Approval Responses

Positive reinforcement is naturally reinforcing to use! Using consistent behavior modification techniques we can train for independence, preparing individuals to transfer information and/or skills across new situations beyond the context and relationships from which they were learned. Beyond the natural reinforcement that arises from a successful activity itself, however, we can intervene to modify and shape behavior using immediate, contingent responses. There are several types of approval or disapproval responses, including words either spoken or written, nonverbal expressions either facial or bodily, proximity such as nearness or touching, activities either social or individual, and things including materials, food, playthings, awards, etc. Dr. Madsen compiled an extensive overview of possible responses for each reinforcing or punishing approval so that we could develop those which work for us and the populations we serve.

I want to expand my repertoire of approval responses, and so selected those which might be appropriate. Please feel free to read which from the book I selected, or better yet - turn to page 198 (or page 260) in Teaching / Discipline: A Positive Approach for Educational Development to develop your own!

Words:

• Awesome
• Great
• Nice
• Clean
• That's wonderful
• That's right
• Very good
• For sure!
• Sure thing
• I like the way you __________
• Thank you for __________
• Clear thinking!
• I appreciate your attention
• You catch on quickly
• Exactly
• Absolutely
• Good responses
• I really like the way (name) is __________
• Cool
• How creative!
• Interesting questions
• That is respectable
• I'm proud of you
• You've really learned/grown/changed a lot
• You make being a teacher worthwhile
• I'm so happy you enjoy __________
• You will go far

Nonverbal Expressions:

• Eye contact
• Smiling
• Grinning
• Widening eyes
• Nodding
• Raising eyebrows
• Happy laughter or chuckling
• Cheering
• Rolling eyes enthusiastically
• Clapping hands
• Raising arms
• Signaling O.K.
• Thumbs up
• Dancing
• Taking a fast breath

Proximity:

• Interacting outside of sessions
• Sitting within the group
• Standing alongside
• Walking among
• Gently guiding
• Pausing while transferring objects
• Leaning towards
• Patting back
• Patting shoulder
• Touching arm
• Dancing with
• Shaking hands

Activities:

• Show and tell; displaying or sharing one's work
• Presenting one's hobby or skill
• Collecting and/or putting away materials
• Helping others
• Contributing to group discussions
• Being a group leader
• Recognizing birthdays
• Special seating arrangements
• Choosing activities
• Listening to music
• Outdoor activities
• Musical games
• Dancing
• Talent shows

Things:

• Books
• Magazines
• Markers
• Crayons
• Coloring pages
• Word puzzles
• Sudoku puzzles
• Paint supplies
• Colored paper
• Board games
• Basketball
• Playing cards
• Hand lotion
• Musical toys
• Drums
• Guitar
• Keyboard
• Karaoke machine
• Stereo/CD Player
• Bingo prizes, i.e., hats, deodorant, pencil pouches, socks, etc.
• Gum
• Sugar free cookies
• Stamps and letter stationary

Variety is the spice of approval responses - mix it up! Attend to individual differences and reinforce accordingly. Find what works for you, those you serve, and the environment. These lists are my own, they are what I find fit my personality, either university students or individuals with serious mental illness, and the classroom or the psychiatric hospital. Now, find which complements you. And remember, positive reinforcement is naturally reinforcing to use!

Training For Independece

"Teachers training for independence should  1) assess specific values and arrange these values in a hierarchical order from the most to the least important. The next step is to  2) define specific behaviors that relate to each of the abstract values, and then  3) teach these behaviors (values) following the behavioral model. Regular routines to occupy one’s time can be developed in advance and be readily available when a person needs to be self-reliant. (80)"

Perhaps you may clarify your values and include them in a personal mission statement. However you choose to determine your values, you must apply them by specifying things you will actually do - and doing them. Teachers will have practiced techniques to prepare their students for academic transfer, but should also prepare their students for autonomy. Behavioral techniques used to teach a child to use the toilet on their own may be more similar to those used to prepare a graduate student to conduct research independently following graduation than you think. Those same techniques to modify a student's behavior will effectively shape your own behavior and prepare you for newfound abilities, interests, and domains of self-reliance.

Madsen, Charles H. & Madsen, Clifford K. (1998). Teaching / Discipline: A Positive Approach for Educational Development. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.

Transfer, Transfer, Transfer

"Bear in mind that we all are teachers,

we all are students,

and that to “Transfer”

is the process of moving an object, symbol, or idea

from one closed system to another,

when the two systems contain similar aspects or some similar relationship,

yet retaining a similar meaning (Madsen and Madsen, 1998)."

If you move an object such as a cheese grater from the kitchen into the bedroom, you can paint it and create an affordable earring holder. A symbol of the crucifixion has been generalized to represent Christianity. Because you remember memorizing the names of bones by chaining the information, you might transfer that same procedural idea to teach a new song to people and find success by presenting one line at a time and linking the lines together.

The theory concerning transfers of learning originated in behavioralism. A "transfer of practice" occurs whenever past experience informs and influences learning and performance in new and different situations. Slouching over your new guitar at home will later teach your body to sit with poor posture in a guitar class. You might transfer a learned confidence while playing guitar in front of your classmates when later performing publicly at a local coffee shop. Perhaps you observe how performing those different songs affected the audience, and so later choose to sing "What a Wonderful World" rather than "Yesterday" to elevate a patient's mood.

What is learned in one classroom should apply to another. And your life. And your future. Dressed in a suit and tie, Dr. Cliff Madsen grins while stepping through his classroom doorway and says everyday, "Ladies, gentlemen; take out pen and paper. Write a transfer!" Teaching yourself to think critically both in depth and creatively implies the ability to thoroughly understand a single topic and to also adaptively apply that understanding in endless functional purposes and intellectual pursuits. Rather then seeing the world as several distinct textbooks, practice seeing the world as the internet, rich with encyclopedias, video resources, social media and - downloadable textbook PDFs - that inform "vertical" depth with all possible "horizontal" breadth: connections, references, combinations, metaphors, theories, opinions, song lyrics, and so on. Barry Commoner contributes, "Everything is related to everything else." 

Madsen, Charles H. and Madsen, Clifford K. (1998). Teaching / Discipline: A Positive Approach for Educational Development. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.