Evaluating the Impact of Increasing General Education Teachers’ Ratio of Positive-to-Negative Interactions on Students’ Classroom Behavior

Abstract

Maximizing academic engagement and student learning demands that teachers effectively and positively manage student behavior within the classroom. Proactive classroom management (PCM) has been advocated as a preventionoriented and intentional approach to promoting high levels of academic engagement as incompatible to classroom problem behaviors (Rathvon, 2008). PCM involves a variety of classroom management techniques and is distinguishable from other classroom management models by three primary characteristics. First, PCM seeks to optimize academic engagement as a means of preventing inappropriate behaviors that interfere with learning (Gettinger, 1988). Second, PCM integrates instruction and management into a comprehensive classroom system, rather than treating them as separate domains (Rathvon, 2008). In other words, teachers deliver and maintain the flow of academic instruction within the context of ongoing PCM strategies. Third, PCM focuses on group rather than individual aspects of student behavior (Gettinger, 1988). Prior research highlights several effective PCM strategies (Simonsen, Fairbanks, Briesch, Myers, & Sugai, 2008). However, few experimental studies have examined teacher-student interactions as a classwide PCM strategy, and more precisely, whether increasing ratios of positive-to-negative interactions can reduce problem behaviors and promote better academic engagement. One of the most readily available and dispensable resources teachers can deliver to proactively manage desirable classroom behavior is their own attention through positive interactions with students. There are abundant opportunities provided on a daily basis to strategically and positively interact with students to recognize them for their behavior and performance, as well as engage in positive conversations that enable students to feel like a respected and valued member of the classroom. Although teacher behavior and attention can be 679137P BIXXX10.

Positivity Ratio and Well-Being Among Teachers. The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

“…This finding confirms the proposed critical positivity ratio of 2.9 for adults with high levels of well-being (Fredrickson and Losada, 2005;Chen et al, 2017). Higher ratios of positive to negative emotions might also enhance learning and have positive effects on the teacher-student relationship (Cook et al, 2017;Sabey et al, 2019).…”

The effects of a buddy bench on elementary students solitary behavior during recess

“…The use of simple, cost-effective SWPBS strategies to proactively manage student behavior and improve student outcomes is also emphasized (Cook et al, 2017). Given the need to address internalizing behaviors at recess, the buddy bench intervention shows promise as a relatively simple strategy to improve the school recess environment.…”

“…The use of simple, cost-effective SWPBS strategies to proactively manage student behavior and improve student outcomes is also emphasized (Cook et al, 2017). A relatively simple intervention referred to as the buddy bench has been used in schools as a positive approach contributing to an inclusive environment in which all students can have friends (Associated Press, 2013;Jorgensen, 2015).…”

Towards Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices for Classroom Management in Australia: A Review of Research Abstract

“…As a consequence, all teachers increased their use of behaviour specific praise following the training, although this level of use was not maintained in the follow-up phase in which prompts and support for self-management were withdrawn. In a similar study (Cook et al, 2017), three primary teachers who received direct instruction and practice in use of positive acknowledgement (intervention group) increased their acknowledgement to correction ratio in comparison to levels of acknowledgement used by the control group. Reduction in disruptive behaviour and increases in student engagement were also noted in classrooms of the intervention group.…”