INTRODUCTION
We believe in the power of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS). But really, it does not matter what we believe! What matters is the evidence that supports the use of PBS. And that is what this website is all about. We meticulously scoured the research to identify what works in schools, classrooms, and with individuals.
" If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got" ~ Moms (Janet) Mabley
The Marin County SELPA worked with Dominican University of California’s Department of Special Education to identify evidence-based behavioral practices and create a website to support students, teachers, and local schools. These strategies lead to academic and behavioral success.
This website highlights the importance of establishing a system of Positive Behavior Support (PBS). This system of positive strategies and expectations supports the behavior of all students. Positive behavior supports are divided into 3 tiers:
The focus of this website is the strategies in Tier 1 and 2 which will address the behavioral needs of approximately 95% of the student population.
We believe in the power of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS). But really, it does not matter what we believe! What matters is the evidence that supports the use of PBS. And that is what this website is all about. We meticulously scoured the research to identify what works in schools, classrooms, and with individuals.
" If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got" ~ Moms (Janet) Mabley
The Marin County SELPA worked with Dominican University of California’s Department of Special Education to identify evidence-based behavioral practices and create a website to support students, teachers, and local schools. These strategies lead to academic and behavioral success.
This website highlights the importance of establishing a system of Positive Behavior Support (PBS). This system of positive strategies and expectations supports the behavior of all students. Positive behavior supports are divided into 3 tiers:
- Tier 1: Universal Level
- Tier 2: Targeted Level
- Tier 3: Intensive Level
The focus of this website is the strategies in Tier 1 and 2 which will address the behavioral needs of approximately 95% of the student population.
In addition, this website also explores the basic principles of behavior and the importance of discovering the reasons that students engage in problem behavior. It also guides the user through the steps of conducting a functional behavior assessment and developing a behavior.
BEHAVIOR IS CHALLENGING FOR ALL
Behavior problems negatively affect teachers and students. Distracting and inappropriate behaviors are particularly problematic because they interfere with teacher instruction and the learning of all students within the classroom, not just that of the misbehaving student. However, the student displaying inappropriate behaviors experiences additional problems, which may include lost academic time, difficulty developing and maintaining friendships, complications with social situations, and high truancy and dropout rates.
BEHAVIOR IS COMMUNICATION
Just as we assist student with reading disabilities, those with behavioral difficulties and disabilities also need our assistance. But quite frankly, behavior intervention can be difficult. We would not say to a student with a reading disability, “Come on already! Figure it out!” However, we often do that to students with behavioral issues. Based on the nature of the disability, behavioral problems may result in relationship problems. People, teachers and students take the behavior personally. And it is hard not to. Yet behavior is communication.
As adults and professional, we need to start asking what the behavior means. Behavior may indicate that the student needs a different way of learning, a different kind of instruction, more support, more attention, or more guidance.
“We may need to reevaluate the criterion we set for student behavior in the classroom and whether or not the students have the prerequisite skills to do the assigned tasks. The primary goal of the learning environment is for students to increase their academic achievement.” (Grahm-Day, Gardner, & Hain, 2010)
As adults and professional, we need to start asking what the behavior means. Behavior may indicate that the student needs a different way of learning, a different kind of instruction, more support, more attention, or more guidance.
“We may need to reevaluate the criterion we set for student behavior in the classroom and whether or not the students have the prerequisite skills to do the assigned tasks. The primary goal of the learning environment is for students to increase their academic achievement.” (Grahm-Day, Gardner, & Hain, 2010)
STUDENTS MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THEY NEED
Students may be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help, do not know what help they need, or have previously asked for help and not received it. Finding appropriate ways to provide what the student needs is, we believe, an ethical responsibility of teachers and schools.
When a child has the systems of support and skills needed to meet our expectations, they do so. We can assume that all students want to be successful--and this is an important assumption to make. If a student is not behaviorally successful, we must identify what skills they are lacking, as well as, what supports should be implemented to help them build those critical skills. We need to support our students in making positive behavior choices. What is our role in developing citizens who are socially and emotionally aware, respectful, and responsible? And how do we go about doing that?
When a child has the systems of support and skills needed to meet our expectations, they do so. We can assume that all students want to be successful--and this is an important assumption to make. If a student is not behaviorally successful, we must identify what skills they are lacking, as well as, what supports should be implemented to help them build those critical skills. We need to support our students in making positive behavior choices. What is our role in developing citizens who are socially and emotionally aware, respectful, and responsible? And how do we go about doing that?
As educators, these questions are fundamental when addressing student behavior. This is an important shift from reactive to proactive supports for students struggling with behavior. When we are reactive and focus on discipline, we are lacking the actual teaching of appropriate behaviors and may be judging and penalizing students based on skills they have not yet acquired. When a student struggles academically, we are responsible to add supports, scaffolds, guidance and modeling to help that student succeed with an issue such as reading or math. The same must be done for students struggling with behavior.
KEY BEHAVIOR PRINCIPLES - IRIS CENTER
The following information on Key Behavior Principles is from Vanderbilt University’s The IRIS Center. (2009). Functional Behavioral Assessment: Identifying the Reasons for Problem Behavior and Developing a Behavior Plan. Retrieved from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/fba/
Understanding Behavior
Not every behavioral intervention will work with every student. When interventions fail to work with every student, teachers often do not know why.
It is for this reason that it is important for teachers to understand that much of student behavior—appropriate or otherwise—is learned. As such, behavior can be influenced by the consequences that follow it. Consequences can either increase or decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. Therefore, teachers can modify student behavior once they understand the reasons behind it.
Understanding Behavior
Not every behavioral intervention will work with every student. When interventions fail to work with every student, teachers often do not know why.
It is for this reason that it is important for teachers to understand that much of student behavior—appropriate or otherwise—is learned. As such, behavior can be influenced by the consequences that follow it. Consequences can either increase or decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. Therefore, teachers can modify student behavior once they understand the reasons behind it.
It would be helpful to understand some terms that refer to components of the behavioral learning process:
Learning Key Behavior Principles
Consequences can either increase or decrease the probability that a student’s behavior will reoccur. Of course, it is not always easy to know what effect a consequence will have until teachers are able to observe future behavior. For example, a teacher might assume that keeping a student in at recess will decrease an unwanted behavior. However, the actual effect of the consequence cannot be determined until he or she can observe whether the behavior does, in fact, decrease. Teachers who effectively change student behavior frequently use one of the following types of consequences:
Positive reinforcement is a means by which teachers can increase the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses positive reinforcement when he or she provides something that is pleasant. Positive reinforcement is often thought of as a reward.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is also a means by which teachers can increase the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses negative reinforcement when he or she removes something that is unpleasant. Negative reinforcement is often thought of as relief from something aversive (e.g., boring class work).
- Antecedent: Any situation, action, or event that immediately precedes a behavior
- Behavior: An observable or measurable act
- Consequence: A response, action, or event that immediately follows a behavior
Learning Key Behavior Principles
Consequences can either increase or decrease the probability that a student’s behavior will reoccur. Of course, it is not always easy to know what effect a consequence will have until teachers are able to observe future behavior. For example, a teacher might assume that keeping a student in at recess will decrease an unwanted behavior. However, the actual effect of the consequence cannot be determined until he or she can observe whether the behavior does, in fact, decrease. Teachers who effectively change student behavior frequently use one of the following types of consequences:
- Positive reinforcement
- Negative reinforcement
- Punishment
- Extinction
Positive reinforcement is a means by which teachers can increase the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses positive reinforcement when he or she provides something that is pleasant. Positive reinforcement is often thought of as a reward.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is also a means by which teachers can increase the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses negative reinforcement when he or she removes something that is unpleasant. Negative reinforcement is often thought of as relief from something aversive (e.g., boring class work).
For Your Information
When you reflect on the concept of reinforcement, do not mistakenly associate terms positive and negative with the concepts of good and bad. Rather, keep in mind that these terms refer to the addition or removal of a stimulus or condition to achieve a desired response.
It might be helpful to think of positive reinforcement as a reward and negative reinforcement as a relief; both result in an increase in the probability that the behavior will reoccur.
Positive Punishment
Positive punishment is a means by which teachers can decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses positive punishment when he or she provides something that is unpleasant.
Negative Punishment
Negative punishment is also a means by which teachers can decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses negative punishment when he or she removes something that is pleasant. “Time-out,” for example, is a commonly used form of negative punishment.
Extinction
Extinction refers to the withholding of something that is pleasant in order to eliminate the likelihood that a behavior will occur in the future.
When you reflect on the concept of reinforcement, do not mistakenly associate terms positive and negative with the concepts of good and bad. Rather, keep in mind that these terms refer to the addition or removal of a stimulus or condition to achieve a desired response.
It might be helpful to think of positive reinforcement as a reward and negative reinforcement as a relief; both result in an increase in the probability that the behavior will reoccur.
Positive Punishment
Positive punishment is a means by which teachers can decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses positive punishment when he or she provides something that is unpleasant.
Negative Punishment
Negative punishment is also a means by which teachers can decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future. A teacher uses negative punishment when he or she removes something that is pleasant. “Time-out,” for example, is a commonly used form of negative punishment.
Extinction
Extinction refers to the withholding of something that is pleasant in order to eliminate the likelihood that a behavior will occur in the future.
Extinction is often difficult to use on its own in a classroom because it:
Applying Behavior Principles
It’s important to remember that a stimulus or consequence that is reinforcing to one student may be aversive or seem like punishment to another. For example, a teacher might publicly praise a student’s work in front of the class, forgetting that not all students like the public praise. A subsequent decrease in the quantity or quality of the student’s work might indicate that the praise was actually perceived as a punishment. Further, poorly selected reinforcers will not lead to increases in desired behaviors, which could cause some teachers to mistakenly believe that reinforcement does not work.
- Does not produce a quick change in behavior
- Depends on the ability to control all sources of reinforcement (e.g., peer laughter)
- Often results in an extinction burst, a situation in which the behavior gets worse before it gets better. Consider a student who yells out answers to the teacher’s questions without raising her hand. A teacher who decided to put this behavior on extinction would refrain from responding to the student’s comments. In an extinction burst, the initial ignoring is followed by an increase in the rate of talking out as the student tries even harder to get the teacher’s attention. The talking-out behavior may even escalate to yelling or other extreme behaviors.
- Is susceptible to spontaneous recovery, instances in which previously extinguished behavior reappears unexpectedly
Applying Behavior Principles
It’s important to remember that a stimulus or consequence that is reinforcing to one student may be aversive or seem like punishment to another. For example, a teacher might publicly praise a student’s work in front of the class, forgetting that not all students like the public praise. A subsequent decrease in the quantity or quality of the student’s work might indicate that the praise was actually perceived as a punishment. Further, poorly selected reinforcers will not lead to increases in desired behaviors, which could cause some teachers to mistakenly believe that reinforcement does not work.
For this reason teachers should know their students well enough to select appropriate reinforcers or else involve the students in the selection process. Remember, too, that a consequence is only reinforcing if observations of future behavior verify behavioral increases.
REFERENCES
Allensworth, E. M. & Easton, J. Q. (2007). What matters for staying on-track and graduating in Chicago public high schools:
A close look at course grades, failures, and attendance in the freshman year. Retrieved from Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago website:
https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/07%20What%20Matters%20Final.pdf
Burnett, P. C. (2002). Teacher praise and feedback and students’ perceptions of the classroom environment. Educational Psychology, 22, 5-16.
Graham-Day, K. J., Gardner, R., Hsin, Y. W. (2010). Increasing on-task behaviors of high school students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Is it enough? Education and Treatment of Children, 33(3), 205-221.
Greene, R. (2014) Lost at school: Why our children with behavior challenges are falling through the cracks and how we can help. New York: Scribner.
Ratacliff, N., Jones, C., Costner, R., Savage-Davis, E., Sheehan, H., & Hunt, G. (2010). Teacher classroom management behaviors and student time-on-task: Implications for teacher education. Action in Teacher Eduation, 32, 38-51. doi:10.1080/01626620.2010.549714
Riley, J. L., McKevitt, B., C., Shriver, M. D., & Allen, K. D. (2011). Increasing on-task behavior using teacher attention delivered on a fixed-time schedule. Journal of Behavioral Education, 20, 149-162. doi: 10.1007/s10864-011-9132-y.
A close look at course grades, failures, and attendance in the freshman year. Retrieved from Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago website:
https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/07%20What%20Matters%20Final.pdf
Burnett, P. C. (2002). Teacher praise and feedback and students’ perceptions of the classroom environment. Educational Psychology, 22, 5-16.
Graham-Day, K. J., Gardner, R., Hsin, Y. W. (2010). Increasing on-task behaviors of high school students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Is it enough? Education and Treatment of Children, 33(3), 205-221.
Greene, R. (2014) Lost at school: Why our children with behavior challenges are falling through the cracks and how we can help. New York: Scribner.
Ratacliff, N., Jones, C., Costner, R., Savage-Davis, E., Sheehan, H., & Hunt, G. (2010). Teacher classroom management behaviors and student time-on-task: Implications for teacher education. Action in Teacher Eduation, 32, 38-51. doi:10.1080/01626620.2010.549714
Riley, J. L., McKevitt, B., C., Shriver, M. D., & Allen, K. D. (2011). Increasing on-task behavior using teacher attention delivered on a fixed-time schedule. Journal of Behavioral Education, 20, 149-162. doi: 10.1007/s10864-011-9132-y.
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Marin County SELPA commissioned Dominican University of California’s Department of Special Education to identify evidence-based behavioral practices to support students, teachers, and local schools. In particular, the task was to identify positive, evidence-based classroom practices leading to academic and behavioral success.
Dominican University of California is located in Marin County and offers graduate programs that culminate in a Master of Science (MS) in Education degree. These programs are designed for educators and other professionals who are interested in teaching and seek preparation for leadership roles and responsibilities
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