Promoting Positive Behaviours Using Positivity And Praise

Could you manage behaviour through positivity?

Managing behaviour can be challenging for even the most experienced of teachers. This framework is a simple yet effective way of using positive praise to manage the behaviour of the individual students in your class.

Be generous, effusive and celebratory in your tone and aim to cut out negative comments or pointing out conditional aspects of praise.

Why is it useful?

This framework helps to create an environment where the student feels like they belong, are valued and that school is a source of positivity – not just for the student but for the parent or guardian as well. Focusing on positive points and communicating positivity is also a direct solution to a common problem of a teacher resenting a student for the times they have caused upset in their classroom.

You’ll see in the downloadable table below that you are being asked to make a really positive comment in row 1. In this case, you should not make it obvious to the child that there were perhaps times when they didn’t participate so well and may have got into a verbal altercation. The radical suggestion here is that we shower the student with praise anyway. Soon, they will get the message that attention and praise come from positive behaviour and that in turn leads to rewards and respect.

Who is it for?

Teachers and Teaching Assistants (TA) will benefit from this resource.

How do I use it?

• Fill in the table with the student at the end of every lesson.
• Break each lesson up into sections of how they arrived, how well they participated and how much respect was shown to the rest of the class.
• Work out a reward system with the student to ensure they are motivated to succeed. This should work on a points system so some level of achievement can be celebrated often even if they have not reached the maximum target for the day.
• The framework is meant to result in lots of positivity and praise for the student, so don’t make the targets too unachievable .
• Make sure the points adapt and evolve to focus on other specifics that you want to develop or bring praise to.

Download the resource

Click on the image below to download the resource.

Inclusion Expert

This resource was created by Inclusion Expert. Inclusion Expert have worked with over a thousand schools to help them improve inclusion for every child. By developing collaborative action plans, updating school systems, providing bespoke resources and training for senior leaders to continue their work, they help schools achieve sustainable change.

As a Teacher Toolkit reader you are eligible for a 20% discount on all Inclusion Expert resources and consultations. Find out more information here and make sure to quote the promo code ‘TeacherToolkit20’ to claim your discount.