Acknowledging Student Behavior: A Review of Methods Promoting Positive and Constructive Feedback

Abstract

Positive and constructive feedback is a form of positive reinforcement essential to effective instruction and classroom management. This article provides practitioners with a range of realistic positive and constructive feedback strategies and descriptions of how such feedback can be implemented in schools and classrooms, with a special focus on the reinforcement of students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Keywords

teaching strategies efficacy/effectiveness teaching methods student interactions teacher(s)

Promoting a positive and engaging learning environment can set the stage for successful teaching and learning to occur. One essential feature of successful teaching and learning is the feedback the teacher gives a student. A teacher’s response to an appropriate or inappropriate or incorrect behavior can not only have a significant impact on the student’s academic and behavioral outcomes, but on the learning environment as well (Conroy et al., 2009). For example, if a teacher responds to an inappropriate behavior in a negative way, it is likely to escalate the student’s behavior, adversely affecting the classroom climate and predicting additional challenging behaviors. Furthermore, the learning environment is likely to deteriorate when the teacher expends more energy focusing on inappropriate behavior while failing to acknowledge appropriate behavior, ultimately creating a negative relationship. Conversely, with the teacher’s provision of positive or constructive student feedback, positive teacher–student relationships are significantly more likely to follow. Development of such positive interactions and relationships is the responsibility of the teacher and an essential component of effective instruction (Scott, 2017).

Although research supports creating a positive teacher–student relationship, this outcome is least likely when considering students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A study conducted by Hamre and Pianta (2001) followed students from kindergarten to eighth grade and suggested that negative relationships between teachers and students with EBD in kindergarten were associated with academic and behavioral problems through eighth grade. In addition, research across time has indicated instructional interactions between teachers and students with EBD consist of less than 30% of all teacher–student interactions and, of these interactions, students with EBD receive low rates of praise while receiving high rates of reprimands (Hirn & Scott, 2014; Van Acker et al., 1996; Wehby et al., 1998).

More than a decade ago, an article by Conroy et al. (2009) discussed the importance of effective praise and feedback and how it relates to creating a positive classroom atmosphere. The authors stated that although teachers may use feedback in their classrooms, research had shown that they may not use it frequently or effectively (Conroy et al., 2009). Unfortunately, recent research has indicated that feedback may still be an underused instructional strategy despite the strong supporting research (Scott et al., 2017). This article builds upon the Conroy et al. (2009) tutorial by reviewing the methods for promoting positive and constructive feedback while incorporating new findings in the literature.

What Is Feedback?

Feedback can be defined as information provided to improve or maintain performance (McLeskey et al., 2017). Feedback is not narrowly defined as giving rewards, as some may have you believe. It includes statements that confirm understanding, improve understanding, or clarify a misunderstanding (Oakes et al., 2018). More than 40 years of research has consistently demonstrated that effective feedback has had a significant positive effect on student academic and behavioral outcomes (e.g., Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Kirby & Shields, 1972; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Shute, 2008; Sutherland et al., 2000).

In addition, John Hattie synthesized over 800 meta-analyses in an effort to identify factors that have the highest impact on student achievement. Because the effect size of 0.4 was equal to approximately one year’s worth of student growth, he determined that anything above this would have a greater positive effect on student learning or as he called it, the “zone of desired effects” (Hattie, 2009, p. 19). The synthesis revealed that feedback had a significant effect on student achievement, with an effect size of .70 (Hattie, 2009). In fact, an updated list of factors relating to student achievement ranked feedback as one of the top 10 teaching/instructional strategies (Waack, 2018).

What Feedback Should I Give?

The purpose of educationally oriented feedback is twofold: providing information to improve or maintain performance, and increasing student motivation, engagement, and independence (McLeskey et al., 2017). Although it can take many forms, there are three general methods of providing positive and constructive feedback: behavior-specific praise (BSP), instructive feedback, and corrective feedback (see Table 1 for examples of positive and constructive feedback in elementary and secondary settings).

Table 1.

Examples of Positive and Constructive Feedback in Elementary and Secondary School Settings.

Type of feedback	Definition	Elementary example	Secondary examples
Behavior-specific praise	Specific praise that includes a description of the desired behavior, whether academic or social.	Academic: You lined your columns up perfectly in this addition problem, Ben.	Academic: Nice job using an anecdote in your introduction, Beth. You have really piqued my interest in your topic.
Behavior-specific praise		Behavior: I appreciate the way everyone is working so quietly; you are being very considerate.	Behavior: Thank you for coming to class prepared with your book and calculator, John.
Instructive feedback	Confirming correct response and providing additional information.	Academic: I really like how you described the dog in this sentence. Remember, a word that describes a noun, like dog, is an adjective.	Academic: You are right, this quadratic function opens upward. You can just look at the leading coefficient to determine the direction.
Instructive feedback		Behavior: I see everyone is sitting at the table in the “ready” position. The ready shows the speaker you are ready to listen to their message.	Behavior: You are always on time to class. Being punctual is a great work-related skill!
Corrective feedback	Correcting a student’s academic or social error by describing the error and providing guidance on how to correct it	Academic: I see an error in this sentence. Remember our Capitalization, Overall, Punctuation, and Spelling (COPS) editing strategy when writing sentences. We will focus on COPS.	Academic: You made a mistake in step 3 of this problem. Use your calculator to check your work on that step before moving on.
Corrective feedback		Behavior: We should all be sitting on the rug right now with our hands in our laps and our legs crisscross so everyone has space.	Behavior: The expectation is that all cell phones are put away during class discussions so we can offer our undivided attention to one another.

BSP

General praise such as a simple “Good job” may seem effective for some but the information provided to the student regarding his or her performance is limited, if not nonexistent. The most powerful praise is BSP. It involves giving a student precise praise that includes a description of the appropriate behavior demonstrated, regardless of whether the behavior is academic or social. A substantial research base suggests that BSP increases student academic and behavioral outcomes across age, grade level, and disability status (Royer et al., 2019; Simonsen et al., 2008). Specifically, studies have shown BSP is effective for increasing on-task behavior (Sutherland et al., 2000) and decreasing disruptive behavior (Dufrene et al., 2014; Gunter et al., 1993) for students with or at risk for EBD. For example, a teacher may see that Lisa is sitting in her chair and silently listening to her rather than roaming the classroom and disrupting others. When using BSP, the teacher may say, “Lisa, great job sitting in your chair and listening while I was explaining the assignment.” By using BSP, the teacher is attempting to positively reinforce the appropriate behavior in hopes that Lisa will stay seated in her chair and listen in the future. In doing so, the teacher is also reminding other students of classroom expectations as well as letting them know reinforcement may be available to them. The same effect would not be achieved if the teacher simply said to Lisa, “Good job!” or gave her thumbs up. These examples of general praise lack key information Lisa needs to repeat the desired behavior.

There are a few suggested guidelines that teachers can follow when using BSP. First, BSP is best used when describing a student’s improvement or effort rather than ability (Hitz & Driscoll, 1988; Lam et al., 2008). In other words, a teacher should avoid statements that are an evaluation of a student’s cognitive abilities such as, “You are so smart,” or “You are really good at math.” Students may see themselves as either “smart” or “not smart” which can be perceived as static. This judgment may affect student confidence and discourage an individual from trying new tasks or taking risks (Burnett, 2001). Instead, when a teacher praises a student on his or her improvement or effort, it is a much more fluid process. The student can relate the statement to their individual goals, the progress toward their goals, and what needs to be done to improve their progress.

A second guideline establishes the necessary timing and frequency of delivery of BSP. As with other positive reinforcement strategies, the teacher is most effective when delivering BSP as soon as the desired behavior occurs, especially for those skills the student is initially learning. Typically, the reinforcement will be less powerful as the time between the behavior and the acknowledgment increases. In addition to timing, the frequency in which a teacher provides BSP, especially in relation to negative feedback, is important. As a rule of thumb, a 4:1 ratio of positive feedback to negative feedback statements is suggested. The reasoning for this ratio is twofold. First, providing positive feedback helps build the student’s confidence and independence in learning a skill. Second, a student receiving a 4:1 ratio of positive to negative feedback is a sign that the student’s performance of the skill, whether academic or social, is either improving or maintaining. On the other hand, less than a 4:1 ratio is a signal that the student is not learning the skill and the teacher needs to change instruction.

Instructive Feedback

Instructive feedback involves the teacher not only confirming the correct response, but also providing additional information or relating the response to previously learned concepts or new information. The purpose of instructive feedback is to increase the efficiency of instruction by allowing students to learn more in the same amount of time. While this is preferable for all students, it is even more important when working with students with EBD who likely have co-occurring academic difficulties. These students often need to make greater gains in shorter amounts of time than their peers.

Research on instructive feedback suggests it is effective in increasing academic outcomes across grade levels, disabilities, and instructional groupings (Tullis et al., 2019; Wolery et al., 1991, 1993). Furthermore, instructive feedback is also effective in increasing the rate of student learning (Holcombe et al., 1993). An example of instructive feedback would be if a teacher asked a student to explain his answer for the equation 5x − 7 = 2x − 4x + 14. The teacher may say, “Cole, can you walk us through the steps of your answer?” If the student responds correctly, the teacher would acknowledge the correct response and add additional information by saying, “Great job, Cole! The answer is x = 3. And to check your answer, you can substitute 3 for x in the equation and solve.” There is an implicit component of behavior momentum involved here as every instance of positive feedback increases the probability of compliance with the next request.

Although primarily used for academic instruction, instructive feedback can also be used for behavior. Returning to the earlier scenario of Lisa sitting in her chair and silently listening rather than roaming the classroom and disrupting others, the teacher could add instructive feedback by saying, “Lisa, great job sitting in your chair and listening while I was explaining the assignment. It may also be important to jot down what I am saying to help you remember while completing the assignment.” In this scenario, Lisa is not only being positively reinforced for her appropriate behavior, but also reminded of additional strategies that may promote her academic success.

Werts et al. (1996) provide guidelines for teachers to follow when using instructive feedback. First, the teacher should identify the information to be presented through instructive feedback. Werts and colleagues (1996) suggest asking the following questions to help identify information: (a) “Is there information that is important for students to learn but that is not being taught directly?”; and (b) “is there information that will be taught in the future that is not being taught now?” (p. 70). Second, the teacher must decide how to present the information. Instructive feedback can be delivered verbally, visually, or through a combination of both. The method used will depend on what information is being presented. Finally, to increase the likelihood of its effectiveness, teachers need to use instructional feedback consistently and monitor progress.

Corrective Feedback

The first two methods of feedback involved a teacher’s response to an appropriate or desired behavior. In these instances, the feedback is affirmative and sets the student up for success on the next trial. But not all student responses are correct, so teacher responses need to facilitate future student appropriate responses. Corrective feedback involves correcting a student’s academic or social error. This includes not only describing the error, but also providing guidance on future actions. In other words, the teacher is answering the question, “what should you have done instead?” for the student. It is important to note that corrective feedback differs from a reprimand. Reprimands may acknowledge the error, but they do not provide information on how to correct it. In addition, corrective feedback allows the teacher to prompt the student to emit the appropriate behavior, which will then give an opportunity for positive feedback. For this reason, corrective feedback is preferred over reprimands. Research suggests corrective feedback is effective in increasing student academic (e.g., decreasing errors, improving word recognition, and reading comprehension) and behavioral (e.g., decrease off-task, inappropriate behavior) outcomes (Baker, 1992; Barbetta et al., 1994; McAllister et al., 1969; Singh, 1990; Singh & Singh, 1986).

Typically, providing corrective feedback for an instructional error comes more naturally for teachers. For example, if a student answers 12 to the multiplication problem 9 times 3, a teacher may use corrective feedback by responding, “9 times 3 is 12 is not correct. I think you may be using addition instead of multiplication. 9 plus 3 equals 12. 9 times 3 equals 27. What is 9 × 3? Yes, 9 × 3 is 27!” Most teachers would recognize that using a reprimand in this situation would be highly ineffective. This is not always the case when a teacher addresses a student’s behavioral error. If Lisa is out of her seat and talking to others during instruction, a teacher may reprimand her by saying, “Lisa, why are you out of your seat and bothering others? Stop it!” This does not provide any constructive feedback by telling Lisa what the teacher wants her to do. Instead, she could use corrective feedback by saying, “Lisa, instead of getting out of your seat and talking to others, I need you to sit in your chair and listen while I explain this assignment.”

There are a few general guidelines that teachers can follow when using corrective feedback. First, the teacher can deliver the error correction in a calm, low tone rather than in a loud voice. Although this may be challenging, using a calm tone promotes a positive learning environment. Second, teachers can use brief statements (i.e., few words to one sentence) rather than longer statements (i.e., 2 or more phrases or sentences). Finally, similar to the other methods of feedback, teachers are more likely to receive better results if they use corrective feedback consistently.

How Should I Provide Feedback?

Although there are many ways a teacher can provide feedback to students, it is important to note that all feedback is not equal. This is particularly true when working with students with EBD. Teachers are best served to use strategies that give these students the highest probability for success. The Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) center, in collaboration with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), identified a set of high-leverage practices (HLPs) that are essential to improving student learning and behavioral outcomes (McLeskey et al., 2017). Twenty-two practices were identified across four domains: collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral, and instruction. Providing positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior (HLP 8 & 22) was the only practice identified as essential in two domains-social/emotional/behavioral and instruction. The HLP team’s research synthesis suggested the following:

Effective feedback must be strategically delivered and goal directed; feedback is most effective when the learner has a goal and the feedback informs the learner regarding areas of improvement and ways to improve performance. Feedback . . . should be timely, contingent, genuine, meaningful, age appropriate, and at rates commensurate with task and phase of learning (i.e., acquisition, fluency, maintenance). Teachers should provide ongoing feedback until learners reach their established goals. (McLeskey et al., 2017, p. 57)

We expand on the six components of feedback highlighted by McLeskey and colleagues (2017) in the following section.

Provide Timely Feedback

As previously noted, feedback is best when delivered in a timely manner rather than waiting on a student to solicit feedback. To do so, teachers need to monitor student behavior and deliver feedback at the appropriate time rather than waiting on the student to elicit feedback from the teacher (Conroy et al., 2009). For example, a teacher giving unsolicited praise such as, “I really like that you completed that assignment without my help,” is more effective than if the student solicits the feedback by saying, “Did you see that I completed the assignment all on my own this time?”

Provide Contingent Feedback

Typically, reinforcement will be less powerful as the time between the behavior and the acknowledgment increases. Therefore, feedback for appropriate behavior and/or correct responses should be delivered as close to when the identified appropriate or inappropriate behavior occurs. This also applies to corrective feedback to ensure students are not practicing inappropriate behaviors or errors.

Provide Genuine Feedback

Feedback should be given in a genuine manner. Delivering feedback in a calm, sincere tone of voice is suggested for addressing both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. A student may view overexaggerated positive feedback as inauthentic while viewing loud, aggressive corrective feedback as confrontational, both of which would produce negative rather than positive effects. On the other hand, if a student views the feedback as genuine, it may promote a positive teacher–student relationship which has been shown to reduce externalizing behaviors (O’Connor et al., 2011).

Provide Meaningful Feedback

Feedback should be connected to a student’s individual goals, the progress toward their goals, and what needs to be done to improve their progress. Hattie and Timperley (2007) provide a model of feedback to enhance learning. In this model, they suggest effective feedback must answer three questions for the student: (a) Where am I going? (i.e., goal generation); (b) how am I doing? (i.e., determining progress toward goals); and (c) where to next? (i.e., identifying activities/strategies needed to foster improved progress; Hattie & Timperley, 2007). In addition, Hattie and Timperley (2007) suggest that answers to each of the three questions need to involve thinking relative to each of the following four levels: task, process, self-regulation, and self. The authors argue that the task level is least effective, self-regulation and process levels are effective for deep processing and mastery of tasks, and self-level is effective for improving strategy processing (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Table 2 provides a more detailed explanation of Hattie and Timperley’s four levels of feedback.

Table 2.

Hattie and Timperley’s Four Levels of Feedback.

Level of feedback	Description	Example	Effectiveness
Task	Feedback about how well a task is being performed (i.e., correct or incorrect)	Academic: You provided the main idea but did not include supporting details.	Effective when addressing misunderstandings
Task		Behavior: You walked into the classroom quietly but you didn’t go directly to your seat.	Effective when addressing misunderstandings
Process	Feedback about the process used to complete a task	Academic: Using the paraphrasing strategy you learned last week will help you with this assignment.	Effective for promoting the use of processes and strategies
Process	Feedback about the process used to complete a task	Behavior: Using the calming strategy we discussed earlier will help you when you get frustrated.	Effective for promoting the use of processes and strategies
Self-regulation	Feedback to promote self-evaluation or confidence to continue with a task	Academic: Look at the rubric to see if you met all the criteria on this assignment.	Effective for promoting self-appraisal and self-management
Self-regulation		Behavior: Use the checklist on your desk to see if you finished the task.	Effective for promoting self-appraisal and self-management
Self	Personal feedback that is unrelated to the task	Academic: You are so smart!	Only effective if it leads to changes in effort, engagement, or efficacy toward learning
Self	Personal feedback that is unrelated to the task	Behavior: You are always one of my best students.

Provide Age Appropriate Feedback

Teachers should consider a student’s age and ability when delivering feedback. Feedback for younger students should look different from feedback for older students. For example, positive feedback delivered in front of a whole group may be appropriate for kindergarten students but may have reverse effects with a high school student. In this case, private individual feedback or written feedback may be more appropriate.

Provide Feedback at Rates Commensurate With Task and Phase of Learning

Feedback will likely look different depending on the student’s phase of learning (e.g., acquisition, fluency, maintenance, generalization). A high rate of feedback may be needed when a student is initially acquiring a skill but will be faded and modified as accuracy increases and the teacher’s focus switches to fluency, maintenance, and/or generalization. For example, a teacher may need to deliver feedback immediately after every instance to a student learning to raise his hand and wait for teacher attention. However, the teacher would want to deliver intermittent feedback (e.g., after three appropriate hand raises) as the student learns to maintain the skill over a period of time.

How Can I Implement Feedback?

While knowledge of positive and constructive feedback is necessary, it is certainly not sufficient. Teachers need to know how to apply these strategies in an effective and efficient manner. This section outlines how the three general methods of providing effective feedback can be implemented in the classroom setting.

Collect Baseline Data

Just as a teacher would collect baseline data on their students, it is important for a teacher to know their own current rate of feedback. To start, consider identifying a specific method of feedback (e.g., BSP, instructive feedback, corrective feedback) as well as a time and setting to collect the baseline data (e.g., first 15 min of second period math, last 15 min of small group reading). When possible, it is recommended that the teacher choose the behavior and setting that they may be struggling with the most. Because it may be difficult to collect data on their own behavior in real time, there are a few options to collect the data with fidelity. First, a teacher can ask another staff member, such as a teacher, paraprofessional, counselor, assistant principal, or principal, to observe them. Although this is the most efficient way to collect data, an adult may not be available during the identified time. In this case, a teacher may consider video recording the session and reviewing/collecting data at a later time.

Incorporate Feedback Into Lesson Planning

Delivering feedback at optimal rates may not come as natural to some. For example, research has indicated that few teachers reach the optimal 4:1 ratio of positive feedback to negative feedback (Scott et al., 2011). A teacher purposefully incorporating the delivery of feedback into their lesson planning is one effective way to increase the ratio of positive to negative feedback statements. Because feedback is contingent on a student response, a teacher must first set the stage by incorporating various opportunities for students to respond into their lesson planning activities. These questions or prompts will promote a student response, which will then allow an opportunity for the teacher to deliver targeted feedback.

Part of a teacher’s planning process should also involve incorporating prompts to remind them to deliver feedback during the lesson. This can include written prompts on a whiteboard or index card, or on post-it notes strategically placed on materials. Prompts may be scripted statements or written as sentence starters as an initial support and gradually faded as the teacher develops skill in naturally delivering feedback. Replacing the written statements with visuals in the classroom can be helpful during this transition. In addition, a teacher can use digital interval timers as reminders to deliver feedback. These devices can either be carried in a teacher’s pocket or clipped to a teacher’s clothing to give a discrete reminder at set intervals throughout the day.

Monitoring Progress and Goal Setting

Once baseline data are collected and strategies have been chosen, it is important for the teacher to continue monitoring the amount of feedback they are providing. To do so, a teacher might consider graphing the delivery of his or her feedback so that it serves as a visual aid. This can be easily done either by hand with graphing paper or electronically. In addition, a teacher can set a goal for each session as a motivational strategy. For example, Figure 1 illustrates an Excel spreadsheet that was used to monitor a teacher’s delivery of BSP and goal setting for future lessons. (Contact the first author if interested in the Excel spreadsheet.) Regardless of the method chosen, consistently monitoring the rate of feedback can help facilitate delivering feedback with consistency and fidelity.

Figure 1.

Example of progress monitoring and goal setting of behavior-specific praise statements using an Excel spreadsheet.

Conclusion

Providing positive and constructive feedback is an essential component in the teaching and learning process, especially for students with EBD. A teacher’s acknowledgment of a student behavior can not only have a significant impact on the student’s academic and behavioral outcomes, but also on the development of the student–teacher relationship. Fortunately, providing positive and constructive feedback is a natural, efficient, and economical strategy for the teacher to use. Using the information in this article can provide teachers assistance with determining the types of feedback to use as well as how to implement with consistency and fidelity. A selected list of additional online resources for promoting positive and constructive feedback is provided in Table 3.

Table 3.

Selected Online Resources for Promoting Positive and Constructive Feedback.

Name	Links	Description
CIBRS	https://cibrs.com/videos/	This website provides an effective instruction video module on engagement and feedback as well as video examples of instructional practices such as specific praise and correction being implemented in a variety of K-12 classroom contexts.
High-Leverage Practices in Special Education	https://highleveragepractices.org/701-2-3/	This video provides a brief introduction to the HLP: Provide Positive and Constructive Feedback to Guide Students’ Learning and Behavior including a brief review of the research support, and brief videos of general education and special education teachers implementing the practice.
PBIS OSEP Technical Assistance Center	https://osepideasthatwork.org/evidencebasedclassroomstrategies	This technical assistance document summarizes evidence-based classroom behavior intervention and support strategies for teachers including behavior-specific praise and corrective feedback.
MO EDU-SAIL	http://www.moedu-sail.org/courses/feedback/	This online learning package was created specifically for classroom teachers and discusses the role of feedback and its impact on student achievement, different types and levels of feedback, and strategies to implement feedback.

Note. CIBRS = Center for Instructional and Behavioral Research in Schools; HLP = high-leverage practices; PBIS = Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports; OSEP = Office of Special Education Programs; MO EDU-SAIL = Missouri Educational Systems and Instruction for Learning.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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