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Are you keeping track of the praise you give out in a classroom? If not, it鈥檚 time to give it serious consideration, researchers assert in a . Being mindful of the actual ratio of praise to reprimands results in dramatic improvements in on-task behavior and grades, the study concludes鈥攁 finding echoed by previous work on 鈥減raise ratios鈥� by experts , who also recommend 鈥�6 praise statements every 15 minutes.鈥澨�

Creating a chart of encouraging language is odd. In most cases, praise is spontaneous and reactive, so it may feel too mechanical鈥攐r perhaps too fastidious鈥攖o audit how often you praise your students. But for professor of English education and former teacher Todd Finley, creating a praise checklist was game-changing, providing him with a structure to 鈥渞eflect on what students have done or might do鈥� to merit praise and a method to record the interactions to 鈥渟pread the love evenly.鈥�
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In the study, researchers analyzed how often middle school teachers praised their students鈥攅xclaiming, 鈥淕ood job, Andrew, on listening carefully during the lesson!鈥� for example鈥攃ompared with how often they reprimanded their students, and they discovered that the higher the ratio of praise to reprimands, the more likely students stayed focused and participated in the lesson.听

In classrooms with the highest ratio of praise to reprimands, on-task behavior increased by 60 to 70 percent, while disruptions were cut in half.听

The positive impact of praise was acutely felt by a small group of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. For these students, the difference between receiving zero praise and a one-to-one ratio of praise to reprimands was a full letter grade鈥攎oving from an average D grade to a C. Completely avoiding public reprimands and using a more positive, proactive approach had an even more dramatic impact, with these students achieving an average B grade in the classroom.

鈥淎s students get older, we often just expect that they鈥檙e going to be more mature and do what鈥檚 expected of them,鈥� lead author Paul Caldarella, a professor of education at Brigham Young University. 鈥淏ut they actually still need the same kind of reminders as elementary students. And any kind of negative comment made publicly to image-conscious teenagers, who are trying to establish their identity and peer relationships, is likely to make them shut down or get aggressive. So, it鈥檚 better to praise publicly and correct in private.鈥�

Why Reprimands Don鈥檛 Work

Negative attention from a teacher鈥攃hiding students for not paying attention or threatening them with consequences, for example鈥攔arely resulted in correcting misbehavior, Caldarella and his colleagues discovered. Instead, it led to more instances of off-task behavior, likely because students felt singled out and rebelled in response.

Middle school teachers tend to rely more heavily on to managing student behavior, the authors explain, a pattern that increases as students get older. To make matters worse, students of color and those with disabilities tend to receive harsher punishments than their peers, a worrying trend that鈥檚 been well documented in the . As a result, 鈥減roblems may emerge from a mismatch between classroom management practices and developmental needs of students, particularly adolescents鈥� increasing needs to be respected,鈥� Caldarella explains in the study.听

Perhaps the biggest insight from the study is in tracing the way that praise aligns with our latest understanding of how adolescent brains work. As students reach their teens, they鈥檙e more likely to question authority figures, be skeptical about the way rules are applied, and test the boundaries of acceptable behavior鈥攍eading to distracting and off-task behavior that ultimately undermines 鈥渁cademic interest, motivation, and achievement,鈥� according to the researchers. Teens are also exquisitely sensitive to the social contexts of learning, and both brain scans and electrical readings of stress levels reveal deep changes in the way they respond to peer pressure: Their status in the classroom, predictably, is directly linked to their willingness to engage. For teens, in particular, praise, not criticism, is the right tool for the occasion.听

Managing Your 鈥楶raise Ratio鈥�

At the beginning of the study, the researchers observed a typical classroom and recorded about 6.5 reprimands for every instance of praise鈥攁 deficit that makes sense, given the strong instinct to correct nonproductive student behavior in real time. At that level of praise, the students were mildly but never deeply engaged, with on-task behaviors hovering around 40 percent.听

But as the ratio of praise to reprimands increased toward one to one, engagement and on-task behavior improved in a relatively linear fashion. Although 鈥渘o ideal praise to reprimand threshold was found,鈥� the researchers said鈥攁nd the study does not specify an upper limit鈥攖eachers can expect on-task behavior 鈥渢o reach approximately 60% in the absence of other interventions鈥� as the praise to reprimand ratio approaches parity.

There are common-sense and research-backed reasons to be mindful of overpraising, of course. No student is always deserving of praise, and even students in elementary school can tell when . When you use praise 鈥渇or your own ends or even in a conscious attempt to help the student, it is likely to go wrong,鈥� Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia.

If the instinct to reprimand is powerful, though鈥攁nd too much praise can backfire鈥攖hen how can teachers find the right balance? Being intentional, even methodical, about the way language is deployed is a good first step. Finley came to the conclusion that auditing his public and private encouragement, and thinking deeply about the quality of his feedback, was worth the investment, and sixth-grade teacher Alyssa Nucaro arrived at a similar conclusion: 鈥淥ne of the hardest things I had to do was learn how to change my 鈥榯eacher鈥� language so that I could encourage and empower students on a daily basis,鈥� she confided in a blog post. In time, she realized that using highly supportive, productive teacher language simply takes 鈥渁 lot of practice and awareness.鈥�

A few more evidence-backed tips to calibrate your praise effectively:

• Consider keeping a chart. Raise your praise ratio by recording yourself teaching or using charts or other forms of documentation. Keeping track also keeps you from overlooking certain students鈥攑articularly those who are marginalized, Caldarella explains. Keep a chart of who you鈥檙e praising to avoid inadvertently praising the same students over and over, and make an intentional effort to connect with and praise all students, especially those who may need extra academic and emotional support.
• Praise in public, correct in private. Public reprimands can damage a student鈥檚 self-image, leading to more behavioral issues down the line, according to a . While it may be necessary to correct misbehavior, doing so in front of a student鈥檚 peers may cause more harm than good and should be used sparingly.
• Highlight specific actions. Saying 鈥済ood job鈥� is vague and doesn鈥檛 clearly identify the desired behaviors. 鈥淒escribe the observed behavior and make a positive remark,鈥� recommends Finley, adding that statements like, 鈥淵ou held the door open for your classmates on your own initiative, Savannah. Major props,鈥� provide better guidance.
• Avoid praising students for ability. Statements like 鈥淵ou鈥檙e so smart鈥� or 鈥淵ou鈥檙e really good at math鈥� can lead to a fixed mindset, reducing the likelihood that they鈥檒l enroll in challenging courses while increasing the likelihood that they鈥檒l cheat, according to a . Labeling students as inherently smart can backfire, since students may feel compelled to cheat in order to preserve their image.听

The takeaway: The study is a reminder that we may be primed to overcorrect and underpraise, an imbalance that can make the difference between a productive classroom and a defiant one. While reprimands are sometimes unavoidable鈥攁nd praise isn鈥檛 a panacea鈥攚orking to raise the ratio of praise to reprimands is likely to improve student engagement and classroom productivity.