1. Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition From MCREL’s Nine Effective Instructional Strategies DeAnne Heersche

2. Guidelines for Effective Feedback Be specific Be timely Talk about behavior; no mind reading Praise when you can Leave communication lines open

3. Instructional Reinforcement Contingent reinforcement is positively related to achievement Noncontingent reinforcement is unrelated to achievement; however, there is evidence that low-achieving students receive some academic benefit from noncontingent recognition

4. Instructional Reinforcement Acknowledging correct responses is positively related to achievement Reinforcements are most effective when linked to progress toward a goal Achievement benefits are the same if they receive rewards for correct answers and lose them for incorrect answers

5. Instructional Reinforcement Instructional reinforcement alone produces achievement benefits equal to those produced by a combination of instructional and behavioral reinforcement

6. Response to Alleged Negative Effects of Reinforcement Reinforcers can contribute to intrinsic motivation if related to the task at hand The recipient must view the reward as a symbol rather than a reward The reward must be given for more than just participation Decreased performance occurs only if the rewards are highly visible and attractive, noncontingent, and/or tied to behavior

7. Can Teachers Learn to Use Reinforcement? Teachers trained in verbal feedback for correct responses have higher performing students Providing training to student tutors is positively related to student achievement

8. Elements of Effective Praise Is delivered contingently Specifies the particulars of the accomplishment Shows spontaneity and credibility Tied to accomplishment Reward attainment of specified performance criteria

9. Elements of Effective Praise Provides students with information about their accomplishments Orients students as to their progress toward a goal Recognizes level of effort or difficulty Attributes success to effort and ability Fosters the belief that students do the task because they enjoy doing the task

10. Elements of Ineffective Praise Is delivered randomly or unsytematically Is restricted to global positive reactions Shows bland uniformity Rewards mere participation Provides no feedback toward a goal Compares students with peers rather than past accomplishments

11. Elements of Ineffective Praise Is given without regard to effort or the meaning of the accomplishment Attributes success to ability alone or to luck Fosters the belief that students do the task for the external reward Focuses students’ attention on the teacher as an authority figure

12. Displaying Student Work Base the selection on pre-set criteria Practice choosing work for display Share work for display Remind students of why work is displayed Examine existing displays Create a list of qualities that make a display effective

13. Summary of Research on Reinforcing Effort People generally attribute success at any given task to one of four causes: ability, effort, other people, luck Not all students realize the importance of believing in effort Students can learn to change their beliefs to an emphasis on effort

14. Classroom Practices in Reinforcing Effort Teach and exemplify the connection between effort and achievement Have students periodically keep track of their effort and its relationship to achievement

15. Summary of Research on Providing Recognition Rewards do not necessarily have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation Reward is most effective when it is contingent on the attainment of some standard of performance Abstract symbolic recognition is more effective than tangible rewards

16. Classroom Practice in Providing Recognition Personalize recognition Pause, prompt, praise Concrete symbols of recognition