Incredible Years Training: Using Praise & Teacher Coaching

Resource: Incredible Teachers by Carolyn Webster-Stratton, PH D
Chapter 5 & IYT Workshop

Since this workshop, I have been trying hard to:

• Focus on positive behaviours more than negative behaviours across the whole class. What you focus on will grow! 
• Circulating around the room to give 1:1 praise and encouragement
• Making my praise specific, and related to academic (e.g. thinking), social (e.g. managing your body; helping others) 
• Using proximity praise (i.e. noticing another child demonstrating the desired behaviour, and praising...thereby encouraging others to do the same).
• Doubling the impact e.g. having children who have persisted, shown kindness etc go and share their work with another teacher. We have discussed this at a team level and each of us has stickers and smiles at the ready for children send by other teachers to share their work
• Coaching children for academic behaviours e.g. persistence; focusing. I am now aware that children will develop these capacities at different rates according to their age and neural development...some children may be very persistent at age 5; others may need more time (I need to be patient and provide continued encouragement).  To support children to develop these skills, I am modelling, noticing when a child needs scaffolding (e.g. teacher support or encouragement during frustration, just before they give up), and how it helps children if I label these behaviours. I have also been using the Time to Shine resources to help children understand characteristics such as persistence. 
• Praising / noticing what a child has achieved - not just their next steps.
• Reducing my questioning of children. Instead I am noticing/giving feedback such as "I see you are working really hard..." rather than intense questioning, which can make children on edge, and feel like they are getting things right or wrong.

For specific students with behaviour needs, I am trialing the following from the IYT handbook:

• MH: a child who frequently opts out and finds learning challenging, possibly having some fear of failure. I have worked with him and his parents to create a positive self talk bubble, and created a visual of this using a photo of him.
• JL: a child who often groans, refuses to do work; won't look at others or participate in discussion at times; and can turn over chairs, throw books etc. I have tried giving him 5 dots (which means ipad time) on our reward chart; normally children earn a dot at a time. If he participates and gives eye contact, he will keep his 5 dots and have ipad time at the end of the day. This has been successful for one day so far. 
• OH: a child with developmental needs, who avoids coming to the mat, and can also shout in the room. I have been praising his behaviours, step by step e.g. well done coming to the mat; great your eyes are on me etc. I have talked with team teachers and teacher aides who work with OH, and we are all focused on the praising the same behaviours.

The IYT handbook discusses teachers' fears about making children praise dependent. Two strategies to help children begin to self-praise are:

* Praising effort, persistence etc and not the outcome or ability of child

* Using questioning and think alouds e.g. "I would feel proud if I had persisted with that maths problem like you did, how do you feel?"