Statistics- Using Teacher-Written Praise Notes to Promote a Positive

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Using Teacher-Written Praise Notesto Promote a Positive Environmentin a Middle SchoolJulie A. Peterson Nelson, Benjamin J. Young, Ellie L. Young, and Gregory CoxABSTRACT: Teachers in 1 middle school learned about the positiveschool adults intentionally seek opportunities to build andstrengthen adult–youth relationships, they may actually bedecreasing the likelihood that students will act out in thefuture (Young, Black, Marchant, Mitchem, & West, 2000).To meet educational goals, educators must do more thanmerely prevent antisocial behaviors; they must increase prosocial behaviors (Winette & Winkler, 1972). Unfortunately,schools in the United States continue to encourage punishment for problem behaviors (Noguera, 2003), which, in theabsence of a positive schoolwide system of support, has beenassociated with increased aggression, vandalism, tardiness,truancy, and dropouts (Mayer & Sulzer-Azeroff, 1991). Otherresearchers have suggested that reinforcing positive behaviorsrather than punishing inappropriate behaviors is an effectivebehavior-management system (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey,1995). Hence, creating a positive school environment requiresemphasizing preventive and positive measures rather thanpunitive procedures (Mitchem, Young, & West, 2000).Research has empirically shown that one effective positivebehavior-management strategy is teacher praise (Lewis &Bullock, 2004). Other research has identified a functionalrelation between teacher praise and student behavior. Specifically, when teachers praise appropriate behavior, disruptive behavior decreases (Madsen, Becker, & Thomas,1968). Further research has shown that praise delivered appropriately increases students’ on-task behavior(Ferguson & Houghton, 1992), classroom motivation(Thomas, 1991), and academic success (Sutherland &effects of writing praise notes to students, which is 1 componentof a positive behavior support. The authors intended for this procedure to promote a positive school environment and reinforcethe appropriate use of social skills. Also, the authors instructedthe teachers to use a direct instruction model to teach social skillslessons during 1st-period classes and praise students when theyeffectively demonstrated these skills. The authors analyzed thedata to determine whether students receiving praise notes wereless likely to receive an office discipline referral (ODR). The datarevealed a significant negative correlation between the number ofpraise notes and number of ODRs that students received, indicating that as praise notes increased, the rate of ODRs decreased. Theauthors provide several hypotheses for this relation.KEYWORDS: positive behavior support, praise, schoolwide intervention, teacher-written praiseEFFECTIVE SCHOOLWIDE MANAGEMENT of disruptive behaviors is an ongoing national concern (Lewis &Sugai, 1999; Scott, 2001; Turnbull et al., 2002). School violence, discipline, and safety have been among the top concerns for U.S. educators (American Federation of Teachers,1995–1996; Elam, Rose, & Gallup, 1998; U.S. Departmentof Education, 1995, 2005). When addressing students withproblem behaviors, many schools continue to rely on punitive strategies (e.g., office or administrative disciplinaryinterventions, suspensions, expulsions) that do little to create a safe and positive educational environment (Lewis &Garrison-Harrell, 1999). These types of interventions tendto be reactionary rather than preventive and proactive.In addition, these types of responses do little to teachnew behaviors or to increase the likelihood that positivereplacement behaviors would be used in the future (Knoff,2003). Punitive disciplinary measures can certainly be oneapproach to behavior management, but if punishment isthe only approach used, student behaviors are unlikely tochange over the long term. When administrators and otherThis study was funded in part by U.S. Office of Special EducationPrograms Grant No. H324C030124. Benjamin J. Young and EllieL. Young contributed equally to this article.Address correspondence to Julie A. Peterson Nelson, Psychology Department, 1030 SWKT Brigham Young University, Provo,UT 84602, julie_nelson@byu.edu. Copyright © 2010 HeldrefPublications119120Preventing School FailureWehby, 2001). In addition, praise has been widely recommended as effective in providing encouragement to thestudent, building self-esteem, and promoting closer relationships between teachers and students (Brophy, 1981).Teacher praise appears to have several meaningful outcomes that contribute to increased positive behaviors. However, few researchers have explored the use of writtenpraise, especially as it relates to students’ use of socialskills. In addition, the connection between written praiseand a decrease in negative behaviors that lead to officedisciplinary action has not been explored, especially amongearly adolescent youth. Hence, this article addresses howa specific positive behavioral intervention (i.e., writtenteacher praise) can be a useful strategy for junior high ormiddle school teachers and administrators to improve theschool climate, possibly influencing problem behaviors andlowering rates of office disciplinary referrals (ODRs).Positive Behavior Support (PBS)PBS has been widely adopted to create positive behavioral expectations, teach appropriate behaviors, and manage problem behaviors (Scott, 2001), and its use foraffecting students’ behaviors and school climate is welldocumented (Sugai, 1998; Sugai & Horner, 1994; Walkeret al., 1996). PBS is a team-based system designed tofacilitate student success by using evidence-based interventions and preventive strategies at a schoolwide, classroom, or individual level. The PBS model creates positivebehavioral expectations for students, makes these positiveexpectations explicit, and communicates them widely. Forexample, students recognize and can articulate the expectation that, while at school, they must behave in a respectful,safe, and caring way. This positive expectation is emphasized in schoolwide efforts rather than on the behaviorsthat students should not do. The behaviors are explicitlytaught through direct instruction of social skills (Lewis &Sugai, 1999).Direct instruction of social skills teaches students thebehavioral expectations of the school community. Just asa student could be expected to successfully complete along division math problem only after specific and directedinstruction in long division, students who have had directinstruction in social skills are more likely to enact thoseskills, thereby meeting the expectations of the adults in theschool. When the student displays the newly learned socialskill, peers and adults should respond positively, therebyreinforcing the desirable behavior (Gresham, 1998; Lewis,Chard, & Scott, 1994; Lewis & Sugai, 1996; Lipsey, 1991;Mayer, 1995; Peacock Hill Working Group, 1991; Sugai &Horner, 1994; Sugai & Lewis, 1996; Walker et al., 1996).Teacher praise should be coupled with social skills trainingto reinforce such skills by specifically praising the studentsfor their positive behavior, thus increasing the possibilityVol. 54, No. 2of the students’ using the skill in the future. Understandinghow written praise notes may influence disruptive behaviors, as measured by ODR, would add to the understandingof effective components of the PBS model.ODRODRs have historically been used as an index of studentbehavior for guiding and developing schoolwide programsand interventions (Skiba, Peterson, & Williams, 1997;Sugai, Sprague, Homer, & Walker, 2000; Tobin & Sugai,1999; Tobin, Sugai, & Colvin, 1996, 2000). The followingthree purposes for using ODR data have been identified:(a) as a guide in the development or selection of specificenvironmentally appropriate interventions (e.g., if a significant number of ODRs are being written for disruptivelunchroom behavior, interventions need to focus on teaching positive behaviors in the lunchroom), (b) as an outcomemeasure to evaluate the effectiveness of programs, and(c) as a screening procedure to identify students who maybenefit from targeted interventions (Nelson, Benner, Reid,Epstein, & Currin, 2002).ODR data continue to have practical and empiricaluses. On a practical level, ODRs are used to manage andmonitor students with problematic behaviors. These dataare easily obtained and monitored in most schools. ODRscan also be used to consider progress toward solvingsituational concerns (e.g., disruptive lunchroom behavior). On an empirical level, ODRs have been related topoor student outcomes such as school failure and juveniledelinquency (Shinn, Ramsey, Walker, Stieber, & O’Neill,1987; Sprague et al., 2001; Tobin & Sugai, 1999; Walker,Shinn, O’Neill, & Ramsey, 1987; Walker & Stieber, 1998;Walker, Stieber, Ramsey, & O’Neill, 1990). However,other research has indicated that ODR data for individualstudents have been much less predictive of poor outcomesthan teacher ratings or direct observation (Walker et al.,1990) and that a teacher’s use of such data may be influenced by a variety of variables such as classroom management, discipline policies, and teacher tolerance (Sugaiet al., 2000; Wright & Dusek, 1998). Additional researchhas compared ODR data with teachers’ ratings on theTeacher Report Form (Auchenbach, 1991) and found thatthe use of ODR records failed to identify many studentswhom teachers rated as meeting borderline or clinical cutoff scores for students at risk for emotional and behavioraldisorders (Nelson et al., 2002).Although the use of ODR records is one way of measuring outcomes of schoolwide PBS interventions, theserecords measure negative and ineffective behaviors ratherthan positive replacement behaviors that are being taughtand reinforced. Creating a way to measure the sociallyappropriate behaviors of youth as they demonstrate theirmastery of social skills and other positive behaviors couldVol. 54, No. 2be a meaningful and important component of evaluatingintervention outcomes. In addition, carefully reviewingpraise note data (e.g., frequency, content, distribution) maybe an alternative means of documenting progress towardPBS goals.SummaryThis descriptive research considered the use of praisenotes to evaluate PBS-focused objectives. Specifically,we considered how instructing teachers about praise andthen reinforcing teachers’ use of praise notes to studentsdemonstrating competency with social skills would influence ODRs. The use of written praise notes has not beenadequately explored in the research literature, especially inthe middle or junior high school setting.MethodParticipants and SettingParticipants were 70 teachers (48 women, 22 men) and1,809 sixth- and seventh-grade students (927 boys [51%],882 girls [49%]; 86% Caucasian, 11% Hispanic, 1% NativeAmerican, and 1% Pacific Islander, African American,or Asian) at secondary schools in the western part of theUnited States. Approximately 39% of these students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch.This school was in the 3rd year of implementing a schoolwide PBS model. A school planning committee—comprisingschool administration, selected teachers, and representativesfrom a local university—discussed concerns and developed schoolwide goals. School faculty and staff membersaddressed these goals by providing social skills lessons,instructing students on expectations for their behavior, andagreeing to increase positive feedback to students.ProcedureWe instructed the teachers that during this study, whichwas conducted across 2 consecutive school years, they wereto write praise notes to students whose behavior exemplified schoolwide PBS goals. At the beginning of the schoolyear, as a part of a 2-day PBS training sequence, teacherswere taught how to effectively praise students. Teacherswere given blank praise notes with instructions on how tofill them out.MeasuresPraise notes were printed in triplicate on no-carbonrequired paper. Students were given the original copy.Teachers turned in a copy for drawings and prizes; we usedthis copy for data analysis. Last, the third copy was givento parents during parent–teacher conferences. Praise notedata (e.g., name of student, name of teacher, date, behavior for which the student was praised) were entered intoPeterson Nelson, Young, Young, & Cox121a database. Fewer than 1% of notes were incomplete andtherefore eliminated from the analyses.The names of students who had received praise noteswere entered into a weekly drawing for a candy bar, andwinners were recognized during morning announcements.Teachers were given neither incentives to write praise notesnor feedback regarding the notes they had written. Duringthe first 7 months of the intervention, rates of notes written were somewhat low (0–2 praise notes per 100 studentsper day). To increase praise note rates, teachers were givenreinforcements during the final 2 months of the school yearand throughout the 9 months of the following school year.Teachers received gift certificates to local restaurants whenthey reached benchmark numbers of notes written (e.g.,25, 60, 100, 150). The requirements to earn gift certificatesincreased slightly during the 2nd year of the study becauseteachers exceeded goals from the previous year. The number of praise notes written was reported to teachers, andpraise notes were placed in a box for drawings for prizesduring faculty meetings. Teachers were also given a list ofstudents who had not received a praise note that year.Data AnalysisWe tracked students’ ODRs using a district-maintaineddatabase and collected teacher-written praise notes for the2005–2006 and 2006–2007 school years. Praise note andODR data were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS statistical analysis software (Version 15.0). The unit of analysiswas number of praise notes written per day per 100 students. This measure allowed for all months to be comparedequally despite differences in number of days per month. Itwas also consistent in the event of changes in student bodysize. The unit of analysis for ODRs was also number ofODRs written per 100 students per day. We used bivariatecorrelations to examine the relation between total praisenotes written and number of ODRs for each month.In addition, data were analyzed separately for a subgroupof students who had received one or more ODRs to determine whether students with ODRs received praise notes atthe same rate as students without ODRs and to determinewhether receiving praise notes influenced ODRs to studentswho had previously received one or more ODR. For theseanalyses, we divided the student body into two groups: (a)students who received at least one ODR during the study,and (b) students who did not receive any ODRs. Studentswho received praise were categorized similarly. Again, weused bivariate correlations to examine the relation betweenpraise notes received and ODRs received among students inthis subgroup. To test whether students who did not receiveODRs were praised more frequently than were studentswho received at least one ODR, we used a test for difference between independent correlations. This procedureexamines whether two correlations significantly differ. For122Preventing School Failurethis analysis, we converted each correlation coefficient intoa Fischer’s z and ran a z test. Figure 1 shows the number ofpraise notes written per 100 students per day, and Figure 2shows the number of ODRs written per day.ResultsOver the course of this 2-year study, 14,527 praise noteswere written, and 2,143 ODRs were recorded (see Figures 1and 2). There was a significant negative correlation betweenthe total number of praise notes written to the student bodyand the number of ODRs for the student body (r.551,p.05), indicating that, as praise notes increased, ODRrates decreased. In addition, for the subgroup of students whoreceived at least one ODR, there was a significant negative correlation between praise notes received and number of ODRs:As praise notes increased among students with at least oneODR, their rates of ODR decreased (r.553, p .05).Teachers wrote an average of 0.88 notes per day per 100students during the first 7 months of the study. Praise noteswritten increased 672% to an average of 5.91 notes per dayper 100 students for the remaining 2 months of the 1st yearand the entire 9 months of the 2nd school year when incentives were given to teachers for writing praise notes.Further examination of the data revealed that 28.4% ofall students received one or more ODRs during the study.Students with ODRs received 5.2 praise notes per day per100 students, whereas students with no ODRs received 7.5praise notes per day per 100 students. Although studentswith ODRs were praised slightly less than the rest of thestudent body, praise trends for students with ODRs weresignificantly correlated with praise trends for the rest of thestudent body, r .94, p .001. A test for difference betweenindependent correlations indicated no statistical differencesVol. 54, No. 2between praise trends for students with ODRs and praisetrends for the rest of the student body, indicating that all students were praised at similar rates: z .02, p .05.DiscussionThe general aim of this study was to explore how teachers’ use of praise notes to students demonstrating competency with social skills would influence ODRs. The resultsshowed that praise notes and ODRs had a significant negative correlation: As praise notes increased, rates of ODRdecreased. Hence, the data provide some evidence thatincreasing teacher praise notes may have been influencingthe decrease in ODRs. However, more closely controlledresearch is needed.As with any descriptive research, the results of this studyshould be considered as correlational—not causal—relations. There are several variables that could have contributed to a decrease in ODRs: Social skill instruction mayhave been a sufficient intervention to decrease ODRs. Also,ODRs may have decreased as administrators and teachersbecame more skilled in responding to behaviors that ledto ODRs. It is also possible that in noticing and praisingpositive student behavior, teachers may have overlooked orbecome less focused on inappropriate behaviors. Althoughthe cause of lower ODR rates cannot be determined by thisdescriptive study, it appears that teacher praise contingentupon the use of social skills had positive outcomes for students and for the overall school climate—reinforcing positive behaviors and decreasing rates of ODR.Recommendations for Principals and AdministratorsWe implemented this intervention to reach PBS goalsand encourage the use of social skills. When severalFIGURE 1. Average number of praise notes per day per 100 students, by month.Vol. 54, No. 2Peterson Nelson, Young, Young, & Cox123FIGURE 2. Average number of office disciplinary referrals per day for 100 students, by month.important strategies were in place, teachers’ use of praisenotes increased. Teachers received specific and targetedinstruction about praise at the beginning of the schoolyear, including reminders that praise should be deliveredsincerely and that praise notes should reinforce specificand directly communicated behavioral expectations. Theeffectiveness of praise notes would probably have moremeaning and focus when integrated into a comprehensivePBS model.Toward the end of the school year, we reviewed the datawith teachers and administrators, who were then encouraged and reinforced for writing praise notes. Periodically, teachers who had written praise notes had their namesplaced in a lottery for prizes to be given during facultymeetings. In addition, when teachers had written 25 praisenotes, they were given a gift certificate to a local restaurant.Certificates to higher quality restaurants were given whenthe teacher had written 60, 100, and 150 praise notes. Thismonitoring and public reporting seems to have been vital tomotivating and reinforcing teachers.Teachers were made aware of those students who had notyet received a praise note and were encouraged to watch forpositive behaviors of students who had not been recognized.Some teachers expressed concerns that they were beingencouraged to write notes to students with behavior problems, whereas a few students with appropriate behaviorsmay have been overlooked. Other teachers opined that onlyexemplary students deserved the recognition. Additionaltraining, combined with data, addressed these concernsand reminded teachers that the purpose of praise notes wasto reinforce the use of social skills that were being taughtweekly in the classrooms. Even students with behaviorproblems showed appropriate social skills at times, and itwas appropriate to recognize their efforts. It is possible thatthe praise notes written to students with a history of behavior problems contributed to the decrease in the number ofODRs. Hence, encouraging teachers to recognize specific,positive behaviors of all students was an important component of this project.It was not until data on praise notes were summarized andfeedback was given to teachers that they began to recognizeand understand the effect of praise notes on student behaviorand ODRs. Summarizing the data on praise notes took a fairamount of time and resources for counting notes, as did determining those students who had or had not received them andmonitoring which teachers had or had not been writing notes.However, it appears that these resources were appropriatelyspent because fewer ODRs were given, meaning that morestudents were in the classroom and receiving instruction.Processes for recording data were funded as part of a majorresearch project; however, in schools without such funding,teachers could assign students or parent volunteers to assist ormake data gathering and analysis a project for mathematics orstatistics courses or service-learning classes if the informationwas not considered confidential. In addition, teachers need tobe informed that the number of praise notes they write wouldbecome public information in the school. Depending on factors such as administrators’ style or school culture, identifyinginformation about teachers’ rates of praise notes written mayneed to remain confidential, although we found that providingintermittent feedback, which included specific data regardingthe effectiveness of praise notes, increased teachers’ motivation to praise students.Lessons LearnedTeachers and administrators implementing praise notesas a schoolwide intervention can benefit from the lessonslearned by following these recommendations:124Preventing School FailureVol. 54, No. 21. Provide teachers with ongoing, specific instruction oneffective praise.1 Consistently encourage teachers towrite praise notes; our intervention was discussed infaculty meetings, and teachers were reminded to deliverpraise to students using the social skills that were beingtaught schoolwide. Teachers’ personal stories of howpraise notes made a positive difference were shared infaculty meetings or in e-mails.2. Give teachers specific feedback regarding the number ofnotes written and the names of students who had and hadnot received praise notes. This feedback increased teachers’ awareness of their progress toward a schoolwide goaland facilitated data-based decision making.3. Review praise notes and ODR data with teachers to demonstrate the possible effect of written praise on studentbehavior and ODRs.4. Most important, reinforce teachers for writing praisenotes. When teachers had an opportunity to earn gift certificates for praising students, the total number of praisenotes written dramatically increased.5. This intervention seemed to be most effective and easily implemented as a component of an integrated PBSmodel designed to increase students’ social skill use. Thecombination of these strategies appeared to significantlyinfluence rates of praise notes.ODRs decreased. This approach—which emphasizes positive and preventive measures rather than punitive and reactionary measures—appears to be beneficial in creating amore positive school environment.Limitations and Future ResearchAs with any descriptive research, the findings of thisstudy are correlational, and causal relations should notbe assumed. Several variables may have influenced thedecrease in ODRs, such as teachers’ skills in respondingto students’ inappropriate behavior, administrators’ skillsat teaching more positive behaviors to students sent to theoffice for discipline purposes, and effects of reporti…

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