Adapting the Behavior Education Program for Preschool Settings · thumbs up or thumbs down. Gregory...
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PRESCHOOL BEHAVIOR EDUCATION PROGRAM Adapting the Behavior Education Program for Preschool Settings ELIZABETH A. STEED, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY I n the past decade, researchers and interventionists have applied the principles of positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS) to early learning environments, such as preschool classrooms, childcare centers, and Head Start. The translation of PBIS to early childhood classrooms has evolved so that we now know much more about how various strategies need to be adapted for young children and early learning contexts. For example, we know that preschool children benefit from having very simply stated classroom rules, that PBIS efforts with young children should involve collaboration with families, and that some strategies, such as the use of tokens or external reinforcement, may not fit within the developmentally appropriate practice framework early childhood teachers use (Stormont, Covington-Smith, & Lewis, 2007). Research thus far on program-wide PBIS has included the implementation of PBIS in Head Start classrooms, childcare centers, and state-funded preschool classrooms. These efforts have focused on implementing Tier 1 or universal supports for all children (Benedict, Homer, & Squires, 2007; Stormont et al., 2007) and Tier 3 or individualized interventions for particular children who exhibit challenging behavior (Duda, Dunlap, Fox, Lentini, & Clarke, 2004). Very little work has yet been done on adapting secondary or targeted interventions for preschool classrooms. The most researched targeted intervention that is used in schoolwide PBIS is the Behavior Education Program (BFP; Crone, Homer, & Hawken, 2004). The BFP is a daily check-in and check-out system in which students receive extra attention for positive social behavior throughout their school day. This extra attention is intended to prevent challenging or disruptive behavior for children who require additional support to be successful in school but who do not require intensive individualized interventions. The BFP's generality makes it continuously available for students who need it and possible for teachers to start a student on the BEP quickly, once he or she is referred for the intervention. In addition to its efficiency, the BEP has a growing research base to support its use as a targeted intervention (e.g., Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007; Filter et al., 2007). The BEP involves several core components, including (a) check in with an appointed adulf at the beginning of the school day; (b) a points sheet (daily progress record) with behavioral expectations and a scoring system; (c) repeated check-ins with teachers throughout the day to receive points and positive feedback; (d) check out with the appointed adult at the end of the day to tally points; (e) reinforcement for goals met in the form of activities, privileges, and/or preferred items; (f) family involvement with points sheets sent home each day to be signed and returned to school the next day wifh the student; (g) frequent evaluation of BEP data by the PBIS leadership team to review progress toward behavioral goals; and (h) referral of new students to the BEP using data from office discipline referrals (Crone et al., 2004). There are several aspects of the BEP program that must be adapted for it to be effectively and appropriately used in the preschool classroom (Hawken & Johnston, 2007). First, the numeric scoring system on the daily progress record should be changed to a simplified graphic system such as the one suggested by Hawken and Johnston using happy, neutral, and sad faces. Second, feedback typically provided to a student on a BEP that occurs at the end of each academic period may be given to young children in between each change in classroom routine (e.g., circle time to snack time) in a preschool classroom. Finally, another suggested change involves eliminating the use of tangible reinforcement in a typical BEP program. Early childhood teachers may prefer to use reinforcement in the form of activities and privileges (e.g., walk around the school, line leader for the bus) instead of tangible items when a child has attained her or his behavioral goals. This change may be a better fit for teachers who use developmentally appropriate practice in their classrooms. The following case study provides an illustration of how a modified version of the BEP, the Thumbs Up program, can be used as a targeted intervention in a preschool setting. Following this illustration, we describe additional potential modifications to the BEP that may be appropriate for early childhood contexts. Lastly, we discuss potential future directions for research and practice in adapting the BEP for young children. Case Study Gregory is new to the Edgewood Pines Early Chikihood Center. The center has four classrooms total: two that are half-day and two that are full-day Head Start programs. Under their preschool director's guidance, the center is in its 3rd year of implementing program-wide PBIS. Edgewood Pines has program-wide rules fhat guide teacher and child F A E E 2 0 1 1 3 7
Transcript of Adapting the Behavior Education Program for Preschool Settings · thumbs up or thumbs down. Gregory...
PRESCHOOL BEHAVIOR EDUCATION PROGRAM
Adapting the Behavior Education Program for Preschool Settings
ELIZABETH A. STEED, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
In the past decade, researchers andinterventionists have applied theprinciples of positive behavior
intervention and supports (PBIS) toearly learning environments, such aspreschool classrooms, childcarecenters, and Head Start. Thetranslation of PBIS to early childhoodclassrooms has evolved so that wenow know much more about howvarious strategies need to be adaptedfor young children and early learningcontexts. For example, we know thatpreschool children benefit fromhaving very simply stated classroomrules, that PBIS efforts with youngchildren should involve collaborationwith families, and that somestrategies, such as the use of tokens orexternal reinforcement, may not fitwithin the developmentallyappropriate practice framework earlychildhood teachers use (Stormont,Covington-Smith, & Lewis, 2007).
Research thus far on program-widePBIS has included the implementationof PBIS in Head Start classrooms,childcare centers, and state-fundedpreschool classrooms. These effortshave focused on implementing Tier 1 oruniversal supports for all children(Benedict, Homer, & Squires, 2007;Stormont et al., 2007) and Tier 3 orindividualized interventions forparticular children who exhibitchallenging behavior (Duda, Dunlap,Fox, Lentini, & Clarke, 2004). Very littlework has yet been done on adaptingsecondary or targeted interventions forpreschool classrooms.
The most researched targetedintervention that is used inschoolwide PBIS is the BehaviorEducation Program (BFP; Crone,Homer, & Hawken, 2004). The BFP isa daily check-in and check-out systemin which students receive extraattention for positive social behaviorthroughout their school day. This
extra attention is intended to preventchallenging or disruptive behaviorfor children who require additionalsupport to be successful in school butwho do not require intensiveindividualized interventions. TheBFP's generality makes itcontinuously available for studentswho need it and possible for teachersto start a student on the BEP quickly,once he or she is referred for theintervention. In addition to itsefficiency, the BEP has a growingresearch base to support its use as atargeted intervention (e.g., Fairbanks,Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007;Filter et al., 2007).
The BEP involves several corecomponents, including (a) check inwith an appointed adulf at thebeginning of the school day; (b) apoints sheet (daily progress record)with behavioral expectations and ascoring system; (c) repeated check-inswith teachers throughout the day toreceive points and positive feedback;(d) check out with the appointedadult at the end of the day to tallypoints; (e) reinforcement for goalsmet in the form of activities,privileges, and/or preferred items; (f)family involvement with pointssheets sent home each day to besigned and returned to school thenext day wifh the student; (g)frequent evaluation of BEP data bythe PBIS leadership team to reviewprogress toward behavioral goals;and (h) referral of new students to theBEP using data from office disciplinereferrals (Crone et al., 2004).
There are several aspects of theBEP program that must be adaptedfor it to be effectively andappropriately used in the preschoolclassroom (Hawken & Johnston,2007). First, the numeric scoringsystem on the daily progress recordshould be changed to a simplified
graphic system such as the onesuggested by Hawken and Johnstonusing happy, neutral, and sad faces.Second, feedback typically providedto a student on a BEP that occurs atthe end of each academic period maybe given to young children inbetween each change in classroomroutine (e.g., circle time to snack time)in a preschool classroom. Finally,another suggested change involveseliminating the use of tangiblereinforcement in a typical BEPprogram. Early childhood teachersmay prefer to use reinforcement inthe form of activities and privileges(e.g., walk around the school, lineleader for the bus) instead of tangibleitems when a child has attained her orhis behavioral goals. This change maybe a better fit for teachers who usedevelopmentally appropriate practicein their classrooms.
The following case studyprovides an illustration of how amodified version of the BEP, theThumbs Up program, can be used asa targeted intervention in a preschoolsetting. Following this illustration, wedescribe additional potentialmodifications to the BEP that may beappropriate for early childhoodcontexts. Lastly, we discuss potentialfuture directions for research andpractice in adapting the BEP foryoung children.
Case Study
Gregory is new to the EdgewoodPines Early Chikihood Center. Thecenter has four classrooms total: twothat are half-day and two that arefull-day Head Start programs. Undertheir preschool director's guidance,the center is in its 3rd year ofimplementing program-wide PBIS.Edgewood Pines has program-widerules fhat guide teacher and child
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behavior, which include "listen toothers," "be a good friend," and "be ateam player." Each classroom has arules poster that includes text andvisual pictures of children acting outthe rules. Preschool teachers reviewthe rules with children during circletime with examples and nonexamples,provide opportunities for the childrento practice the rules, and reinforce therules throughout the day whensituations arise. All of the preschoolteachers also use a teaching matrix tofurther translate the rules into routine-based behavioral expectations (seeFigure 1). Other Tier 1 universalsupports that Edgewood Pinesteachers have implemented includethe use of visual schedules, organizedtransitions, and the use of frequentpositive communication with childrenand their families to developencouraging and collaborativerelationships.
After 2 weeks of observingGregory in the preschool classroom,his teachers, Mr. Hughes and Ms.Valencia, have noticed anddocumented that Gregory engages ininappropriate social behaviors, suchas yelling at other children, takingtheir toys, hiding toys and otherchildren's belongings, and crying.He's had an average of 23 instances ofmisbehavior per day, even with theuniversal supports in place. Mr.Hughes and Ms. Valencia try to dobrief rehearsals of the classroom ruleswith Gregory following each instance,but this is taking too much of theirtime away from class instruction. Theydecide to start Gregory on the Tier 2targeted intervention, the Thumbs Upprogram, which is being used withthree other children at EdgewoodPines.
The Thumbs Up programinvolves six key steps. First, Gregorychecks in with the center director, Ms.Wickham (or "Ms. W"; Step 1). Ms.W gives Gregory a blank Thumbs Upsheet and reviews the rules with him(see Figure 2). She asks Gregoryquestions to ensure that he knowswhat is expected of him in each of hisclassroom routines. Ms. W also
reviews Gregory's goal, which is toget more thumbs up than thumbsdown at the end of the day. Ms. Wasks Gregory if he has his Thumbs Upsheet from the previous day. IfGregory has this in his backpack, theyreview it and discuss how he did andwhat changes he might want to makein his behavior today. Ms. W remindsGregory that he will be able to choosea special activity if he has a thumbs-up day.
Next, Gregory takes his ThumbsUp sheet to his classroom and gives itto Ms. Valencia (Step 2). Ms. Valenciauses a timer on her watch to remindher to check in with Gregory rightbefore each change in routine forapproximately 30 s. When she checksin with Gregory, Ms. Valencia circleseither the thumbs-up or thumbs-down picture for the precedingactivity and gives Gregory verbalfeedback about the specific behaviorshe engaged in (Step 3). If Gregoryreceives a thumbs down, Ms.Valencia also reminds Gregory of thebehavioral expectations. At eachfeedback session, Ms. Valencia alsotells or asks Gregory about theclassroom routine that is coming nextand the expectations for that routine.After the last centers of the day, Ms.Valencia gives Gregory his lastthumbs up or thumbs down. Gregorypacks up his backpack with hisbelongings and goes to Ms. W'soffice. Ms. W reviews Gregory'sThumbs Up sheet with him and hashim count all of the thumbs up andthumbs down that are circled (Step 4).She writes the numbers on Gregory'ssheet and then talks to him aboutwhether or not he had an overallthumbs-up or thumbs-down day.
If the majority of his day waspositive, Gregory picks from a choiceboard of special activities that he doesin the last 10 min of school before hismom or grandmother arrive to pickhim up (Step 5). Possible choices onthe choice board are a nature walkwith Ms. W around the school,getting to help Mr. Gonzalez (hisfavorite staff member) dry and stackthe clean lunch trays, or doing Starfall
on Ms. W's computer. All of theactivities on Gregory's choice boardare easily available and based onGregory's preferences and interests. IfGregory does not earn enoughthumbs up for his special activity, hespends the last 10 min of schoolwriting in his journal, reading alibrary book, or sitting and waiting,which are all neutral (neitherespecially positive or punishing) forGregory. Gregory's Thumbs Up sheetis sent home with Gregory's mom orgrandmother with the reminder forthem to review it and return a signedcopy with Gregory the next day (Step6).
After just 1 'A weeks of Gregorybeing on the Thumbs Up program,his preschool teachers have noticedand documented that Gregory isengaging in more rule-followingbehaviors. His disruptive orinappropriate behaviors havedecreased to just one to two instancesof misbehavior per day and noinstances in the past 3 days. Gregoryis excited each day to check in withMs. W at the beginning and end ofthe school day and enjoys earning hisspecial activities for having thumbs-up days. Gregory's family isappreciative of the extra positiveinput that they are now receiving.The sheet also has been influential forfamily members who have startedreminding and reinforcing Gregoryfor listening to others and being ateam player at home. The use of thistargeted intervention appears to haveincreased specific social behaviors forGregory with limited teacher timeand attention. Three months later,Gregory is maintaining goodclassroom behavior and interactingmore positively with his peers. Ms. Whas faded Gregory's reinforcement toa special activity just on Fridays whenhe has a thumbs-up week. Gregory'steachers still enjoy using the targetedintervention and feel like theyprevented a situation in whichGregory's problem behaviors mayhave escalated, warranting a Tier 3intensive and individualizedintervention.
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Other Preschool BEP Applications
There are alternative ways thatthe BEP may be modified and used asa targeted intervention in earlychildhood settings. For example, thepreschool program may elect to haveteachers provide feedback andattention at regularly timed intervals(e.g., every hour) rather than betweenchanges in classroom routines. Thisalternative may be easier toimplement, as changes in classroomroutines in early childhood settingscan require significant teacherattention to direct all of the childrenthrough the transition. Providingattention at an alternative, but regulartime, such as at the top of the hourwhen signaled by a watch or timer,may be more manageable forpreschool teachers.
Another potential adaptation tothe BEP program for young childrenmay include the use of graphicimages for the child to color in foreach interval of positive behavior,thereby eliminating the use ofnegative graphic images (e.g., sadface, thumbs down) on the BEP dailyprogress record. One possibility forsuch an approach is a Super Star dailyprogress record, in which the childhas a targeted number of stars that heor she is attempting to earn for theday. When the teacher checks in withthe child at the regularly scheduledfeedback session, the child wouldcolor in the star if she or he engagedin positive behavior. A star would notbe colored in if any inappropriatebehavior was exhibited in that timeperiod. This simplified version inwhich only images that are colored inare counted (as opposed to differentfaces or different thumbs) may beeasier for some young children tounderstand and follow.
Finally, as noted in the case studyat Edgewood Pines, most earlychildhood programs make decisionsregarding PBIS implementation at theclassroom level (i.e., among theclassroom teachers), with guidanceand approval from the preschooldirector. For targeted interventions to
be implemented effectively andefficiently program-wide, a PBISleadership team should beestablished that oversees the use of alllevels (universal, targeted, andindividualized) of PBIS interventionsin the center. This leadership teamwould develop the particularstrategies of the BEP to be used in thepreschool program, train teachers onits use, develop data-based decision-making rules for moving children onand off the BEP program, andmonitor and evaluate behavioral datafor children on the BEP program.
Discussion
The BEP is an efficient targetedintervention that may be adapted andused with young children who wouldbenefit from extra teacher attentionand feedback on their socialbehaviors. The case study presentedhighlights how specific features of theBEP may be adapted for a preschool-aged child and the specificorganizational structure of a preschoolsetting. With creative problem solvingand attention to developmentallyappropriate practice, the BEP is anappropriate Tier 2 intervention thatmay be used within an earlychildhood program's PBIS efforts.
Regarding future research intothe modified BEP, the current paucityof literature on targeted interventionsfor young children warrantsbeginning investigations with a singlecase design (e.g., multiple baselinedesign across children or centers).Whether or not an effective, modifiedversion of the BEP can be applied andused in a preschool program is thefirst research question to evaluate. Itmay then be appropriate to askwhether a modified BEP program,such as the Thumbs Up program,may be appropriate for youngchildren in kindergarten or firstgrade. Further research questions andareas for practical applications of theBEP in preschool include whethercertain adaptations (e.g., use of twoversus three choices for feedback) aremore effective than others, methods
to assess young children'sunderstanding of the BEP, andguidelines (e.g., number of behaviorincidents) for making data-baseddecisions about when young childrenmay benefit from the BEP. Research isclearly needed in this area ofprogram-wide PBIS as the fieldmoves forward with implementationof PBIS in increasing numbers ofearly childhood settings.
REFERENCESBenedict, E. A., Horner, R. H., & Squires, J.
K. (2007). Assessment andimplementation of positive behaviorsupport in preschools. Topics in EarlyChildhood Special Education, 27,174-192.
Crone, D. A., Horner, R. H., & Hawken, L.(2004). Responding to problem behaviorin schools: The Behavior EducationProgram, New York: Guilford Press.
Duda, M. A., Dunlap, G., Fox, L., Lentini,R., & Clarke, S. (2004). Anexperimental evaluation of positivebehavior support Ln a communitypreschool program. Topics in EarlyChildliood Special Education, 24,143-156.
Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, D., &Lathrop, M. (2007). Response tointervention: An evaluation of aclassroom system of behaviorsupport for second grade students.Exceptional Children, 73, 288-310.
Eilter, K., McKenna, M., Benedict, E. A.,Homer, R. H., Todd, A. W., & Watson, J.(2007). Check-in/check-out: A post hocevaluation of an efficient secondarylevel intervention for reducing problembehaviors in schools. Education andTreatment of Children, 30,69-84.
Hawken, L., & Johnston, S. (2007).Preventing severe problem behaviorin young children: The BehaviorEducation Program. Journal of Earlyand Intensive Behavior Intervention, 4,599-613.
Stormont, M., CovLngton-Smith, S., &Lewis, T. J. (2007). Teacherimplementation of precorrection andpraise statements in Head Startclassrooms as a component ofprogram-wide positive behavioralsupport. Journal of BehavioralEducation, 16, 280-290.
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Copyright of Beyond Behavior is the property of Council for Children with BehavioralDisorders and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listservwithout the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print,download, or email articles for individual use.
