798587

research-article2018
BBXXXX10.1177/1074295618798587Beyond BehaviorEnnis et al.

Special Series: Effective Low-Intensity Strategies to Enhance School Success

Beyond Behavior

Behavior-Specific Praise: An Effective,

2018, Vol. 27(3) 134­–139
© Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
Efficient, Low-Intensity Strategy to sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1074295618798587
https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295618798587

Support Student Success journals.sagepub.com/home/bbx

Robin Parks Ennis, PhD, BCBA-D1, David James Royer, PhD2,

Kathleen Lynne Lane, PhD, BCBA-D3, Holly M. Menzies, PhD4 ,
Wendy Peia Oakes, PhD5, and Liane Elizabeth Schellman, MEd6

Abstract
Behavior-specific praise (BSP) is a low-intensity strategy that can be used to reinforce appropriate responding in the
classroom. BSP occurs when a teacher observes particular student behavior and compliments the student for the
appropriate response with the intent that students will continue to engage in the appropriate behavior. In this article, we
describe a step-by-step process for using BSP in classrooms with all students, including those at risk for emotional and
behavioral disorders.

Keywords
behavior-specific praise, BSP, low-intensity strategies, positive behavioral supports, Ci3T, management, School/classroom

Providing feedback on student academic performance is Behavior-Specific Praise (BSP): A

an essential part of the learning process and something Definition
teachers do throughout every day. Unfortunately, the
same cannot be said for providing feedback for social Praise can be classified into two broad categories, general
behaviors. Remember the old adage, “The squeaky wheel and behavior specific. General praise involves using brief
gets the grease?” This saying certainly applies to class- statements of ambiguous recognition, such as “Good job,
room behavior. Teachers have many responsibilities Elizabeth,” “Way to go,” or “Nice work, Jon.” Although
including lesson planning, preparing materials, managing general praise can certainly have benefits, it does not always
behavior, clerical tasks, and, of course, teaching. This clearly communicate why the student has been acknowl-
may make it challenging to remember to provide feed- edged. BSP involves adding a specific behavioral descrip-
back for appropriate (correct) social behaviors because it tion to clarify the observed behaviors teachers are
does not seem as necessary when things are going well or acknowledging and, likely, hoping to occur more often in
when the day is exceptionally busy. Yet, when a student the classroom. Example BSP statements include, “Class,
displays inappropriate behavior or does not meet expecta- good job entering the classroom quietly and beginning your
tions, he or she quickly receives the teacher’s attention, work,” “I love how you are sharing your markers with your
time, and corrective feedback. table mates, Lauren. Way to go!” or “Hunter, nice work
Acknowledging appropriate behavior is one way to com- being respectful by raising your hand and waiting to be
municate to students which academic and social behaviors called upon.” These examples demonstrate how BSP is
are desirable. One of the easiest ways to do this is to provide more detailed compared with general praise and provides
praise contingent on appropriate responding in the class-
1
room. Although a specific type of feedback, praise has the The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
2
added connotation of a more intentional response compared University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA
3
The University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA
with affirming a correct answer (Brophy, 1981). Praise is 4
California State University, Los Angeles, USA
efficient because it can be delivered anywhere, requires 5
Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
only minimal training and preparation, and can be used with 6
Lawrence, KS, USA
students of various age and ability levels, as well as in a
Corresponding Author:
variety of content areas. Praise can be an essential ingredi- Robin Parks Ennis, The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
ent to improving student-teacher relationships and a class or 1720 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
school climate. Email: [email protected]
Ennis et al. 135

students with feedback on aspects of their performance. practice to be evidence based. An encouraging finding in
This explicit praise has the potential to serve as both a form the literature on BSP was its ease of application in multiple
of positive reinforcement and a teaching tool by communi- grades and settings. Studies yielded positive results both
cating what is expected to both the target praise recipient(s) academically and behaviorally for a range of students with
and other students in the classroom. Alabama elementary and without disabilities, from individuals to small groups to
school special education teacher Tessa Lare describes BSP school-wide.
as integral to her management of classroom expectations: Yet, despite these demonstrated effects of BSP, research
suggests many teachers do not take advantage of praise as a
Lessons Learned readily available classroom strategy. Furthermore, when
praise is used in the classroom, it is more frequently general
I base my behavior-specific praise around my classroom rather than behavior specific (e.g., Jenkins, Floress, &
expectations. My students receive reinforcement for following Reinke, 2015). Understanding how to deliver and use BSP
classroom expectations. I feel that the key to this is letting a in the classroom is another tool teachers can use to improve
child know exactly what they are receiving a reinforcer for.
students’ academic and behavioral performance.
“Rose, you are raising your hand before speaking.” As opposed
to just a “Good job, Rose.” I have seen a tremendous increase
in positive behavior, because my kids know what my Purpose
expectations are and know that they get rewarded for abiding
by those expectations. It is also a chance for them to stand out In the remainder of this article, we describe a step-by-step
in front of peers and have a desire to continue to make the right process for using BSP. For each step, we offer tips to sup-
choice. The key is to focus on the positive instead of the port implementation success based on suggestions from
negative. (Tessa Lare) researchers such as Sanders, Ennis, and Losinski (2018)
who applied it to reading comprehension improvement for
students with emotional and behavioral disorders and
Behavior-Specific Praise: Supporting advice from practitioners such as that offered by Tessa Lare
Evidence (see previous “Lessons Learned” feature).
As teachers intensify their focus on supporting all students’
academic, behavioral, and social successes, using curricula Behavior-Specific Praise: A Step-by-
and strategies with research to support their utility is impor-
Step Process
tant. There have been several studies conducted exploring
how BSP affects a range of students. For example, In this section, we share a step-by-step process for imple-
Hollingshead, Kroeger, Altus, and Trytten (2016) studied the menting BSP in the classroom (Lane, Menzies, Ennis, &
effects of BSP on 31 seventh-grade students’ on-task behavior Oakes, 2015). BSP has a wide range of applications and
in their inclusion social studies class at a public urban high can be used in any setting, but for this article, we focus on
school (Grades 7–12). They found that when BSP was imple- its use in the classroom. For information on how to assess
mented with integrity, class-wide on-task behavior increased treatment integrity, social validity, and student perfor-
substantially. The teacher indicated BSP was easy to imple- mance when using BSP in school settings or as part of
ment and was a relief from her previous approach that research activities, see Lane et al. (2015). Also, free-access
involved reprimanding students. Similar outcomes were also professional learning and implementation materials such as
found when implementing BSP to increase task engagement step-by-step checklists and PowerPoint presentations are
in self-contained and resource classrooms at the elementary available on ci3t.org/pl.
and middle school level (Rathel, Drasgow, Brown, &
Marshall, 2014). Likewise, implementation of BSP has been Step 1: Evaluate Current Rates of General and
successful in increasing children’s on-task behaviors and
reducing aggressive behaviors in three Head Start centers.
Behavior-Specific Praise
Royer, Lane, Dunlap, and Ennis (2018) applied Council Before using a new intervention in the classroom, start by
for Exceptional Children (CEC; 2014) standards for evi- gaining a better understanding of how often the strategy is
dence-based practices with six studies and found teacher- currently in use. Consider identifying a target activity or time
delivered BSP to be a potentially evidence-based practice, of day to collect data on frequency of BSP delivery (e.g.,
citing the need for more methodologically rigorous studies every morning during circle time, during whole-group instruc-
with three or more participants to add to the evidence base. tion, during fifth period). You may also want to look at current
Extending their systematic literature review, Ennis, Royer, rates of general praise statements. There are several feasible
Lane, and Dunlap (2018) applied CEC (2014) quality indi- ways to do this while teaching. To begin, you can invite a
cator standards to 44 studies (in 41 articles) focused on teammate, paraprofessional, or other adult in the building to
coaching educators to increase BSP and determined the observe brief periods of time and collect these data.
136 Beyond Behavior 27(3)

Teaching tips. If you do not have access to another adult, perhaps on the way to work, in the shower, or anytime you
you can still collect these data. One way to do this is to are alone and can think through potential statements.
make a tally mark on a sticky note each time you deliver a
BSP statement. Other options include clicking a golf coun- Teaching tips. BSP delivery should be genuine, and practic-
ter, moving a paperclip from the left pocket to the right, or ing making statements can be one way to find a comfortable
moving a rubber band from one wrist to the other after each way to deliver BSP smoothly. Regardless of whether praise
BSP occurrence. All of these forms of self-monitoring have comes naturally or not, practicing BSP can assist in finding
been successful in both measuring and increasing teachers’ comfortable statements for delivery as well as a tone that is
BSP delivery (Simonsen, MacSuga, Fallon, & Sugai, 2013). authentic and in keeping with your personality in the class-
room. This step may be particularly useful if the delivery of
praise statements does not come naturally to you. Alabama
Step 2: Identify Behaviors to Reinforce
high school inclusion teacher Megan Wadsworth knows
BSP can be used to reinforce any type of behavior including that BSP works with her students:
academic (e.g., correct responding, using a new strategy,
showing work) and social (e.g., sharing with a friend, enter- Lessons Learned
ing the classroom quietly) behaviors. Step 2 is not meant to
limit which behaviors are reinforced. We simply make this Behavior-specific praise is a strategy that I try to incorporate
suggestion because when we plan to reinforce all appropri- with all of the students that I work with, including typically
developed students and students with disabilities. If I comment
ate behaviors, it is possible we will forget and reinforce
on a specific behavior to one student, such as, “I love the way
none. Having a plan makes it easier to remember to provide
you’re working so hard on your vocabulary,” I have noticed
BSP statements while teaching. This is important for any- that other students hear my positive comments and perform the
one new at delivering BSP as well as those who want to same behavior in hopes to also be praised. Behavior-specific
increase their use of it. Even after using BSP for a long time, praise not only reinforces the student that is being praised but
routinely targeting different behaviors to praise can keep may also reinforce or alter the behavior of other students to
use of BSP novel and prevent satiation. Satiation occurs make appropriate decisions. (Megan Wadsworth)
when the same praise statement is used too frequently. This
can decrease the reinforcing power of the statements (Lane
et al., 2015).
Step 4: Observe Student Behavior
Step 4 is perhaps the easiest activity to accomplish because
Teaching tips. When reinforcing social behaviors, we rec- it is something you do every day. However, observing stu-
ommend using the language of class-wide or school-wide dent behavior through the lens of providing BSP requires
expectations. When recognizing a student has met the class- increased acknowledgment of appropriate behavior and less
room expectation of showing respect while listening to a attention to inappropriate behavior. When possible, ignore
speaker, use a praise statement such as, “Class, thank you minor disruptive behavior and focus on praising students
for showing respect by giving the speaker your full atten- who meet your classroom and/or behavioral expectations.
tion,” or “Thanks to Elizabeth for showing respect while Students will then understand appropriate behavior, not
I’m talking with her eyes on me, still hands, and a closed inappropriate behavior, is what draws attention and will be
book. This helps us to be ready to learn!” Likewise, if a reinforced.
school uses a character education or social skills program,
BSP can be used to acknowledge students who display Teaching tips. Paying more attention to misbehavior may
those behaviors following structured or targeted skill les- inadvertently reinforce the undesired behavior, which could
sons. Also, remember to praise elements in students’ locus lead students to misbehave more often. One way to facili-
of control. In other words, praise effort over ability. tate being in tune with student behavior is to practice active
supervision (e.g., scanning the room, using proximity, inter-
acting with students to encourage appropriate responding),
Step 3: Practice Delivery of BSP
a strategy discussed within this special issue (see Menzies
If you are new to using BSP, consider scripting statements et al., 2018).
to use in the classroom. This provides support as you begin
using or increasing your rate of BSP delivery. It also allows
you to decide whether or not you want to deliver praise
Step 5: Provide BSP
statements to individual students or to the entire class. We Step 5 offers the opportunity to “catch students being good.”
suggest that teachers vary their statements to include both BSP statements should be delivered as soon as appropriate
types. Once you have created a list of BSP statements, you academic and social behavior is observed. The more imme-
should practice delivering them outside the classroom, diate BSP delivery is to the observed behavior, the more
Ennis et al. 137

likely it will reinforce the observed behavior. This immedi- Step 6: Monitor BSP Delivery
acy helps students make the connection between the praise
and their behavior. The behavior-specific nature of the Just as in Step 1, continue monitoring the use of BSP deliv-
statement functions as a teaching tool as it indicates to the ery after completing Steps 2 through 5. The act of monitor-
student, as well as other students in the vicinity, what he or ing BSP serves as a prompt to increase the rate of delivery,
she has done is appropriate and should be done again and in which can be done using an audiocuing or pulse-cuing
the future. Students with disabilities sometimes struggle device. For example, wearing a MotivAider® (http://
with understanding which behaviors are appropriate and habitchange.com) programmed to pulse at set intervals
which are inappropriate, which is why BSP increases the reminds you to observe student behavior and provide BSP
likelihood students will continue to engage in appropriate regularly throughout the school day or during a targeted les-
behaviors as it helps them identify the behaviors they should son or activity. There is research to support the effective use
demonstrate. A lack of awareness may also be true for of MotivAiders and other cuing devices to increase BSP
younger students who are new to the school or classroom, delivery (e.g., Thompson, Marchant, Anderson, Prater, &
who may not have participated in organized educational Gibb, 2012).
activities before, or who have participated in educational
settings where the expectations were different. Teaching tips. Researchers suggest offering instructional
feedback at a rate of four positives to everyone negative
Teaching tips. Students who find teacher attention rein- (4:1 ratio) to effectively promote student success in school
forcing are likely to be highly motivated by BSP. How- (Myers, Simonsen, & Sugai, 2011). In other words, for
ever, be aware that some students do not find public praise every redirection, recognize students for appropriate
reinforcing and would prefer private praise due to personal behavior four times. BSP is an efficient way to meet that
and/or cultural preferences (Houghton, Wheldall, Jukes, goal and monitoring BSP delivery will help increase/sus-
& Sharpe, 1990). Consider students’ preferred praise tain BSP use in the classroom. Remember to meet students
modality. Some students may prefer to receive BSP in pri- where they are. Provide BSP statements based on students’
vate or in writing. Also, if a student does not find teacher present levels of performance (e.g., what we praise as
attention reinforcing, pair BSP with another type of rein- good effort in handwriting may look different in first ver-
forcement. For example, use BSP in conjunction with the sus fifth grade; we may praise one student for staying in
class-wide or school-wide reinforcement system for a stu- his seat for 2 min when we expect others to stay in their
dent who tries to avoid nonpreferred tasks (i.e., is rein- seat for much longer). Alabama middle school self-con-
forced by escaping the task). This could include pairing tained special education teacher Elizabeth Stewart has
BSP with a ticket or token the student can later trade in for used BSP to increase the amount of positive attention pro-
a homework pass, break card, or other reinforcer that vided her students:
allows the student to avoid the task or activity that he or
Lessons Learned
she does not enjoy. BSP functions as an effective teaching
strategy to communicate to students that appropriate
As a middle school teacher of students with moderate to severe
behavior will allow them to access their preferred rein- disabilities, behavior-specific praise has been critical to the
forcement. Alabama behavior specialist and former pre- behavioral success of many of my students. In my experience,
school teacher Penney Patterson Owens uses BSP to foster verbal BSP gives positive attention to the student and reinforces
a positive learning environment: the desired behavior while also giving a regular reminder of my
expectations. In addition, I’ve found that peers hearing
Lessons Learned individual verbal BSP inherently desire the same feedback,
which results in an increase of positive behavior overall.
Behavior-specific praise was a strategy I utilized daily in my (Elizabeth Stewart)
classroom and trained the paraprofessionals in my classroom
to use as well. It was a very easy way to praise my students,
provide positive feedback, and increase the likelihood the Step 7. Seek Student Input
student would engage in that good behavior again. Behavior- An essential step in any strategy is to seek student input on
specific praise also helped me cultivate a positive environment its goals, procedures, and outcomes. This can be done
in my classroom and allowed my students to gain knowledge
through an informal conversation with the class, individu-
about expectations just by hearing me praise peers. When I
used this strategy regularly it became a powerful tool to
als, small groups, or using written surveys.
reinforce good behavior that required no preplanning, no
additional resources, and no extra time. As a busy teacher, Teaching tips. A questionnaire to get student perspectives
that made this strategy invaluable to me! (Penney Patterson on BSP is available at ci3t.org/pl. Another option would
Owens) be to develop a few questions to ask students to respond
138 Beyond Behavior 27(3)

Figure 1. Rate of behavior-specific praise per min when introducing the low-intensity strategy across content areas.

to using an electronic system (e.g., survey or clickers). for an illustration of efforts to increase BSP in reading,
When using strategies such as a MotivAider® to increase math, and science.
your own or another teacher’s rate of BSP, you may want In sum, it is possible to categorize these steps into before,
to graph your BSP delivery for visual performance feed- during, and after instruction steps. For example, Steps 1
back. You would begin by collecting data on your rates of through 3 are completed by the teacher prior to delivering a
BSP in multiple settings. Once steady levels are observed lesson. Steps 4 through 6 take place while delivering
across settings, you could set a goal to increase BSP instruction. Finally, Step 7 takes place after several days of
delivery in a targeted context. For example, you may incorporating instruction. These easy-to-follow steps can
begin by setting a goal to increase BSP in reading. Once help to establish positive, productive classroom environ-
you have observed an increase, you can set a goal to ments for students and teachers, including those at risk for
increase BSP in other classroom contexts. See Figure 1 emotional and behavioral disorders.
Ennis et al. 139

Next Steps school classes. British Journal of Educational Psychology,

60, 255–265. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1990.tb00943
We highly recommend that you visit ci3t.org/pl for addi- Jenkins, L. N., Floress, M. T., & Reinke, W. (2015). Rates and types
tional free-access professional learning materials (e.g., of teacher praise: A review and future directions. Psychology
PowerPoint presentations, implementation resources; in the Schools, 52, 463–476. doi:10.1002/pits.21835
Royer, Lane, Ennis, Menzies, & Oakes, 2015) to support Lane, K. L., Menzies, H. M., Ennis, R. P., & Oakes, W. P. (2015).
your design, implementation, and evaluation of BSP to Supporting behavior for school success: A step-by-step guide
increase engagement at your school or in your classroom to key strategies. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
and contribute to a well-orchestrated instructional experi- Lane, K. L., Menzies, H. M., Ennis, R. P., & Oakes, W. P. (2018).
Effective low-intensity strategies to enhance school success:
ence for all. We also encourage you to visit the table of
What every educator needs to know. Beyond Behavior, 27.
resources included in the introductory article of this spe-
Menzies, H. M., Lane, K. L., Oakes, W. P., Ruth, K., Cantwell,
cial issues for other resources to continue your profes- E. D., & Smith-Menzies, L. (2018). Active supervision: An
sional learning (see Lane, Menzies, Ennis, & Oakes, effective, efficient, low-intensity strategy to support student
2018). success. Beyond Behavior, 27.
Myers, D. M., Simonsen, B., & Sugai, G. (2011). Increasing
Declaration of Conflicting Interests teachers’ use of praise with a response-to-intervention
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect approach. Education and Treatment of Children, 34, 35–39.
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. doi:10.1353/etc.2011.0004
Rathel, J. M., Drasgow, E., Brown, W. H., & Marshall, K. J.
(2014). Increasing induction-level teachers’ positive-to-
Funding negative communication ratio and use of behavior-specific
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, praise through e-mailed performance feedback and its effect
authorship, and/or publication of this article. on students’ task engagement. Journal of Positive Behavior
Interventions, 16, 219–233. doi:10.1177/1098300713492856
ORCID iD Royer, D. J., Lane, K. L., Dunlap, K. D., & Ennis, R. P.
(2018). A systematic review of teacher-delivered behav-
Holly M. Menzies https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0270-4656
ior-specific praise on k-12 student performance. Remedial
and Special Education. Advance online publication.
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