The Teacher's Pocket Guide for Positive Behavior Support

Timothy Knoster, Robin Drogan

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781681251868
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Behavioural Management

What should teachers do when universal Tier 1 behavior supports don't sufficiently meet the needs of all children? Next steps can be tricky to navigate when students appear at risk for developing recurring problem behavior—and that's why every teacher needs this concise, strategy-packed guidebook on targeted behavior intervention and support.

Authors Tim Knoster and Robin Drogan are in-demand experts with a combined 50 years of experience training teachers in positive behavior support in the classroom. Together, they bring you a friendly, encouraging guide to Tier 2 positive behavior support, ready to use in schools with or without an existing PBIS system. Brimming with down-to-earth advice, proven strategies, and relatable anecdotes, this book will get you ready to further prevent behavior challenges and create a safe, positive learning environment for each student in your class.

DISCOVER HOW TO:

• Determine which students will benefit from targeted behavior supports
• Choose formal and informal targeted supports that meet each student's needs
• Make the most of targeted supports already available if your school uses PBIS
• Organize and develop Tier 2 supports on your own if your school doesn't currently implement PBIS
• Strengthen your interventions through effective data collection and analysis
• Fade out or step up the intensity of interventions and supports when necessary
• Recognize when students need more intensive, individualized Tier 3 supports

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Case stories in each chapter that illustrate different behavior supports in action, sample Behavior Contracts and Good Behavior Charts, an at-a-glance guide to social-emotional screeners, quick-reference charts on the features and uses of specific supports, and more

1

How Are Targeted Supports Different from Universal Supports, and Which Students Will Benefit from Them?

As a teacher, time is likely one of your most precious and fleeting commodities. Thus, we do not want to waste your time in reading (nor did we want to waste our time in writing) this book for its own sake. The most important reason you should read this book is that the content should be helpful if you work directly (or aspire to work directly) with young children or adolescents in a classroom setting. Let’s face it—anyone who works with kids in schools knows the rewards and challenges (the proverbial roller coaster ride of emotions with the highs and lows) that are experienced in classrooms on a daily basis. Student behavior is a major cause of or contributing factor to these rewards and challenges. This book—a quick and encouraging guide to behavior interventions for your students who need extra support—can help with some of those challenges.

Teachers have a uniquely personal, firsthand understanding of their students and classrooms through their day-to-day experiences. This understanding enables teachers to organize effective and efficient instructional practices to meet the needs of all their students. However, even if you are an experienced teacher, you will sometimes need ideas for how best to apply your expertise to help certain students or how to reconcile what you know about what works for your students against a context of structures that your school puts into place. As we present strategies and guidance in this book, our goal is to honor and build on your existing frame of reference—both the positive experiences that make you feel good inside, as well as the highly frustrating experiences that, although uncomfortable, have likely helped you to grow as a teacher.

STARTING WITH A FIRM FOUNDATION OF UNIVERSAL APPROACHES

We follow a similar approach to the one used in The Teacher’s Pocket Guide for Effective Classroom Management, Second Edition (Knoster, 2014). Collectively, the practices highlighted in that book can help teachers to integrate positive behavior support (PBS) at a universal level with all students in the classroom. This foundation of classroom management provides a solid platform upon which to build targeted supports, much like a home’s foundation provides a solid base for building. A wide array of universal approaches can help teachers to facilitate the healthy growth and development of their students while also diminishing the likelihood of misbehavior. Table 1.1 provides a brief review of these key universal preventive approaches.

Table 1.1. Key universal preventive approaches

Universal practice	Brief description of the universal practice
Building rapport (staying close)	The teacher’s actions result in each student trusting that the teacher has a genuine interest in him or her as a person. The teacher’s behaviors result in a constructive student–teacher relationship that is based on trust and mutual respect.
Establishing/teaching performance expectations	The teacher and the students in the classroom together identify three to five broad expectations (e.g., be responsible, be respectful, be here/be ready) and, in turn, create positively stated operational definitions that reflect what students would look/sound like in meeting the expectations across pivotal contexts in the classroom. Once the expectations are established, direct instruction is provided to the students through simulations, with periodic booster sessions over the course of the school year.
Positive reinforcement (behavior-specific praise)	The teacher’s presentation of a desired stimulus (e.g., verbal praise in the instance where the student finds verbal praise rewarding) is contingent on the student(s) acting in a manner that is expected (e.g., the student raising his or her hand to gain the teacher’s attention in the classroom). The delivery of the reinforcer (e.g., verbal praise) is explicitly labeled in connection to the behavior that is being reinforced (e.g., “Nice job of raising your hand, Sam. How can I help you?”).
Achieving the 4:1 ratio	The teacher, through his or her distribution of positive reinforcement for desired behavior in relation to corrective feedback in response to student problem behavior (misbehavior that requires direct intervention), achieves a ratio of four positive reinforcements for desired behavior to each instance of redirection for problem behavior (thus, the 4:1 ratio). This ratio should ideally be achieved with both the class (in aggregate) and each individual student in the classroom.

Rather extensive research (see Horner, Sugai, & Anderson, 2010) has been conducted about universal preventive approaches, which can be considered to form the first tier of positive behavior support in the classroom, or Tier 1 in what is often explained as a three-tiered support model. Universal preventive approaches can be summarized simply as preventive classroom management and interpersonal relationship strategies; however, it is important to understand that certain approaches need to be applied with fidelity and consistency. Your particular school may be implementing positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) on a schoolwide basis (often referred to as schoolwide positive behavior support, or SWPBS). In such cases, there are likely set expectations, rapport-building structures, and reinforcement systems in place that everyone in the school should employ. Whether or not your school is implementing this framework, it is helpful to know effective universal preventive strategies.

Universal approaches are the foundation for positive student behavior across a whole classroom or school.

WHAT ARE UNIVERSAL (TIER 1) SUPPORTS, AND WHO ARE THEY FOR?

Universal supports are for everybody. The key components—building rapport, setting clear expectations, and reinforcing desired behavior—are principles that establish a climate conducive to learning. Students will be more engaged in your instruction when it is clear that you care about them (have rapport), when it is clear what they should be doing (set expectations), and when they see that doing what they are supposed to do pays off (reinforcement). Ensuring that these components are addressed in your classroom—whether through your own initiatives or in conjunction with schoolwide procedures—is very much worth the effort. We know from personal teaching experience, as well as research, that using these universal approaches fosters a positive classroom environment and prevents a lot of potential problem behavior.

Establishing Rapport

Most teachers naturally understand that developing rapport with their students is essential for a classroom to function well. When students believe you know them, care about them, and have their best interests at heart, they are more likely to respect the expectations you set and are more receptive to your instruction. However, as would be the case in any human relationship, you will find some students easier to bond with than others. For those students who seem harder to reach, you may need to employ a more systematic approach to develop necessary rapport. Make a conscious effort to be in closer physical proximity, be inviting with your body language and be empathetic with how you talk, find out what the student is interested in and ask open-ended questions about it, and seek out extra occasions to start a conversation with the student. Rapport-building efforts should be comprised of numerous brief interactions. You should expect the process to take some time, or many small interactions, before the student of concern warms up to you (and for you to feel more comfortable with the student).

Setting Clear Expectations

The most effective classrooms are governed by simple, concise, and overarching guiding principles for behavior, not by exhaustive lists of rules. Choosing three to five positively stated, broad behavioral expectations and posting them in your room is encouraged (e.g., “Be responsible, be respectful, and be ready”). In PBIS schools, there are likely already three to five schoolwide expectations like these in place, and you should translate them into your classroom. After identifying these broad expectations, you should identify key settings and routines and operationally define the expectations for those contexts (e.g., “What would my students look and sound like if they are being responsible during group work in my seventhgrade physical science class?”). At the beginning of the school year, instruct the students on the expectations, and provide booster sessions throughout the year.

Reinforcing Positive Behavior

When your students behave appropriately per the classroom expectations, it is important to frequently reinforce that good behavior. Positive reinforcement (i.e., the presentation of a desired stimulus contingent on the performance of a desired behavior in order to increase the likelihood of the future recurrence of that same desired behavior) is great to use in your classroom because it also helps with building and maintaining rapport with your students. Reinforcement can take the form of praise as well as tangible reinforcers and can be delivered in a number of ways, including token economy systems. When determining how often you need to provide reinforcement, you can base the interval on how often you find yourself having to redirect problem behavior. Always aim, at least, for reinforcing appropriate behavior four times for every one instance of redirection or other consequences for problem behavior. Achieving this 4:1 ratio will steer students toward desired behavior and result in a majority of teacher–student interactions being positive.

WHERE THIS BOOK COMES IN: STUDENTS WHO NEED MORE SUPPORT

As valuable as thes...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Downloadable Materials
• About the Authors
• Preface
• 1. How Are Targeted Supports Different from Universal Supports, and Which Students Will Benefit from Them?
• 2. What Is Targeted Support, and What Does It Mean to Provide Such Support in the Classroom?
• 3. How Do I Gather Practical Information on Student Behavior in My Classroom?
• 4. What Do Targeted Supports Look Like in a School Using PBIS?
• 5. What Do Targeted Supports Look Like in a Classroom in a Traditional School?
• 6. How Do You Adjust Targeted Supports Based On Student Progress?
• 7. How Do Targeted Supports Relate to Individualized Intensive Supports?
• References
• Appendix Blank Forms
• Resources
• Index