Noticing and acknowledging a wanted behavior change right as it happens — a quiet word or an agreed signal — then flagging it to the teacher so it keeps getting reinforced.
The thinking behind strong practice, and the cues that show it.
The scenario you saw
A student who usually blurts out has spent ten minutes raising their hand instead. The teacher is busy and hasn't noticed. What do you do?
Before you read on — what would you do here? Picture your move, then see the thinking behind strong practice.
What strong practice looks like
Why this works
When the behavior you want finally shows up, the moment it is happening is when noticing it pays the most — praise at the end of class, or a thumbs-up whenever eyes happen to meet, lands too far from the act to teach much. The worry that pointing it out will 'break the spell' has it backwards: behavior that gets noticed gets repeated, and behavior that gets ignored fades — including the good kind. A quiet word or a pre-agreed signal lands right on time without making the student an exhibit. And flagging the win to the teacher turns one good morning into a plan, because now two adults are catching it.
Recall is where it sticks. A few quick scenarios.
Reading is useful, but recall is where it sticks. Three short scenarios, low-stakes, no scoring. About 3 minutes. You can stop any time.
Start the practice set →Short on time? Start with the first one.