Perhaps the most difficult aspect of using positive punishment is to decide on which strategies to apply to a particular student in a particular situation. Teachers observe their students closely to determine which methods are more likely to be accepted and receive a positive response. These strategies might include milder treatments for students who are more sensitive to embarrassment, such as the employment of private, non-verbal communications of warning from the teacher to the student -- a subtle hand gesture that has been agreed upon by both the student and teacher, perhaps. Whatever the form of the communication may be, it should be clear to the teacher and student involved, but not to the class at large.
According to Elizabeth Cooper's article, "101 Positive Discipline Techniques," one useful method of positive punishment is for a teacher to allow a student a voice in the design and nature of his or her discipline. By allowing student input, the teacher shows respect for the student's thoughts and feelings regarding whatever has transpired, and demonstrates that the teacher values the student's input for her own education as a teacher. This method also serves as a non-didactic way for teachers to guide a student toward a positive decision and outlook toward his or her behavior.
Ways of showing respect while issuing punishments are not limited to offering choices to students. A teacher will often lower her voice to a whisper when warning or correcting a student so that the student does not get embarrassed by the punishment, and may return the respect given by behaving his or herself. Additionally, a teacher could, according to Cooper, "get down on his/her eye level and look him in the eye while talking softly to him."
Even after discipline has been applied, teachers are faced with the additional task of monitoring punishments and then troubleshooting their effectiveness. Early on in a disciplinary program a student might resist the program and test its limits. Teachers then monitor the student to see if he or she ultimately accepts the program and settles in, or resists further and requires a shift in approach. Sometimes a plan will be effective for a while and gradually lose its effectiveness, at which time the teacher should revise the program. Regardless of disciplinary program, a teacher should always pair punishment with consistent positive reinforcement as a means to illustrate the alternative outcome of a student's behavior.