, concepts, and relationships. ★ Use consistent visual cues that show where, when, and how many concepts to record. ★ Don't require students to write too much. ★ Make sure the GN include all facts, concepts, and relationships that students are expected to learn.

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Guidelines for Using Guided Notes

★ Make sure the GN include all facts, concepts, and relationships that students are expected to learn. ★ Consider gradually fading out the GN to help students learn how to take good notes on their

• wn.

★ Build in follow-up activities and contingencies for students' completion and study of GN.

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Twelve teachers & were interviewed. Each teacher ranked GNSC RSC as the one they thought could help students learn the most, and ON as the one that could help the least. Teachers’ comments regarding GNSC & RSC: “I love it! It looks very interactive!” “Very hands-on! Great way to study!” 
 (Gen. Ed. 7th Grade Science Teacher) (Middle School Resource Room Teacher) Five parents were interviewed via telephone conversations. Each parent responded favorably to the idea of GNSC. Parents’ comments regarding GNSC & RSC My son told me that his class had a game about words.” “I used the cards to give practice quizzes to [“Oliver”].” One parent mentioned that she helped her daughter every night with her

• homework. She said, “I quizzed her with the paper notes all the time, but when she

had the cards, she said she didn’t need my help. I kept offering to help her, but she said she could do it on her own. I’m glad that she’s gaining independence. That’s been one of our goals this year.”

Teachers’ and Parents’ Opinions

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Mistake #3: Teaching too slowly.

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Conventional Wisdom

➢ Students with disabilities can learn, but they learn more slowly than typical children. ➢ Therefore, instruction should be conducted at a slower pace and the students given extra time to respond.

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Conventional Wisdom Is Flawed

Results from a line of research on pacing shows that slowing down instruction makes things worse, not better.

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WHEN TEACHERS TEACH AT A LIVELY PACE, THEIR STUDENTS . .

emit more responses respond with higher accuracy engage in less off- task and disruptive behavior

Carnine, D. W. (1976). Effects of two teacher presentation rates on off-task behavior, answering correctly, and participation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9, 199-206. Lambert, M. C., Cartledge, G., Lo, Y., & Heward, W. L. (2006). Effects of response cards on disruptive behavior and participation by fourth-grade students during math lessons in an urban school. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 8, 88-99.

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Slow Teacher vs. Fast Teacher:
 Pre-K Children

Slow Teacher – Teacher read lesson script at 35 – 59 WPM with 5-sec inter-trial interval (ITI). Fast Teacher - Teacher read lesson script at 82 – 104 WPM with 1-sec or less ITI.

Tincani, M., Ernsbarger, S., Harrison, T. J., & Heward. W. L. (2005). Effects of two instructional paces on pre-K students' participation rate, accuracy, and off-task behavior in the Language for Learning program. Journal of Direct Instruction, 5, 97-109.

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Instead of making Mistake #3:
 Teach at a lively pace.

1. Simply picking up the pace at which items are presented for student response can generate more ASR.

• 2. When instruction is fast-paced, students

are much less likely to be off-task.

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Teaching at a lively pace
 does not mean . .

➢ Presenting curriculum content in a hurried

• r frantic manner

➢ rushing students in terms of the time they are given to respond ➢ rushing or eliminating feedback to students.

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A rapid presentation pace means teaching with short intertrial intervals.

Reducing intertrial intervals ITI’s is one

• f the easiest and most effective ways to

improve instructional pacing.

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A rapid presentation pace means teaching with short intertrial intervals.

Reducing intertrial intervals ITI’s is one

• f the easiest and most effective ways to

improve instructional pacing. Because they mark the spot where many lessons have floundered and been lost, long ITI’s can be called the Bermuda triangle of instruction.

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Instructional Trials During the Acquisition Stage

• f Learning

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Two Other Causes of Slow Teaching

➢ Insufficient preparation. ➢ Time-consuming error correction.

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Five Ways to Increase Your Pace

• 1. Prepare and practice beforehand.
• 2. Develop a system of cues to mark your place

during the lesson, provide needed details, indicate the next step, etc.

• 3. Limit transition times during the lesson.
• 4. Use short intertrial intervals.
• 5. Correct students' errors directly and efficiently.

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Mistake #4: Providing practice on a different skill than students must demonstrate in the future.

In an effort to add variety to instructional activities, teachers often end up providing indirect instruction. Common examples in spelling:

• selecting the correctly spelled word
• finding and circling hidden spelling words
• unscrambling mixed-up words

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Instead of making Mistake #4:
 Be sure students receive lots of ASR on the target skill.

★ Don’t sacrifice direct and repeated practice of the target skill when adding variety to lessons. ★ Include drill and practice exercises.

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Instead of making Mistake #4:
 Be sure students receive lots of ASR on the target skill.

★ Don’t sacrifice direct and repeated practice of the target skill when adding variety to lessons. ★ Include drill and practice exercises.

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Instead of making Mistake #4:
 Be sure students receive lots of ASR on the target skill.

★ Don’t sacrifice direct and repeated practice of the target skill when adding variety to lessons. ★ Include drill and practice exercises. ★ Make sure all instructional activities provide ASR relevant to the lesson’s

• bjective(s).

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Where there’s fire, there is A well-known soft-drink is called a The white of an egg is called the A short, funny story is called a smoke joke coke albumen Oops!! Be sure to check your instructional materials for faulty stimulus control.

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More ASR for hard working students! Let’s test your reading comprehension.

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Mistake #5: Using instructional materials that let students be right for the wrong reason.

➢ Instructional materials should provide meaningful practice with the skill or knowledge they are intended to teach. ➢ Correct responses should indicate student competence with that skill or knowledge. ➢ Some materials "give away" the correct answers; letting the student be "right for the wrong reason."

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Instead of making Mistake #5: Be sure that the instructional materials you assign require students to attend to critical stimuli and to use the target skill.

The stimulus control problems in many materials are easily identified.

• 1. Observe students as they work.
• 2. Use the "blackout technique.”

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The Blackout Technique

Blocking students’ access to the critical portions

• f an instructional material can be used to:

➢ Assess the stimulus control properties of some materials. If correct answers are made with critical content omitted, the student must be responding some other aspect of the materials.

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The Blackout Technique

Blocking students’ access to the critical portions

• f an instructional material can be used to:

➢ Repair the faulty stimulus control in some instructional materials. Removing or replacing elements that give away the answers, requires students to use the skill(s) the materials are intended to teach.

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Mistake #6:Disuse and misuse of contingent teacher praise and approval.

➢ Used skillfully, contingent praise and attention may be the most powerful instructional and classroom management tool available to teachers. ➢ Teacher praise and attention is especially critical for students with learning and behavior problems.

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Teacher Praise: A Scarce Commodity

White (1975) reported the results of a large-scale study

• f 104 teachers in grades 1-12:

➢ Rates of teacher praise decreased with each grade

• level. Secondary teachers praised students at

extremely low rates. ➢ In every grade after second, the rate of teacher disapproval exceeded the rate of teacher verbal approval.

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Some Reasons for Low-Rates of Teacher Praise in the Classroom

★ Teachers worry that students will expect to be praised and students should learn for "intrinsic" reasons. ★ Some teachers feel praising students takes too much time away from teaching. ★ It's not natural to praise; students will think its not genuine. ★ Today’s teachers hear frequently that it’s wrong, even harmful, to praise their students’ accomplishments.

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Five Reasons to Stop
 Saying "Good Job!” by Alfie Kohn*

Kohn contends that praise from teachers and parents:

• 1. manipulates children,
• 2. creates praise junkies,
• 3. steals a child’s pleasure,
• 4. causes child to lose interest, and
• 5. reduces achievement.

* Published in Young Children (Sept. 2001) and in Parents Magazine (May 2000)

under the title "Hooked on Praise."

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Instead of making Mistake #6: Praise your students' good academic and social behavior and do it often!

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• 1. Don't worry about over-praising.

➢ Always be on the lookout for student behavior worthy of praise. ➢ Better yet, arrange opportunities for students to earn praise.

Instead of making Mistake #6: Praise your students' good academic and social behavior and do it often!

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• W. L. Heward - 2016

Improving My Praising Skills

1. Don't worry about over-praising. Always be on the lookout for student behavior worthy of praise. 2. Make a list of praise statements. Write 5 positive things you can say to students in an attempt to reinforce their achievements and performance improvements.

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2016

Improving My Praising Skills

• 1. Don't worry about over-praising.
• 2. Make a list of praise statements. Write 5 positive

things you can say to students.

• 3. Be specific with your praise. Tell students precisely

why you're so pleased.

➡ Very good Traci. Two quarters equal 50 cents. ➡ Chris, I am delighted with your improved work habits. You answered every problem and showed all of your work. ➡ Wow, Shari! 128 words in 1 minute! You just achieved a new personal best!

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2016

Improving My Praising Skills

• 1. Don't worry about over-praising.
• 2. Make a list of praise statements. Write 5 positive

things you can say to students.

• 3. Be specific with your praise. Tell students precisely

why you're so pleased.

• 4. Practice praising. Don't worry if you sound a bit

wooden at first. You'll get better with more ASR!

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2016

Improving My Praising Skills

1. Don't worry about over-praising. 2. Make a list of praise statements. Write 5 positive things you can say to students. 3. Be specific with your praise. Tell students precisely why you're so pleased. 4. Practice praising. Don't worry if you sound a bit wooden at first. You'll get better with more ASR! 5. Remind and reward yourself for praising more often: ➢ play tones on a variable interval schedule to remind you to praise ➢ have a student or paraprofessional record your praise comments ➢ self-record your praise comments

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2016

Improving My Praising Skills

1. Don't worry about over-praising. 2. Make a list of praise statements. Write 5 positive things you can say to students. 3. Be specific with your praise. Tell students precisely why you're so pleased. 4. Practice praising. Don't worry if you sound a bit wooden at

• first. You'll get better with more ASR!

5. Remind and reward yourself for praising more often. 6. Graph your praise and evaluate your progress over time.

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2015

How Self-Management Helped Me Learn To Do a Better Job of Saying “Good Job” 


by Charles L. Wood

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2015

A Better Job of Saying, “Good Job”

When I first began teaching I frequently used general 
 praise statements such as “Great work!” and “Nice job!” Although well intended, this type of praise did not specifically describe my students’ behavior. In other words, students may not know which behavior or aspect of their performance received praise. Statements such as “That’s neat printing!” and “Good following along in the book!” gave my students 
 feedback on specific behaviors.

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2015

Students, Setting, & Materials

Students/Setting Five students, ages 9-10, in a self-contained special education classroom. Three students were identified as Learning Disabled. Two students were identified as Educable Mentally Impaired. Students sat at a horseshoe-shaped table during daily Direct Instruction reading lessons of 25 –30 min. Materials SRA’s Reading Mastery Fast Cycle teacher presentation books, storybooks, take-home workbooks, pencils, and a tape recorder.

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2015

Procedures

Target Behaviors 
 Non-specific praise positive statements that did not describe a specific behavior. Examples: “Good job!” and “Way to go!” Specific praise statements that described students’ specific behaviors in a positive way. Examples: “Good sounding out that word!” and “Wow! That’s neat handwriting!” Baseline I tape recorded reading lessons for 10 days. At the end

• f each school day, I listened to the tape and recorded the

number of non-specific and specific praise statements I said during the lesson.

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2015

Procedures

• 1. Self-Management I used the data gathered during baseline

to determine an appropriate target goal for increasing my use

• f specific praise.

I drew 30 smiley faces faces at random places throughout each lesson of my presentation book. The smiley faces served as prompts to give specific praise. I continued to tape-record and listen to my lessons, count and graph the number of specific and non-specific praise statements, and evaluate my progress each day.

6 Teaching Mistakes

• W. L. Heward - 2015

Recommendations for Increasing Specific Praise

Put smiley faces or similar prompts throughout your lesson plan book and in other places where you frequently look.
 
 Tape-record your lessons.
 Review the tape later in
 the day and count the 
 frequency of specific praise. 
 
 Graph your results so that
 you can evaluate your
 progress over time.