Creating a Positive Classroom Atmosphere: Teachers' Use of Effective Praise and Feedback.

C reating a positive and engaging classroom atmosphere is one of the most powerful tools teachers can use to encourage children's learning and prevent problem behaviors from occurring. Although a number of factors are related to a positive classroom atmosphere, such as classroom management techniques and instructional pacing, one important factor is how teachers attend or respond to children's behaviors. Teachers' responses to children's appropriate and problem behavior can help set the tone of the classroom environment. If teachers attend to and respond in a harsh and combative manner to children's display of problem behavior, they most likely will receive combative responses from children in return and see an increase in their display of problem behavior. This type of response can lead to coercive interactions between teachers and children and negatively affect the classroom atmosphere. Similarly, if teachers ignore children's appropriate behavior and more frequently attend to their problem behaviors, children most likely will learn to engage in problem behaviors as a predictable way to obtain a teacher's attention.

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