Creating Connections:
Healthy Schools, Successful Students
March 18, 2014
Delaware Positive Behavior
Support
Debby Boyer
Center for Disabilities Studies
University of Delaware
For our Time Together
• Overview of DE-PBS and important data
• What is PBS?
• What are the elements of implementing SWPBS
– Integration with SEL
– Bullying Prevention
• Action Steps
The Delaware Positive Behavior Support
Project (DE-PBS) is a collaboration between
the DE Department of Education,
the University of Delaware’s
Center for Disabilities Studies, and
Delaware Public Schools
The Challenge
• Students with the most challenging behaviors in school need
pro-active comprehensive and consistent systems of support
• School-wide discipline systems are typically unclear and
inconsistently implemented
• Educators often lack skills to address significant problem
behavior
• Pressure on schools to incorporate multiple initiatives. Many
often have clear defined outcomes without structures to
reach or a framework for deciding what should be
implemented when, for whom, and to what degree
Typical school response to problem behavior = “punishment” of
misbehavior and/or seek out alternative placements.
The Danger….
“Punishing” problem behaviors (without a
proactive support system) is associated with
increases in (a) aggression, (b) vandalism, (c)
truancy, and (d) dropping out. (Mayer, 1995, Mayer & SulzarAzaroff, 1991, Skiba & Peterson, 1999)
The Good News…
Research reviews indicate that the most
effective responses to school violence are
(Elliot, Hamburg, & Williams, 1998;Gottfredson, 1997; Lipsey, 1991, 1992; Tolan &
Guerra, 1994):
• Social Skills Training
• Academic Restructuring
• Behavioral Interventions
“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.”
“If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.”
“If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.”
“If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.”
“If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we…
...teach?
…punish?”
“Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically
as we do the others?”
Tom Herner (NASDE President ) Counterpoint 1998, p.2
School-wide Positive Behavior Support
SW-PBS is a broad range of systemic
and individualized strategies for
achieving important social and
learning outcomes while preventing
problem behavior
OSEP Center on PBIS
Delaware PBS Project Vision
The vision of the project is to create safe
and caring learning environments that
promote the social-emotional and
academic development of all children.
Key Features of PBS in Delaware
•
Recognize that a positive and safe school climate
promotes not only positive behavior, but also academic,
social, and emotional development.
•
Recognize that ALL students benefit from positive
behavioral supports. This includes students with and
without behavior problems or disabilities, and requires
sensitivity to individual and cultural differences.
•
Recognize the critical importance of developing selfdiscipline.
–
Schools teach such social and emotional competencies as
positive peer relations, empathy, resisting peer pressure,
conflict resolution, and social and moral responsibility.
Positive Behavior Supports:
Multi-tiered Model of Support
Tier 1/School-wide/Universal
School-Wide Assessment
School-Wide Prevention Systems
ODRs,Credits,
Attendance,
Tardies, Grades,
DIBELS, etc.
Tier 2/
Secondary
Check-in
Check-out (CICO)
Relationship and Skill
Building Groups
Daily Progress
Report (DPR)
(Behavior and Academic Goals)
Functional Assessment
Interviews or checklists
Individual Student
Data collection
Tier 3/
Tertiary
Groups with Individualized
Features
Brief Functional Behavior Assessment/
Behavior Intervention Planning (FBA/BSP)
Full FBA/BSP
Person Centered Planning
Adapted from Illinois PBIS Network, Revised
Aug. 2013 Adapted from T. Scott, 2004
DE-PBS SW Implementation
• Program Development & Evaluation
– Problem-Solving/Leadership Team
– Data
– Professional Development & Resources
• Developing SW and Classroom Systems to Prevent Problem
Behavior
– Expectations, Recognition and Teaching
– Positive relationships
• Correcting Problem Behaviors
– Consistent and clear procedures
– Disciplinary encounters used as learning opportunities to
teach problem solving strategies
• Developing Self-Discipline
SWPBS is
Framework for enhancing
adoption & implementation of
Continuum of evidence-based
interventions to achieve
Academically & behaviorally
important outcomes for
All students
Why Use SW-PBS?
• Research has demonstrated:
– Reduction of problem behavior, discipline
referrals, and suspensions
– Increase in math and reading scores
– Improvements in overall school climate
(Lassen, Steele, & Sailor, 2006; Lewis et al., 2002; Luiselli, Putnam, and
Sunderland, 2002; Todd et al., 1999)
System Development is Key!
Dean Fixsen, Karen Blase, Robert Horner, George Sugai,
(2008)
•
To scale up interventions we must first scale up
implementation capacity
•
Building implementation capacity is essential to
maximizing the use of Positive Behavior Support
and other innovations
Adapted from the Illinois PBIS Network
+ If many students are making
same mistake, consider
changing systems ... not students
+ START by teaching, monitoring &
recognizing success
…before increasing PUNISHMENT
Why is School Climate Important?
• School Climate is linked to a wide range of
academic, behavioral, and social-emotional
outcomes for students, including:
– Increased academic achievement
– Increased academic motivation and positive personal
attitudes
– Higher attendance and decreased school avoidance
– Lower rates of behavior problems, delinquency,
victimization
– Greater sense of emotional well-being
School Climate is also important to
Bully Prevention
Problematic school climate contributes to
negative outcomes including:
• Bullying victimization
• Attendance and school avoidance
• Depression and self-esteem
NASP, 2/19/14
And School Climate is a federal focus
• USDOE Released in January 2014:
“Guiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving
School Climate and Discipline from U.S. Department
of Education”
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/schooldiscipline/index.html
High Suspension and Expulsion Rates Driven By
Ineffective School Policies and Practices, not “Bad Kids”
“Far from making our schools safer or improving
student behavior, the steadily increasing use of
suspension and expulsion puts students – especially
students of color and other targeted groups – at an
increased risk of academic disengagement, dropout
and contact with juvenile justice,”
Russell J. Skiba, director of Discipline Disparities
Research-to-Practice Collaborative
Recommendation to eradicate
disparities in school discipline
• Problem-solving approach to discipline
– Understanding the context
– Why the student is engaging in behavior and
understanding the teachers response
– Providing opportunity for reflection and restoration
– Providing additional interventions or services for students
with complex support needs
Our Data Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
School Climate
Suspension
ODR
Self-assessment
External Evaluation
Achievement
Subscales of Delaware School Climate Surveys 2013
Student Survey
Teacher/Staff Survey
Home Survey
Part I : School Climate
Teacher-Student Relations
Teacher-Student Relations
Teacher-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Respect for Diversity
Respect for Diversity
Respect for Diversity
Clarity of Expectations
Clarity of Expectations
Clarity of Expectations
Fairness of Rules
Fairness of Rules
Fairness of Rules
School Safety
School Safety
School Safety
Student Engagement School- Student Engagement Schoolwide
wide
Bullying School-wide
Bullying School-wide
Teacher-Home Communications Teacher-Home Communications
Staff Relations
Total School Climate
Total School Climate
Total School Climate
Parent Satisfaction
Part III: Bullying & IV: Engagement (Individual Level)
Student Survey
Bullying
Victimization1
Teacher/Staff
Survey
Home Survey
Physical Bullying
Physical Bullying
Verbal Bullying
Verbal Bullying
Social/Relational
Bullying
Social/Relational
Bullying
Cyberbullying2
Student
Engagement
1 Grades
Cognitive &
Behavioral
Cognitive &
Behavioral
Emotional
Emotional
6-12 only for the printed version. Optional for grades 4-5 with computer version.
2 Grades 6-12 only.
Summary of School Climate Results
• In general, school climate is viewed favorably by students,
teachers/staff, and parents, but especially teachers/staff and
parents. And school climate improved statewide from 20122013.
• Survey results also indicated some areas of concern:
– Student perceptions of school climate decrease markedly
from elementary to middle school. For example, whereas
3/4ths of elementary school students like school, only half
of middle school students and less than half of high school
students like school.
– This decrease coincides with student perceptions of
teachers/staff using more punitive techniques and fewer
positive and SEL techniques.
Summary Continued
– Relations among students is an area of particular concern.
Over half of all students report that bullying is a problem in
their school and less than half agree that students get
along with one another. Perceptions of student relations
are most negative among African Americans.
– Perceived fairness of rules is another concern, especially
among middle school and high school students.
Positive Behavior Supports
• Application and extension of basic elements of applied behavior
analysis
• Three-Tiered Prevention Model:
– Universal (all students in the environment)
• 3-5 positively stated rules that are actively taught – applies to all students in
non-classroom areas
– Targeted (for students for which tier one was not adequate to address
their behavior needs)
• Group based supports, e.g., social skills instruction, check-in/check-out
• Goal to prevent student’s behavior from becoming disruptive to the learning
environment
– Intensive (students whose behavior is chronic)
• Functional behavior assessment maybe conducted
• Implement a function-based intervention
• May provide wrap around services
Emphasis on Prevention at Each Level
• School-wide
Reduce new cases of problem behavior
• Targeted
Reduce current cases of problem behavior
• Intensive
Reduce complications, intensity, severity of
current cases
Tier 2 Overview
– Interventions are efficient
• Continuously available so students can receive support
quickly (optimally-within 2-3 days)
– Minimal time commitment required from classroom teachers
– Required skill sets needed by teachers easily learned
– Aligned with school-wide expectations
– Emphasis on intervention designed to support multiple
students simultaneously (e.g. Check-In/Check-Out, Social
Skills Groups, etc.)
• Consistently implemented with most students, some
flexibility
– Intervention selected matched to function of student
behavior
Adapted from Rose Iovannone, Brief PTR
Tier 3 Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Team formed which include those who have knowledge of the student
Systematic problem solving process is foundation
Target behaviors identified and defined
Antecedents (predictors) of problem behavior occurrence
Consequences/responses of others following problem behavior
Hypothesis generated by data
Function-based understanding of behavior
Multi-component intervention plan built and linked with hypothesis
Progress monitoring plan established
Fidelity measurement of intervention implementation developed and
scheduled
• Follow-up meeting to make data-based decisions
Reflecting on your school tiers
Data and Support Staff
Tier 3/Tertiary Interventions
Tiered Supports / Practices
1-5%
1-5%
•_____________________
•_____________________
•_____________________
Tier 2/Secondary Interventions
•___________________________
•___________________________
•___________________________
5-15%
5-15%
Tier 1/Universal Interventions 80-90%
•________________________
•________________________
•________________________
•________________________
Tier 2/Secondary Interventions
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
•___________________________
•___________________________
•___________________________
•___________________________
•___________________________
•___________________________
Adapted from Illinois PBIS Network, Revised
May 15, 2008. Adapted from “What is schoolwide PBS?” OSEP Technical Assistance Center
on Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports. Accessed at
http://pbis.org/school-wide.htm
Tier 3/Tertiary Interventions
80-90%
Tier 1/Universal Interventions
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
•____________________________
Reflecting on your school tiers
1-5%
Tier 3/Tertiary Interventions
- PTR Facilitators (Becky Stills and
Mike Calms)
- Behavior Rating Scale Data
5-15%
Tier 2/Secondary Interventions
(Use and Update Monthly: Tier 2/3
Tracking Tool)
- Student Point Cards, ODR data,
attendance and tardy grades, CICO
coordinator = Hector Mills with 3
other facilitators
-Pre/post-test on Social Skills –
Social Skills group facilitator =
Evelyn Jones
-Child & parent feedback,
attendance records, teacher
reports; session leader = Ann
Stevens
1-5%
Tier 3/Tertiary Interventions
- PTR Behavior Support Plans
80-90%
Tier 1/Universal Interventions
- (Update DDRT monthly)
80-90%
Tier 1/Universal Interventions
- SW PBS Expectations with Kickoff and Mid-Year Booster
- Homeroom SEL Curriculum
- ODR data and DDRT; coordinator =
Assistant Principal Hardy, Key
Feature Evaluation (KFE) Prevention
Scores
5-15%
Tier 2/Secondary Interventions
- Check in / Check out
- Social Skills groups
- Coping Power (Social skills
training and delinquency
prevention)
Strategic Use of Praise and Rewards
• Use strategically to recognize and reinforce social and
emotional competencies that underlie prosocial behavior
– E.g., students routinely recognized with praise and rewards
for demonstrating empathy, caring, responsibility, and
respect
– Pair reward with verbally labeled praise
– Shoot for 3 to 1 ratio of positive to corrective feedback
Effective Praise:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
is delivered immediately after the display of positive
behavior;
specifies the particulars of the accomplishment (e.g., Thank
you for cleaning off your desk right away after I asked you);
provides information to the child about the value of the
accomplishment (e.g., When you get ready for the first
activity quickly, it makes the morning go so smoothly!);
lets the child know that he worked hard to accomplish the
task (e.g., I saw you working hard to control your temper!);
and
orients the child to better appreciate their own task-related
behavior and thinking about problem-solving (e.g., I like the
way you thought about that and figured out a good solution
to the problem).
Peg Dawson, Ed.D.
Use incentives to augment instruction.
Incentives make both the effort of learning a skill and the
effort of performing a task less aversive.
Furthermore, putting an incentive after a task teaches
delayed gratification.
Peg Dawson, Ed.D.
Simple Incentives
• Give the child something to look forward to doing
when the effortful task is done (we call that
Grandma’s Law).
• Alternate between preferred and non-preferred
activities (use simple language: First…then, e.g.,
First work, then play).
• Build in frequent, short breaks (depending on the
child’s attention span, breaks could come every 10
minutes and last 5 minutes).
• Use specific praise to reinforce the use of executive
skills.
Peg Dawson, Ed.D.
Positive Behavior Referral
Positive Relationships
Recognize the critical importance of preventing behavior
problems. This is evident throughout school policies and
evidence-based practices, especially in preventive
classroom management, clear school-wide expectations,
and school-wide teaching and recognition of positive
behaviors. It also is seen in
• positive teacher-student,
• student-student, and
• school-family relations.
The Research on Positive Relationships
• Teachers with a more relational approach to discipline
have less defiant behavior in their classrooms – which is
explained by adolescent’s trust in authority (Gregory &
Ripski, 2008)
• Teachers who show sensitivity, empathy and praise are
most likely to establish strong relationships with students
(Rey et al., 2007)
Relationship Building Reduces Problem
Behaviors
• “teachers … trained using precorrection, reinforcement
(catch them being goods) for appropriate behaviors, and
active supervison … resulted in a 42% reduction in
problem behaviors” (Oswald et al., 2005).
Activities for staff and student relationship
building
• Supporting everyday relationship building:
– Finding/asking about student interests/extracurricular
activities
– Students providing 1-minute reports on areas of their
interest (i.e. sports, drama)
– Attending extracurricular events
– Highlighting student talents (i.e. bulletin board with
newspaper articles)
Activities for staff and student relationship
building
•
•
•
•
Community and service learning activities
Pep rallies
Students earn the chance for staff to do silly things
Staff and student team challenges
– Fund raisers
– Hallway decorating
– Sporting event attendance
Disciplinary encounters: 2-part problem
solving process
• Part 1 focuses how the student might think and
act differently
– Student centered: Guided by problem solving with
student.
• Part 2 focuses on what the teacher or school
should do, beyond punishment, to prevent the
problem behavior from recurring and to foster
self-discipline.
– Teacher (or school) centered: Guided by changes in
the student’s environment.
PBS Key Feature
• Schools recognize the importance of developing selfdiscipline, implementing evidence based programs in
character education and social and emotional learning,
and/or infuse lessons throughout the curriculum that teach
social-emotional competencies
2 Common School Approaches
Components of
Comprehensive School
Discipline
Developing the social and
emotional competencies of selfdiscipline
Preventing behavior problems
Traditional
SWPBS
SEL
Weakness
Strength
Strength (more so for Strength (more
immediate environment) lasting effects)
Correcting behavior problems
(short-term goal)
Strength
Weakness
AddressingTier 2 and 3 Needs
Strength
Weakness
What does the research say regarding
integrating the two approaches, providing a
more comprehensive approach?
•
•
•
•
•
Best for achieving compliance
Best for promoting self-discipline and resilience
Best for effective prevention and correction
Best for school climate
Best for preventing bullying
What is Self-Discipline?
Consists of 5 key Social and Emotional
Learning skills:
•
•
•
•
•
Self-management skills
Social awareness and empathy
Social connectedness and relationship skills
Responsible decision making
Positive sense of self
Self-Discipline and School Climate, Part I, 11/08/11
Points to Ponder
Easy to change moral knowledge - - - - difficult to change
moral conduct
• To change moral conduct . . .
– Adults must model moral behavior
– Students must experience academic success
– Students must be taught social skills for success
(PBIS.org)
Incorporating Self-Discipline in Your SW
PBS Program
– Relationship building
– Schoolwide policies and activities
– Student decision making
– Social and Emotional Curriculum
– Executive Functioning Skills
Self-Discipline & Expectations
Self-discipline is emphasized in behavioral
expectations and rules. At the schoolwide and
classroom levels, the importance of selfdiscipline is highlighted, such as the importance
of regulating and accepting responsibility for
one’s actions, respecting others, helping others,
and exerting one’s best effort.
Strategic Use of Recognition to Develop SelfDiscipline
When using praise and rewards, do so strategically such that you
maximize their effectiveness in improving behavior
and developing self-discipline.
• Link the behaviors to underlying thoughts,
emotions, and dispositions that that you hope to
develop and to attributions of self-discipline.
– feelings of pride
– empathy
– autonomy
– responsibility
– caring, kindness, trustworthiness, and so forth
• Most of all: Avoid teaching students that the only,
or most important, reason to act in a morally and
socially responsible manner is to earn rewards or
to be praised.
Impact of SEL on Achievement
• Findings from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based,
universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs
involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school
students. Compared to controls, SEL participants
demonstrated significantly improved social and
emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic
performance that reflected an 11-percentile-point gain
in achievement.
• Results from this review add to a growing body of
research indicating that SEL programming enhances
students’ connection to school, classroom behavior,
and academic achievement (Zins et al., 2004)
School
Climate’s
Relationship
with Bullying
(and SelfDiscipline) is
RECIPROCAL
Thus, improving school climate is likely to
reduce bullying and develop self-discipline,
and vice versa.
NASP, 2/19/14
“Bullying is a relationship problem that
requires a relationship solution.”
National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments,
Training Toolkit for Creating a Supportive Classroom Climate
10 Tips for Preventing and Reducing
Bullying
1. Focus on the two key aspects of effective classroom management:
Structure/Demandingness and Support/Responsiveness.
2. Respond immediately to all acts of bullying (verbal, physical, social,
and cyberbullying).
3. Build and maintain positive and supportive relationships, including
teacher-student, student-student, and family-school
relationships.
4. Have clear, consistent school-wide and classroom rules and
policies against all forms of bullying.
5. Teach “bystanders” important roles they can play in preventing
bullying by not supporting it and actively stopping it (where
appropriate and when it is safe to do so).
6. Teach students (including bystanders) how to respond when
bullied.
7. Teach specific lessons on bullying including its effects on
victims, bullies, and the general school climate.
8. Increase supervision and monitoring in places where bullying
most often occurs, such as the playground, hallways,
cafeteria, and bus.
9. Provide individual and small-group services and supports to
bullies and their victims.
10. Overall, work toward establishing school-wide and classroom
norms that prevent bullying.
Summary
• Systems support effective interventions. Each
school must develop a system unique to their
school community
• School Climate relates to numerous important
outcomes.
• Your relationship with students impacts overall
school climate and individual outcomes for
students.
• We must teach behavior and SEL skills just as we
teach academics.
Resources
• Delawarepbs.org
• PBIS.org
• http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/schooldiscipline/index.html
• CASEL.org
• Stopbullying.gov
• http://rtpcollaborative.indiana.edu/
– Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative
Questions?
www.delawarepbs.org
Debby Boyer: dboyer@udel.edu
Thank you!
NASP, 2/19/14