Stephanie Johnson #12

Praise: a form of
reinforcement
intended to
increase the
probability or
frequency of the
behavior it
follows.

PRAISE NOTES (Brophy 1981)

Teacher-written praise notes are short written statements

acknowledging and thanking students for specific behaviors.

Strategy Rationale:
Praise can build self-esteem, provide encouragement, and help to In order for
build a closer relationship between the student and teacher.
Praise notes help to identify and encourage behaviors the teacher
praise to be
wishes to promote in the classroom. effective it should
Populations: be immediate and
Students in a General Education classroom behavior specific.
Students with Emotional/Behavior Disorder

Focus on
Procedure: strategies rather
The teacher will identify a behavior that they want to
encourage. than
The teacher will then write a praise note detailing exactly what
the student did that the teacher appreciated.
performance.
Post this note where the receiver and others can see it.
Accompany the note with verbal praise.
 Stephanie Johnson #12

Examples:

References:
Kennedy, C., Jolivette, K. k., & Ramsey, M. L. (2014). The effects of written teacher and peer praise notes on the
inappropriate behaviors of elementary students with emotional and behavioral disorders in a residential school.
Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 31(1), 17-40. doi:10.1080/0886571X.2014.878577

Howell, A., Caldarella, P. p., Korth, B., & Young, K. R. (2014). Exploring the social validity of teacher praise notes in
elementary school. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 49(2), 22-32.

Hodgman, M. R. (2015). Student praise in the modern classroom: The use of praise notes as a productive motivational
tool. Journal of Education and Training, 2(1). doi:10.5296/jet.v2i1.6142

Brophy, J. (1981). Teacher praise: A functional analysis. Review of Educational Research, 51(1), 5-32. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.txstate.edu/stable/1170249