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Using a Response to Intervention Approach to Address Behavior Concerns

Nebraska RTI Summer Institute

July 31, 2007Brian C. McKevitt, PhD, NCSP

University of Nebraska-Omaha

Jerry Harrenstein, Ed.S.

Lincoln Public Schools

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Presentation Objectives

To describe a three-tier approach to providing behavior support for students

To highlight examples of an RTI process used to address behavior concerns in Lincoln Public Schools

To address factors needed to have successful RTI procedures in place for behavior support

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What Do We Know About RTI Reading?

Tier 1: Core Classroom Instruction Universal screening Strong general education curriculum Designed to prevent more intensive reading problems

Tier 2: Supplementary Intervention Student data indicate who gets more intervention Small groups, more intensive instruction

Tier 3: Intensive Intervention Student data indicate who gets more intervention Typically individualized, may include verification for

special education

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What Do We Know About RTI Behavior?

Tier 1: Core Classroom Instruction Are we teaching all our students expected behaviors? Do we have a screening process to find students who

need more intense behavior support? Tier 2: Supplementary Intervention

Are we using data to tell us who needs more intensive behavioral interventions?

Can we group students with similar need for behavior instruction?

Tier 3: Intensive Intervention Are we using FBA to develop individualized

intervention plans?

IF YES, THEN WE ARE ALREADY DOING RTI BEHAVIOR!

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Tier 1: Core Curriculum Instruction

Detentions, suspensions, expulsions DON’T WORK to change behavior in the long term!

School-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a set of strategies and systems to increase the capacity of schools to reduce school disruption educate all students including those with

problem behaviors

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Major Ideas in PBS

Invest in Prevention Teach, monitor, and reward BEFORE punishment Differentiate Systems as Needed

Different systems for different challenges School-wide (Primary Prevention) Targeted Group (Secondary Prevention) Intensive Individual (Tertiary Prevention)

Implement for Sustainable Effects Evaluate using information for decision-making

Note: Some slides adapted from PBS training materials, University of Oregon Educational and Community Supports.

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Primary Prevention:School-/Classroom-Wide Systems for

All Students,Staff, & Settings

Secondary Prevention:Specialized Group

Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior

Tertiary Prevention:Specialized

IndividualizedSystems for Students with

High-Risk Behavior

~80% of Students

~15%

~5%

CONTINUUM OFSCHOOL-WIDE

POSITIVE BEHAVIORSUPPORT

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PBS is NOT…

a specific practice or curriculum…it’s a general approach to preventing problem behavior

limited to any particular group of students…it’s for ALL students

new…it’s based on a long history of behavioral practices and effective instructional design and strategies

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Invest in Prevention:Build a Culture of Competence

Define behavioral expectations Teach behavioral expectations Monitor and reward appropriate behavior Provide corrective consequences for

behavioral errors Information-based problem solving

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Define School-wide Expectationsfor Social Behavior

Identify 3-5 Expectations Short statements Positive Statements (what to do instead of

what not to do) Memorable Examples:

Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, Be Kind, Be a Friend, Be-there-be-ready, Hands and feet to self, Respect self, others, property, Follow directions of adults

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These banners are hanging in the commons area and in our gymnasium.

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Teach Behavioral Expectations

Transform broad school-wide expectations into specific, observable behaviors.

Use the Expectations by Settings Matrix Teach in the actual settings where behaviors

are to occur Teach (a) the words, and (b) the actions. Build a social culture that is predictable and

focused on student success

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Classroom Gym Hallway Playground Bus Area

Be Safe Follow directions Follow directions

WalkOpen doors slowly

Go up ladders and down slides

Wait behind the red line

Be Respectful Raise your hand to talkHands and feet to self

Follow rules of the gameReturn equipment at bell

Hands and feet to self

One minute rule for sharing equipmentWait for your turn

Hands and feet to self

Be Responsible Bring books and pencil to classDo homework

Participate Keep books, belongings and litter off floor

Stay within the recess area

Keep you books and belongings with you

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Teaching Behavioral Expectations

Define the Expectation: Provide a Rationale: Teach the Critical Discrimination: Demonstrate Appropriate Behavior Demonstrate Unacceptable Behavior Practice telling the difference with multiple examples If there is a “signal” teach the signal (when should the appropriate behavior occur?) Teach for fluency? How will this skill be maintained?

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Why Teach Expectations?

Cannot assume students know how to apply rules in each setting…need to teach behaviors in context!

Teaching allows students to practice appropriate behavior and it builds fluency

Allows students to see non-examples of expectation

Decreases student response “I didn’t know…”

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On-going Reward of Appropriate Behavior

Every faculty and staff member acknowledges appropriate behavior.

5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative contacts System that makes acknowledgement easy and simple for

students and staff. Different strategies for acknowledging appropriate behavior

Classroom-wide announcements Raffles Open gym Tickets Parking space

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Discourage and Interrupt Problem Behaviors

Do not ignore problem behavior Clear guidelines for what is handled in class versus

sent to the office Prevent problem behaviors from being rewarded Do not expect negative consequences to change

behavior patterns. Negative consequences are a way to “keep the lid on.” Teaching changes behavior.

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Information-based Problem Solving

Survey staff to define need (Effective Behavior Support Survey)

Assessments of PBS implementation (School-wide Evaluation Tool, observations, interviews)

Review student data regularly (office discipline referrals and/or other indicators)

Other screening tools? Examples of data collection tools at

www.pbis.org and www.swis.org

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ODR by Behavior

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Abus

ive

lang

uage

Destruc

tion

of p

rope

rty

Disrup

tion

Haras

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t

Nonco

mpl

ianc

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Overt d

isres

pect

Phys

ical a

ggre

ssion

Poss

essio

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alcoh

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rugs

Poss

essio

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wea

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Tard

yTh

eft

Trua

ncy

Behavior

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

rrals

2004-2005

Tier 1 Data Examples

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Office Referrals by Location

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Bus

Clas

sroo

m

Com

mon

Are

a

Hallw

ay

Lock

er R

oom

Lunc

hroo

m

Off Sc

hool G

roun

ds

Office

Play

grou

nd

Rest

room

Scho

ol G

roun

ds

Location

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

rrals

2004-2005

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ODR by Month

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May

Month

Nu

mb

er

of

Refe

rrals

2004-2005

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High School in Iowa 02-05

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

CAM HS 200203 CAM HS 200304 CAM HS 200405

Pct6up 7% 4% 1%

Pct2to5 14% 11% 4%

Pct0to1 79% 85% 96%

CAM HS 200203 CAM HS 200304 CAM HS 2004052002-03 2003-04 2004-05

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Capitol View ES 200304 Capitol View ES 200405

Pct6up 4% 3%

Pct2to5 13% 8%

Pct0to1 83% 89%

Capitol View ES 200304 Capitol View ES 200405

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Jackson ES 200304 Jackson ES 200405

Pct6up 2% 0%

Pct2to5 12% 8%

Pct0to1 86% 91%

Jackson ES 200304 Jackson ES 200405

Elementary 03-04 04-05

Elementary 03-04 04-05

Iowa

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Harding MS 200203 Harding MS 200304 Harding MS 200405

Pct6up 21% 15% 15%

Pct2to5 23% 21% 20%

Pct0to1 56% 64% 65%

Harding MS 200203 Harding MS 200304 Harding MS 200405

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1 2

Series3 15% 6%

Series2 11% 14%

Series1 74% 80%

1 2

Middle School 02-03 03-04 04-05

Middle School 03-04 04-05

Iowa

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Tier 1 in Practice: Lincoln Public Schools Plans for universal screening of behavior PBS in Lincoln Public Schools What is needed to make Tier 1 work?

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Behavior Support Challenges

Resources (time and money) in schools are limited

Need to match level of support to level of the student’s behavioral challenges

Need an efficient and effective intermediate level intervention system that targets students who are not responding to the school-wide system, but are not in need of individual, intense support

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The Response: Supplementary Interventions (Tier 2)

Targets groups of students who: Fail to respond to school-wide and classroom

expectations Are not currently engaging in dangerous or extremely

disruptive behavior Efficient - Similar set of behavioral strategies are

used across a group of students needing similar levels of support

Effective - Decreasing problem behavior in classroom, increasing academic engagement, and decreasing office discipline referrals

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Steps for Targeted Intervention Support Identify candidates for targeted interventions Identify specific student needs Group students according to similar needs Design and implement intervention support Complete progress monitoring during

intervention Monitor integrity of implementation Evaluate the impact of the program

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Identify Students for Targeted Inventions Identify students for targeted

intervention support based upon: Office Referral Data (e.g., 3-5 office

referrals) Behavior Incident Reports Teacher Nomination Other screening data

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Identify Specific Student Needs

Identify student needs What skills are they missing? What instruction do they need? What type of reinforcement do they need? What are the effective consequences?

Use current student data (office referrals), teacher interviews, student interviews, etc.

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Group Students According to Need Within the at-risk population, look for

small groups of students with similar needs

For example, do you have a small group of students who are fighting at recess and need additional instruction on recess behaviors and how to use words instead of fists?

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Design and Implement Intervention SupportIdentify what instruction will be provided Who will teach How often Required materials

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Complete Progress Monitoring

Identify what data will be collected Identify who will collect the data Identify the baseline level of performance and

the goal Identify the decision-making rule Collect progress monitoring data throughout

the intervention

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Monitor Integrity of Implementation Need interventions that are implemented with

integrity in order to make decisions about the effectiveness of the intervention

Implementation as scheduled Implementation of key components How? - Implementation logs, interviews,

observations

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Evaluate the Impact of the Program Make decisions about individual students

Modify, continue, or terminate the intervention Make decisions about the overall

effectiveness of the program # or % of students who were successful # or % of decrease in office referrals

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Tier 2 Progress Monitoring Example

Grade 2 Social Skills Group

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Supplemental Interventions Evidence-based Social-Emotional-Learning

Programs Blueprints for Violence Prevention (

http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/) SAMHSA: US Department of Health and Human Services

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (http://nrepp.samhsa.gov).

CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (http://www.casel.org)

OJJDP: US Department of Education Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (http://www.dsgonline.com/mpg2.5/mpg_index.htm)

What Works Clearinghouse (http://www.whatworks.ed.gov/) SDFS: US Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug Free

Schools (http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/exemplary01/exemplary01.pdf)

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Supplemental Interventions

Other social skills programs Incentive plans Check-in/Check-out Behavior Report Card Behavior Education Program (BEP)

Crone, D. A., Horner, R. H., & Hawken, L.. S. (2004). Responding to problem behavior in schools: The Behavior Education Program. New York: Guilford.

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Tier 3: Intensive InterventionsOverview of the Process Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)

Behavior Support Plan

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Functional Behavioral Assessment

Clearly describes the challenging behaviors, including behaviors that go together (A-B-Cs)

Identifies the events, times, and situations that maintain the challenging behaviors (attention, escape)

Develops one or more summary statements or hypotheses that describes specific behaviors, the types of situations in which they occur, and the reinforcers that maintain the behaviors

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Functional Behavioral Assessment

Collects directly observed data that support summary statements

It is a process to understand the structure and function of behavior to TEACH and promote effective alternatives, NOT just to eliminate undesirable behaviors

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Why an FBA is Important

It increases the efficiency and effectiveness of strategies for changing problem behavior

It increases your attention to the things that you have control over, that you can alter, to make an impact on the student’s behavior

It increases your sense of efficacy in being able to bring about real, important changes for students and staff

It leads to the development of Positive Behavioral Support Plans

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When to Identify the Function

Major problem behaviors for individual students School-wide/Class-wide positive support efforts are not

working Typical discipline procedures ineffective Behavior intervention plan required for 504 or IEP Ten cumulative days of suspension (manifestation

determination for special education students) Standards of best practice recommend the use of FBA

within a problem-solving approach

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Data from an FBA

Operational definition of the behavior: What does the behavior look like?

Antecedents: How do you know the behavior is going to happen?

Setting events: What makes the behavior more likely?

Consequences: Why does the behavior keep happening?

Function: What is the primary purpose of the behavior?

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Functions of Behavior Behavior is functional: it serves a purpose All behaviors are motivated by a certain outcome or

desire Common functions:

Obtain Stimulation Attention Objects Communication

Escape or Avoid Pain Attention Difficult Tasks

Avoid Colloquial Functions:

• “Revenge”

• “Basically Evil”

• “Control”

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FBA Methods

Indirect information gathering Record review Interviews Rating scales

Direct observation Functional analysis

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Information Gathering

Interviews with teachers, student, parents Description of behavior Strategies already tried Guess about what motivates behavior How often behaviors occur How long it has been a problem When behaviors occur or do not occur Who is present when behavior occurs Possible skill deficits Events surrounding behavior

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Information Gathering

Direct observation Record instances of behavior Record what happened before the behavior

occurred (antecedents) Record what happened after the behavior

occurred (consequences) Look for patterns (10-15 instances of

behavior)

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Information Gathering

Functional Analysis Control and manipulate variables that may

contribute to problem behavior Analyze effects of manipulations For example, vary task length and/or task

difficulty and observe impact on work completion Needs to be highly structured and closely

monitored

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Effective Environments

Problem behaviors are irrelevant Aversive events are removed Access to positive events are more common

Problem behaviors are inefficient Appropriate behavioral alternatives available Appropriate behavioral alternatives are taught

Problem behaviors are ineffective Problem behaviors are not rewarded

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Intervention Planning

Prevention (Make problem behaviors irrelevant by managing antecedents and setting events): Schedule Curriculum (content, sequence) Instruction

Skill Building (Teach desired behaviors) Teaching = delivering events that change

behavior, not just delivering curriculum Replacement behaviors (maintain same function

as problem behavior) Adaptive skills

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Intervention planning (cont.)

Manage consequences Prevent reinforcement of problem behavior Increase reinforcement of desired and

replacement behaviors Negative consequences

The use of socially acceptable punishers may be needed to prevent reward of problem behaviors

Do not add negative consequences to the plan until all other components are defined

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Intervention Planning (cont.)

Implementation Plan (Who will do what when?) Schedule meeting times to review Schedule teaching times Plan data collection and display

Plan Evaluation (Did it work?) Use data to make decisions Make decision rules when to change intervention

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Tier 3 Progress Monitoring Example

Intervention 2

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Tiers 2 and 3 in Practice: Lincoln Public Schools Interventions being used Progress monitoring methods What is needed to make Tiers 2 & 3 work?

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Special Education Verification

Three questions should be addressed to determine eligibility and need for special education: How does the student’s rate of progress in developing

expected skills compare to a certain standard? How does the student’s current level of performance

compare to a certain standard? What are the student’s instructional needs in the area

of behavior (i.e., curriculum, instruction, accommodations)?

An RTI Behavior process can easily address these three questions!

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Thank you!

Questions? Contact Information:

Brian McKevitt University of Nebraska-Omaha bmckevitt@mail.unomaha.edu (402) 554-2498

Jerry Harrenstein Lincoln Public Schools jharren@lps.org (402) 436-1168