Wondering how to help a student who does not seem to enjoy school?
Wondering how to help a student who does not seem to enjoy school?
Wondering how to interest a too cool student in developing his
talents?
Positive behavioral interventions & support (PBIS) at school can help students with a wide range of needs and at all age levels.
PBIS continues to grow and to lead to new developments that will improve educational experiences for students and enjoyment of teaching for school staff members. I was fortunate in being involved in some of these efforts and have listed them here along with links to other PBIS news.
Other recent presentations are posted at the end of this web site.
Received an examination copy from Pearson for "Managing Classroom Behavior Using Positive Behavior Supports" by Terrance Scott, Cynthia Anderson, and Peter Alter. Looks great! Either for a course on classroom management or for teachers, administrators, and behavior specialists who could use a very practical and accurate explanation of exactly what the title says. I especially liked "FACE" (Functional Assessment for Classroom Environments) on pages 107-119. This is an easy to read, teacher-friendly book -- not too long -- that would be an excellent way for a new teacher to get started with positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS). Experienced educators will appreciate it for a quick up-date on what's new. It does not try to cover everything -- that's what http://pbis.org is for! Or see additional recent materials listed below if you want more.
The 2nd edition of "The Behavior Education Program" will probably be even more popular than the first, especially when combined with the new online system for "Check In - Check Out" and the use of self-management strategies:
Crone, D., Hawken, L., & Horner, R. (2010). "Responding to problem behavior in schools, Second Edition: The Behavior Education Program." The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series. New York: Guilford Press.
Here is a link for a video on using the "Check In - Check Out" approach in combination with the School Wide Information System on-line. This is an efficient way to provide a little extra support that may make a world of difference for a student without taking too much staff time: CICO-SWIS VIDEO. After students begin to improve, add self-management to prepare for generalization and sustainability.
"Defusing DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR in the Classroom" (2010, by Geoff Colvin, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, A SAGE Company) is described in the foreward by Robert H. Horner as "a book for experienced teachers who already use the basic prevention and reward practices . . . In this text Geoff Colvin takes us through that next level of more difficult interactions [and] how we can create schools where more students succeed" (pp. viii-ix). I like the diagrams and examples that illustrate specific situations. (A link to "Dr. Colvin's Library" is included in the list of related web sites given toward the end of this web site.)
"Developing schoolwide programs to prevent and manage problem behaviors: A step-by-step approach," by K. L. Lane, J. R. Kalberg, & H. M. Menzies, is an excellent resource for administrators, teachers, school psychologists, behavior specialists, and PBIS teams, especially ones just getting started with PBIS but would be of value also for those needing a refresher, a book for new staff, or wanting to move from the universal, primary prevention level to setting up systematic secondary and tertiary prevention level programs. It is published by Guilford (New York, 2009).
Another excellent book (2009), the "Handbook of Positive Behavior Support" (edited by W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner; published in New York by Springer), is a comprehensive reference on all aspects of the PBIS approach, including up-to-date information on how School Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) is being implemented in a variety of settings and locations, including alternative schools, community-based mental health settings, and juvenile justice settings (pages 461-492).
Evidence that improving SWPBS as a three-tiered model, with primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention in place, will make schools safer was reported in
Tobin, T. J. (2008). Will functional interventions in versatile environments reduce dangerous behaviors? Journal of Behavior Analysis of Offender and Victim Treatment and Prevention, 1(2), 171-186. In particular, when the implementation of Check In - Check Out improved, office discipline referrals for fighting and assault were reduced. This is an online journal. The list of references for this article was accidentally cut short. Here is the complete list of references.
For an example of successful use of PBIS to improve the behavior of young students identifed as at-risk for behavior disorders, see Chapter 4 in a new (2008) book on different types of schoolwide prevention models (some with a focus on behavior, some with a focus on academics, some addressing both behavior and academics) titled "Schoolwide Prevention Models: Lessons Learned in Elementary Schools" edited by Charles R. Greenwood, Thomas R. Kratochwill, and Melissa Clements, published by Guilford Press.
"School-based Behavioral Assessment: Informing Intervention and Prevention" by Sandra Chafouleas, T. Chris Riley-Tillman, and George Sugai is a wonderful resource for using data when problem-solving with teachers, other school staff members, parents, and with students. (Published by Guilford Press, 2007).
ABOUT THIS WEB SITE: This web site is a collection of different types of information about PBIS at school and related topics, including after-school programs that use PBIS.
Working in cooperation with the University of Oregon and Northwest Family Services, three school districts in the Portland (Oregon) area participated in the Northwest Youth Empowerment Demonstration Grant Program (Project YED). Project YED was the topic of a presentation prepared for the Building on Family Strengths Conference in Portland in June of 2009, titled "Involving Latino Youth and Families in Out-of-School Time Youth Empowerment Programs." See also "Northwest Youth Empowerment Demonstration (YED) Grant Program: Preliminary Data" and "Parents' Survey."
Parent support was an important part of Project YED. This demonstration project was funded by the federal Office of Minority Health (OMH) as a part of their Youth Empowerment Programs. (No official endorsement of Project YED by OMH should be assumed.)
Systems of Individual Support: The Functional Interventions in Versatile Environments Project's Pilot Study of Evaluation Tools. (2006) A comparison of measures of a school's capacity to provide positive, function-based support for individual students.
Positive Behavior Support Systems: Value Added from Use of School Wide Information Systems (2006) A study of changes over time for schools using Positive Behavior Support with and without also using the School Wide Information System (SWIS) to monitor discipline referrals.
Use of the Team Implementation Checklist in Regular and Alternative High Schools This is a report on a descriptive study of office discipline referrals, suspensions, and positive methods of behavior management in different types of high schools. A slide presentation also is available as a pdf file called "Regular and Alternative" and it illustrates the efforts some alternative schools are making to implement PBIS even though also typically using relatively high rates of out-of-school suspensions.
See the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions for an interesting article on a project that involved teaching school teams to use FBA: Crone, Hawken, & Bergstrom (2007).
PBS may be able to reduce suspensions and expulsion from school. For research ideas on this, see (a) What Do School Records Reveal about Events Leading Up to Expulsion from School? (Tobin & Flannery, 2006), (b) new text version of the Sugai-Tobin Archival Review-Revised (STAR-R), and
(c) the spreadsheet that goes with the STAR-R.
The next two items are links to pdf files from presentations at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference in Salt Lake City in April of 2006. The first is a questionnaire that school behavior support teams can use to track progress. The second is a PowerPoint presentation:
Functional Interventions in Versatile Environments Questionnaire (FIVE-Q)
A Systemic Approach to Including Key Individuals in the Function-Based Suppport Process
At the CEC conference in 2005, a PowerPoint presentation on systems level implementation of PBS for individual students was given and a list of related references provided.
For more specific information on classroom methods, see Comprehensive Positive Behavior Supports (CPBS) Pre-Service Training Program, a paper presented by Emma Martin and Tary Tobin in San Diego at the annual conference of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children in 2006.
The "Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Interventions" has a new name: "Journal of Behavior Assessment and Intervention in Children." Articles that were published under the original title are still available online. For information on effects of different types of interventions, see:
"Preventing Problem Behaviors: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Level Prevention Interventions for Young Children" by Tobin & Sugai in Vol. 2(3), pages 115-124.
Are you interested in individualized support for students? Scroll down and try the first link in the "Links Related to Function-Based Support" section.
For some students, especially special education students whose behavior problems place then at risk for a change in placement, a positive behavior intervention based on a functional assessment is essential. If you are interested in behavior plans based on functional assessments, try the Case Book below. For more recent examples, click on the link to the PBIS website, listed below in the Links section.
If you are interested in helping families, try the PARENTS and the FINDING HELP links.
Case Book The Case Book contains examples of successful function-based support and links to more information on the use of functional assessment in developing interventions to enable at risk students to be successful.
For best results, use Version 10 or higher of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PARENTS file. Here is a link to a free download of Acrobat, Version 10 or higher
PARENTS Parents' Guide to Functional Assessment, 3rd edition.
FINDING HELP How to Find Help and Make It Work for Your Child.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FUNCTION-BASED SUPPORT:
Dixie Jordan's "Functional Behavioral Assessment and Positive Intervention: What Parents Need to Know" is an excellent introduction for all parents and includes information that would be particularly useful for parents of students with disabilities who may benefit from special Ceducation.
"Using Electronic and Other New Ways to Help Students Improve Their Behavior: Functional Behavioral Assessment at Work" by Kim Condon & Tary Tobin was published in Vol. 3, No. 1 of TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN in 2001. This article describes in detail two ways to help elementary school students with behavior problems learn to self-recruit the positive teacher attention they need to do their best work and be on their best behavior. It includes information on how to use the "Mr. Attention" device to help students who may be hyperactive or easily distracted and an example of the use of points and frequent feedback in a systematic way.
An IEP Teams' Guide to Functional Assessment Practical and free information on behavior support, including a booklet written for parents, teachers, and others on an Individualized Education Plan team.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PBIS WEB SITE: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Keep up-to-date with the latest in all aspects of positive methods of behavior support! Topics include legal issues; school-wide, classroom, and individual support; and more. View PowerPoint presentations, download or order materials, and find out about conferences. Whether you are looking for evidence or examples, or just trying to find something quickly, try to links in the Research/Literature section.
Dr. Colvin's Library: Professional Development Resources This web site offers a number of excellent books and videos related to PBIS. "Defusing Anger and Aggression" is outstanding because it dramatically contrasts effective ways that teachers can handle behavior problems with ineffective ways.
Dr. Mac's "Behavior Advisor" Page This page has something for every teacher.
Recent presentations:
Different Ways to Measure Fidelity of Implementation of PBIS
References Related to Fidelity of Implementation
Oregon Youth Development Project
20 Practical Strategies Activity
Handout for Exclusionary Discipline Practices: Findings from Oregon
Highlights of the Healthy Marriage Initiative in Oregon
Practical Ways to Help Students Who May Be "Different" This was presented at a conference sponsored by the Northwest PBIS Network.
For more information, to give feedback, ask questions, or share information, please contact:
Jan. 3, 2013