PBS in a Nutshell

Gloria Wright MurphyState Support Team 6

March 16, 2009

Material from the CSEFEL with funds from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families (Cooperative Agreement N.PHS 90YD0119

Examining Our Attitudes about Challenging

Behavior What behavior pushes your buttons the

most?

1. Teacher Passive Resistance 2. Multiple referrals from the same

staff 3. The letter of the law (black or

white) 4. Teachers sending students in for

“minors”

How do these behaviors make you feel?

1. Angry 2. Frustrated 3. Threatened in my management

skills 4. Annoyed

Be honest…..How does this impact your relationship

with the staff?

1. Not at all 2. Somewhat 3. Quite a bit

Integrated Experience

Students/staff act in a manner. Then staff /administrators react. It is an integrated experience.

We need to be proactive and “front load” interventions so that we are NOT in the reactive mode

Integrated Experience

There is a time to be:› Supportive› Directive

Short Concise Concrete

Necessary Emotional Skills for students (and

staff) Confidence Ability to build good relationships Concentration and persistence with

challenging tasks Effective communication of emotions Ability to be attentive to instructions Ability to solve social problems

When staff/students do not have these skills, they often

exhibit challenging behaviors

We have to teach behavior skills just as we teach academic skills

Some Basic Assumptions

Challenging behavior usually has a message – I am bored (academics are too low/too high), I am sad, You hurt my feelings, I need some attention

Students/staff often use challenging behavior when they do not have the social or communication skills they need to engage in more appropriate interactions

Behavior that persists over time usually works for the student/staff

We need to teach what to do in place of the challenging behavior

Promote student/staff success

Create an environment where EVERY student/staff feels good about coming to school

Design an environment that promotes student/staff engagement

Focus on teaching students/staff what TO DO!› Teach expectations› Teach skills that students/staff can use in

place of the challenging behaviors

Building Positive Relationships

Design Supportive Environments

Social Emotional Teaching

Strategies

Individualized Intensive

Interventions

Visibility Accessibility Distractibility

Univers

al

All Students/St

aff

Building Relationships

Help EVERY student/staff feel accepted in the group

Assist student/staff in learning to communicate and get along with others

Encourage feelings of empathy and mutual respect among students and adults

Provide supportive environment in which students/staff can learn and practice appropriate and acceptable behaviors as individuals and as a group

Building Relationships with Students/Staff

Why is it important?› Relationships are the foundation of everything we do.

Build these relationships early on rather than waiting until there is a problem

› Humans learn and develop in the context of relationships that are responsive, consistent, nurturing

› Adult time and attention are very important to students and we need to ensure them our time and utmost attention at times other than when they are engaging in challenging behaviors

› Parents and other colleagues (community agencies) are critical partners in building student’s social emotional competence. Front loading success with prevent many challenging behaviors.

Every student/staff needs one person who is crazy

about him/her

Building Positive Relationships with Students/Staff

Play

Notes

Share

Time&

Attention

Greet by

name

Home Visits

Empathy

Public recognition

Star of

the

Week

Building Positive Relationships

Design Supportive Environments

Social Emotional Teaching

Strategies

Individualized Intensive

Interventions

Univers

al

All Students/St

aff

Classroom Arrangement and Design: Traffic

Patterns

Clear boundaries Minimize obstacles and other hazards Needs of the students with special problems Visual prompts Organization of materials

Visibility Accessibility

Distractibility

Schedules and Routines

Develop a schedule that promotes student engagement and success

Balance activities› Active and quiet› Large group, small group, pairs, individual,

centers & stations Teach students the schedule Develop a routine and follow it consistently When changes are necessary, prepare the

students ahead of time

Transitions

Plan for transitions› Minimize the number of transitions that students

have to make in your classroom› Minimize the length of time students spend

waiting with nothing to do› Prepare students for transitions by providing a

warning› Structure transitions so that students have

something to do while they wait› Teach students the expectations related to

transitions› Individualize supports (pre correct, prompt, cue)

Plan and teach CHAMPS for whole group, small group,

pairs, individual work, centers and stations

Conversation Help Activity Movement Participation Signal for silence

Sample Staff Meeting Rules

Demonstrate Mutual Respect

Use Time Efficiently

Listen openly & activelyEveryone’s opinion is valuedEveryone contributes/no one monopolizesNo sidebar conversations

Start on timeStaff will have an opportunity to add agenda itemsLatecomers are responsible for getting missed information

Large Group Activities

Planning the activity› Consider the length› Be specific both in writing and verbally about the

benchmark (purpose and goal) of the activity› Use whole group ONLY to teach NEW information

Implementing whole group› Provide opportunities for ALL students to be actively

involved› Assign jobs to students/staff› Vary your speech and intonation patterns› Have students lead some whole group activities› Pay attention to student behavior

Large Group con’t

Arrange seating to make special needs students/staff accessible

Differentiated assignments (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)

Plan for late finishers Plan for early finishers (enrichment, not

busy work) Interact through patterned turns, call

on all students/staff equally

Small Group Activities

Focus of small group activities› Skill building for students with common needs› Produce a product› Experience a process

Planning and Implementing› Heterogeneous and a randomly mixed equal groups

(3-5) male, female, ethnicity, high, low, average› Assigned task for each participant (leader, reporter,

time keeper, researcher, etc.)› Required individual grades› Clear goals› Provide feedback throughout

Student/Staff Pairs

Peer assisted learning skills(PALS)-reading, paragraph shrinkage

Coach› Ask questions› Listen carefully to player› Provide reinforcement for correct answers› Provide guides and prompts for incorrect answers (but do NOT

give the answer)› Show respect for player

Player› Listen carefully› Think about question› Work to master content› Show respect for coach

Individual

May be accomplished in a variety of ways› Computer station› Peer assistance› Teacher assistance› Learning center (ONLY for enrichment,

application, remediation)….NOT busy work

Giving Directions

Make sure you have student/staff attention before you give direction

Minimize the number of directions given

Individualize the way directions are given

Give clear directions

Giving Directions, con’t.

Give directions that are positive Give students/staff the opportunity to

respond to a direction When appropriate, give the

student/staff choices and options for following directions (live with their choice)

Follow through with positive acknowledgment of student’s/staff’s behavior

General Guidelines about Rules

3-5 simple, positively stated classroom rules

Measurable Involve students/staff in developing the

rules Post the rules visually Teach the rules systematically 5X a year

(beginning , after each break, a week or two before school is finished

Reinforce the rules at a high rate initially

Guidelines for Writing RulesMeasurableConsistent with school rulesUnderstandableDoableManageableAlways applicableStated positivelyConsistent with your own philosophy

Rules could address:

Noise level Space Materials/supplies Promptness Safety Respect for others, self, property Work habits

Ongoing monitoring and positive attention

Give students/staff attention when they are engaging in appropriate behaviors

Monitor our own behavior to ensure that we are spending more time using positive descriptive language and less time giving directions or correcting inappropriate behavior

4:1 is the rule of thumb

Positive Feedback

Contingent upon appropriate behavior Descriptive Conveyed with enthusiasm Contingent upon effort

* nonverbal forms may be used * individualize feedback and encouragement * encourage all adults and students to use positive

feedback and encouragement

Building Positive Relationships

Design Supportive Environments

Social Emotional Teaching

Strategies

Individualized Intensive

Interventions

Targ

eted

Students at-risk

All Students/Staff

What is Social Emotional Development?

A sense of confidence and competence Ability to develop good relationships with peer

and adults/make friends/get along with others Ability to persist at tasks Ability to follow directions Ability to identify, understand, and

communicate own feelings/emotions Ability to constructively manage strong

emotions Development of empathy

What happens when children don’t have these skills?

Isolation from peers and staff Failure in academics Exhibition of inappropriate behavior

due to the isolation, failure and frustration about not knowing what to do

Stages of Learning

Awareness – that a skill/concept is missing

Acquisition – new skill/concept Fluency – ability to use the skill/concept

without a prompt Maintenance – continuing to use

skill/concept over time Generalization – applying the

skill/concept to new situations, people, activities, ideas and settings

Teachable moment

What are some skills that can be embedded into any context at

school ?

Friendship

Sharing

Being Helpful

Team Member

Taking

Turns

Being Helpful

Giving

Complimen

ts

Knowing How and When to

Give Apologies

Emotional Literacy

The ability to identify, understand, and express emotions in a healthy way

Students with a Strong Foundation in Emotional Literacy

Students with Strong Emotional Literacy

• Tolerate frustration better & get into fewer fights•Engage in less destructive behavior•Are healthier•Are less lonely•Are less impulsive•Are more focused•Have greater academic achievement

Check In Check Out/SWIS

Check In Check Out is a method of helping to work with these targeted children

http://www.swis.org Staff Member acts as a coach for the

student

Building Positive Relationships

Design Supportive Environments

Social Emotional Teaching

Strategies

Individualized Intensive

Interventions

Inte

nsive

All Students/Staff

Students at-risk

Few Students/Staff

Challenging Behavior

What are we referring to when we say “challenging behavior?› Any repeated pattern of behavior that interferes

with learning or engagement in prosocial interactions with peers and adults.

› Behaviors that are not responsive to the use of developmentally appropriate guidance procedures

› Prolonged tantrums, physical and verbal aggression, disruptive vocal and motor behavior (e.g. screaming, throwing), property destruction, self-injury, noncompliance, and withdrawal

Intensive Individualized Interventions

Intensive individualized interventions are used with students who have very persistent and severe challenging behavior and do not respond to the typical preventive practices, child guidance procedures, or social emotional teaching strategies that would normally work for most children

The PBS (Positive Behavior Support) approach to Intensive

Intervention

An approach for changing a student’s behavior based on developing an understanding of why the student has the challenging behavior and teaching the student new skills (which get him/her what he/she wants) in place of the old challenging behaviors which have already worked

An approach the considers all of the factors that impact the student (family, school, peers, health, emotional issues, hunger, low academics, etc.)

Research on PBS

Effective for all ages of individuals 2-50 years of age

Effect for diverse groups of individuals with challenges: mental retardation, oppositional defiant disorder, autism, emotional behavioral disorders, children at risk, etc.

PBS is the only comprehensive and evidence-based approach to address challenging behavior within a variety of natural settings.

Old Way New Way

General intervention for all behavior challenges

Intervention is reactive

Focus on behavior reduction

Quick fix

Intervention matched to purpose of the behavior

Intervention is proactive

Focus on teaching new skills

Long-term interventions

Challenging Behavior Communicates

Communicates a message when the student does not have the language skills necessary to communicate in another way

Used instead of language by a student who has limited social skills or has learned that challenging behavior will result in meeting his/her need.

Challenging Behavior Works

Students engage in challenging behavior because it “works” for them

Challenging behavior results in the student gaining access to something or someone (i.e. obtain/request) or avoiding something or someone (i.e. escape/protest)

Every communicative behavior can be described by the form and function

Form: the behavior used to communicate

Function: the reason or purpose of the communicative behavior

Forms of communication

Words

Body Language

Facial Expression

Functions of Communication

Request

objectRequest help

Request social interaction

Request information

Request

Stimulatio

n

Escape

activity

Escape

person

Functions of Communication

Escape demands

Escape sensory

stimulation

Work as a Collaborative Team to Provide Positive Behavior Support

Step 1 Establishing a collaborative team and identify goals

› Assign roles (facilitator, recorder, time keeper, reporter of group information, etc.)

› Determine agenda and time for meeting

(This is a problem solving meeting, NOT a gripe session)

Step 2 Ensure that all participates are prepared by each

gathering information known to them about the form and function of the student’s behavior (FBA-Functional Behavior Assessment)

Work as a Collaborative Team to Provide Positive Behavior Support

Step 3 Develop an hypothesis (best guess)

Step 4Design positive behavior support plans

Step 5Implement, monitor, evaluate outcomes,refine plan in natural environments