The effects of experimenter's instructions, feedback, and praise on teacher praise and student attending behavior.
Feedback only works if you add real praise for the adult’s target behavior.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three elementary teachers got three different help packages. One group heard only instructions. One group got instructions plus feedback. The last group got instructions, feedback, and real praise from the experimenter.
The team watched how often each teacher praised kids for paying attention. They used a multiple-baseline design across the teachers.
What they found
Only the group that got feedback plus praise showed a clear jump in teacher praise. Instructions alone or feedback alone barely moved the numbers.
Student attending stayed high when teachers were praised for praising.
How this fits with other research
Plant et al. (2007) swapped the live praise for a simple visual sheet. The sheet worked just as well, showing the praise piece can be indirect.
LaBrot et al. (2021) gave grad students the same feedback-plus-praise recipe plus video models. Their behavior-specific praise rose fast, proving the package works outside K-the teachers.
Madsen et al. (1968) used an ABAB design to show that when feedback stops, progress stops. Dukhayyil et al. (1973) adds the next layer: feedback needs praise to keep going.
Why it matters
If you coach teachers, pair every data point you share with genuine praise. A quick "Your 4:1 ratio is spot-on today—nice job noticing those quiet hands" keeps the behavior strong. Drop the praise and the feedback alone may not stick.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Systematic use of experimenter's instructions, feedback, and feedback plus social praise was used to increase teacher praise for student attending behavior of three elementary school teachers. Experimenter's verbal interactions with teachers, teacher's verbal praise for student behaviors, and pupil attending behavior were recorded during baseline conditions. As the three successive experimental conditions were introduced first with Teacher A, then with Teacher B, in a multiple baseline design, behaviors of the experimenter, the two teachers, and eight students were measured and recorded. In the cases of Teachers A and B, experimental condition one (Instructions) and experimental condition two (Feedback) produced inconclusive results. Experimental condition three (Feedback Plus Social Praise) produced more teacher praise for student attending behavior. The entire "Package" of Experimenter's Instructions, Feedback, and Feedback Plus Social Praise was introduced to Teacher C in a single experimental condition. As in the cases of Teachers A and B, behaviors measured were: (1) the experimenter's verbal interactions, (2) the teacher's praise of students, and (3) the student's attending behavior. Introduction of the "Package" also produced more teacher praise for student attending behavior.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1973 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1973.6-89