Effective Tier II Systems: From
Classroom to Small Group
Tim Lewis, Ph.D.
University of Missouri
OSEP Center on Positive
Behavioral Intervention & Supports
www.pbis.org
Big Ideas
Understand interaction between behavior and the
teaching environment
Behavior is functionally related to the
teaching environment
• Build Positive Behavior Support Plans that teach
pro-social “replacement” behaviors
• Create environments to support the use of prosocial behaviors (practice, practice, practice)
– School-wide
– Classroom
– Small Group / Individual
Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success
Academic Systems
Behavioral Systems
Intensive, Individual Interventions
•Individual Students
•Assessment-based
•High Intensity
1-5%
Targeted Group Interventions
•Some students (at-risk)
•High efficiency
•Rapid response
Universal Interventions
•All students
•Preventive, proactive
5-10%
80-90%
1-5%
Intensive, Individual Interventions
•Individual Students
•Assessment-based
•Intense, durable procedures
5-10%
Targeted Group Interventions
•Some students (at-risk)
•High efficiency
•Rapid response
80-90%
Universal Interventions
•All settings, all students
•Preventive, proactive
Positive
Behavior
Support
Social Competence &
Academic Achievement
OUTCOMES
Supporting
Decision
Making
Supporting
Staff Behavior
PRACTICES
Supporting
Student Behavior
Universal Strategies:
School-Wide
Essential Features
•
•
•
•
•
•
Statement of purpose
Clearly define expected behaviors (Rules)
Procedures for teaching & practicing expected behaviors
Procedures for encouraging expected behaviors
Procedures for discouraging problem behaviors
Procedures for record-keeping and decision making
(swis.org)
• Family Awareness and Involvement
Benton Elementary
I am….
All Settings
Classroom
Hallways
Cafeteria
Bathrooms
Playground
Assemblies
Safe
•Keep bodies
calm in line
•Report any
problems
•Ask
permission to
leave any
setting
Maintain
personal
space
Walk
Stay to the
right on
stairs
Banisters
are for
hands
•Walk
•Push in
chairs
•Place trash
in trash can
Wash hands with
soap and water
Keep water in the
sink
One person per
stall
Use equipment for
intended purpose
Wood chips are for
the ground
Participate in school
approved games
only
Stay in approved
areas
Keep body to self
•Walk
•Enter and exit
gym in an
orderly manner
Respect
ful
•Treat others
the way you
want to be
treated
•Be an active
listener
•Follow adult
direction(s)
•Use polite
language
•Help keep
the school
orderly
Be honest
Take care
of yourself
Walk
quietly so
others can
continue
learning
Eat only
your food
Use a
peaceful
voice
Allow for privacy of
others
Clean up after self
•Line up at first
signal
•Invite others who
want to join in
•Enter and exit
building peacefully
•Share materials
•Use polite language
Be an active
listener
Applaud
appropriately to
show
appreciation
A
Learner
•Be an active
participant
•Give full
effort
•Be a team
player
•Do your job
•Be a risk
taker
•Be
prepared
•Make
good
choices
Return to
class
promptly
•Use proper
manners
•Leave when
adult
excuses
•Follow bathroom
procedures
•Return to class
promptly
•Be a problem solver
•Learn new games
and activities
•Raise your
hand to share
•Keep
comments and
questions on
topic
RAH – at Adams City High School
(Respect – Achievement – Honor)
RAH
Classroom
Hallway/
Cafeteria
Bathrooms
Commons
Respect
Be on time; attend
regularly; follow
class rules
Keep location neat,
keep to the right, use
appropriate lang.,
monitor noise level,
allow others to pass
Put trash in cans,
push in your chair,
be courteous to all
staff and students
Keep area clean, put
trash in cans, be
mindful of others’
personal space, flush
toilet
Achievement
Do your best on all
assignments and
assessments, take
notes, ask questions
Keep track of your
belongings, monitor
time to get to class
Check space before
you leave, keep track
of personal
belongings
Be a good example
to other students,
leave the room
better than you
found it
Honor
Do your own work;
tell the truth
Be considerate of
yours and others’
personal space
Keep your own
place in line,
maintain personal
boundaries
Report any graffiti
or vandalism
Universal Strategies:
Nonclassroom Settings
• Identify Setting Specific Behaviors
• Develop Teaching Strategies
• Develop Practice Opportunities and
Consequences
• Assess the Physical Characteristics
• Establish Setting Routines
• Identify Needed Support Structures
• Data collection strategies
Universal Strategies:
Classroom
• Use of school-wide expectations/rules
• Effective Classroom Management
– Behavior management
– Instructional management
– Environmental management
• Support for teachers who deal with
students who display high rates of problem
behavior
How We Know Universals Are in Place
• Schoolwide Evaluation Tool over 92%
• Administrative Walk-Through’s To Observe
Classrooms
• Feedback from Parents and Visitors
• Office Discipline Data
Baseline Behavior Data Spring 2008
57 students
with 9+
Referrals
15% Tier 3
Goal 5%
16% Tier 2
6+ Referrals
2-5 Referrals
Goal 15%
69% Tier 1
Goal 80%
1712 referrals
0-1 Referral
16
Students
with 9+
Referrals
Current Behavior Data
2010-2011
7% Tier 3
Goal 5%
10% Tier 2
6+ Referrals
2-5 Referrals
Goal 15%
83% Tier 1
Goal 80%
516 Referrals
0-1 Referrals
Tier II (III) Process
Teams
(Data, Practices, Systems)
• School-wide PBS
– Universals
– Connect points to Tier II & III
• Classroom Problem Solving
– Review data
– Develop function-based interventions
• Tier II (III) (e.g., CARE, SAT, TAT)
– Partner with Classroom Problem Solving
Lead/Coordinator
– Coordinate and monitor tier II supports
Basic Steps
1. School-wide, including classroom, universals
in place
2. Identify students who need additional
supports
3. Identify what supports student needs
– Environment
– Intervention
4. Monitor & evaluate progress
Starting Point
• Work within current formal and informal systems
• Develop missing steps of efficient process
• Provide training and technical assistance to
facilitators
– Classroom Problem Solving Teams (partnership)
– Tier II Team
• Guided process with templates for environmental
modifications and interventions
• Goal = fluency among all faculty and staff
Student
Continuum of Positive Behavior Supports
SAT Process
Teacher Training and
Support
Targeted Interventions
Individual Student Plans
Core Team/Classrooms
Implement AIS
Monitor Progress
Refer to SAT
SAT Team
Administrator
Counselor
Behavior Specialist
STAT Team
Core Team Representative
SAT Partner
Core Team Teachers
*Meets Weekly
School-Wide Systems
Matrix
Lesson Plans
School-Wide Data
Acknowledgement
Communication
RRKS Team
Core Team Representative
District PBS Support
Building Administrator and
Counselors
*Meets Monthly
Tier II Support Process
• Step 1 – Insure Universals, including Classroom, in place
• Step 2 – Student Identification Process
– Decision Rules
– Referral
– Screen
• Step 3 – Classroom Problem Solving
– Classroom supports (function-based)
– Progress monitor
• Step 4 - Tier II supports
– Non-responders to grade level supports
– Match function of student behavior to intervention
– Progress monitor
• Step 5 - Evaluate Process
1. Classroom Universals in place
• Review of essential feature
• Implementation Plan
Essential
1. Classroom expectations & rules defined and taught (all use schoolwide, create classroom examples)
2. Procedures & routines defined and taught
3. Continuum of strategies to acknowledge appropriate behavior in
place and used with high frequency (4:1)
4. Continuum of strategies to respond to inappropriate behavior in
place and used per established school-wide procedure
5. Students are actively supervised (pre-corrects and positive
feedback)
6. Students are given multiple opportunities to respond (OTR) to
promote high rates of academic engagement
7. Activity sequence promotes optimal instruction time and student
engaged time
8. Instruction is differentiated based on student need
Systems
• Teach
– Brief in-service, single topic focus
• Practice (performance feedback)
– Peer coaching
– Principal “walk throughs”
Peer Coaching with
Performance Feedback
• 4 teacher mini-lessons on:
– instructional talk
– prompts
– feedback
– wait time
• Implemented school-wide
– provided a tip sheet and mini in-service on each
– weekly email reminders from administrators
Peer Coaching with
Performance Feedback
• 2 schools – one high SES, one low SES
• 4 teacher “cool tools” on instructional talk,
prompts, feedback, and wait time
• Implemented school-wide; provided a tip
sheet and mini in-service on each, weekly
email reminders from administrators
Percentage of Instructional Talk
Instructional Talk for all Participants
120
100
80
Baseline
60
DC IT
40
PC IT
20
Change
0
-20
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
Your First Task: Classroom Universals
• Develop a plan to:
–
–
–
–
Identify strengths and areas of need
Provide training for all staff on key features
Identify a strategy to assess use
Identify a strategy to provide performance feedback
• For Example
–
–
–
–
All self-assess
Identify areas of need
“Mini-modules” during faculty meetings (pbismissouri.org)
Peer observe and count (performance feedback)
2. Identifying students
• Current data
– Confidence in numbers
– Consistency across data points
• Teacher Referral
• Screening
Approximately 10% of total students
Data Decision Rules
• Office Discipline Referral (ODR)
– Major
– Minor
• Time out of Instruction
– Buddy Room
– Safe Seats
– “Discipline” Room
RRKS TOC
RRKS – Time Out of Class
(front side)
Code: _____
Student: _________________________ Date:______________________
Incident Time: ____________________# of min. out of rm.: __________
Teacher: _______________________Subject: ____________________
What did you do/not do that got you sent out of class?
___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Circle the RRKS expectation that was not followed:
Respect Responsible Kind Safe
What will you do differently next
time?______________________________________
RRKS TOC
Processing Checklist:
Processing data & time:
(back side)
Whole group instruction
• Review with the student reason he/she was
sent out.
• Teach & practice replacement behavior.
• Provide positive reinforcement for
replacement behavior.
• Check the setting in which the behavior
occurred.
Small group instruction
Individual work
Working with peers
Alone
1-on-1 instruction
Interacting with peers
Other: Please identify below
Minor List: Circle the appropriate code
(MDD)
Defiance/Disrespect/Noncompliance
(MDS)
Disruption
(MI)
Inappropriate Verbal
Language
( MO) Other
(MPC) Phys.
Contact
(MP) Property Misuse
Other Strategies to Identify Students
• Teacher Referral
– Questions to discuss:
•
•
•
•
Who completes
When
What data must be used/cited
Focus on externalizing and internalizing
• Screening
– What instrument
– Schedule
Second Task: Data Decision Rule
•
•
•
•
Review your current social behavior data sources
Identify weaknesses or inconsistencies
Develop plan to collect additional data
Draft decision rules
– For Example:
•
•
•
•
2 Major ODRs within trimester
5 Minor ODRs within trimester
5 absences within trimester
60 minutes out of instruction per week
3. Classroom Problem Solving
• Grade level / combinations
• Once a week focus of meeting = social
behavior concerns when decision rule met
• Standard problem solving steps
Classroom Problem Solving
• Process leader
– Classroom teachers, Specialist teachers
• Tier II Team partner
– School Psychologist, Counselor, Administrator
• Process
– Data-based decision making
• Guiding questions
– Function-based intervention
• Teach replacement
• Environmental alterations / supports
– Monitor progress
Classroom Problem Solving
• Student meets data decision rule
• Classroom teacher completes preliminary forms
(documents student progress to date)
• Grade level lead walks team through problem solving
process
• Tier II Team partner attends if team is unable to
identify patterns leading to intervention or when
significant concerns noted
• Plan put in place
• Student progress monitored and reported at weekly
meetings
Classroom Problem Solving
When no students meet decision rule or
multiple students with similar behavior
concerns:
– Develop range of possible supports for different
functions of problem behavior
– Develop range/bank of strategies
Classroom Problem
Solving Process
• Develop intervention based on function of
behavior
– Environment changes
– Student skills to teach/practice/reinforce
• Monitor progress
– Same data that brought them to your attention
– Problem and Appropriate behavior
– Teacher observations
A Classroom Example…
Stichter, J. P., Lewis, T. J., Johnson, N., & Trussell, R.
(2004). Toward a structural assessment: Analyzing
the merits of an assessment tool for a student with
E/BD. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 30, 2540.
Study Basics
• Subject:
– Seven years old
– Identified with EBD and ADHD
• Setting
– General education 2nd grade classroom with 19 other
students
– One licensed teacher and one student teacher
• Concern
– Student exhibits high rates of off-task
– Student shouts out answers and questions and comments
at high rates and often inappropriate
“Function of Behavior”
• Descriptive (interviews and teacher
reported ABC/ Scatterplot data)
– Function identified as Attention
– Significant antecedents: multiple step
direction and group settings
– Very High rates of both problem behaviors
reported/ inconsistency in accuracy of data
collection
“Environment Assessment”
Significant variables:
• clarity of expectations & directions
• consistency of expectations
• accessibility of class schedules
• lack of enforced procedures (especially
regarding to hand raising and verbalizations or
entire class)
100
90
M ean Percent of Teacher Behavior
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Baseline
High Structure
Level 1
Materials Accessiblity
Level 1 & 2
Rules Visible
Level 1, 2 & 3
Assistance Consistent
Follow-Up
Answering Consistent
4. Tier II Supports
• Students who do not respond to classroom /
informal supports (grade level 2-3 weeks)
• Student brought to Tier II Team
– Classroom problem solving plan
– Progress data
• Based on function of problem behavior and
response to classroom supports, match
student to Tier II intervention
Tier II Supports
•
•
•
•
•
Centralized
Each has a coordinator
Placed in support by Tier II Team
Classroom supports continued / modified
ALL in building aware of their role in
supporting students in Tier II Supports
Tier II Team
• For now, primary role will be to:
– Continue to build process
– Assist with Grade Level Team Problem Solving Process
• Once Classroom Problem Solving in operation,
your role will be to:
– Review referrals and place students in appropriate tier
II interventions
– Serve as “coordinators” of tier II interventions
– Monitor student progress
– Monitor overall process
Tier II Supports
• Check in - Check Out / Check & Connect
• Social Skill Groups
• Academic Supports
5. Monitor Student Progress and Evaluate
Process
• Original data sources that lead to student identification
–
–
–
–
–
ODR
Attendance
Academics
“time out of class”
Teacher perception
• Key = frequent and regular
– Celebrate success
– Adjust if student doesn’t respond (or problems start
reappearing)
• Cost –Benefit Analysis of overall process
Office Discipline Referrals
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
Pre
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
post
Time Out of Class
3
2.5
2
1.5
Pre
1
0.5
0
Post
Attendance
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pre
Post
Grade Point Average
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Pre
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
post
Lessons Learned
• Effective classroom management must be in
place
• All in building understand
– Steps in process
– “Science of Behavior” (function)
– Purpose of Tier II strategy
– Their role in supporting Tier II strategy
Lessons Learned
• Spend lots of time on systems
– “Build Team”
– Classroom Problem Solving Team
– Tier II Team (with connects to universal team
• Progress monitor
– Confidence in data
– Efficient ways to collect (e.g., daily progress
reports)
Lessons Learned
• Continually assess for progress & success
– Is it a system/process issue?
– Is it a student who needs additional/different
supports?
• Don’t be afraid to abandon, alter, tweak
processes or supports that are not leading to
desired outcomes
Next Steps
• Follow-up on task assignments from today
• Develop a timeline to:
– Assess classroom universals
• Implement training on common classroom concerns
– Refine/adapt/develop data collection tools and
process
– Adapt Classroom Problem Solving Process for your
school
• Identify needed training and technical assistance
– Target a “start” date
– Introduce overall Tier II process to faculty & staff