August 11, 2011
Dear Brian,
As a follow-up I put together a brief overview of the Positive Behavior Intervention Support model. This is the tip of the iceberg, but I have included the rationale for having a strong, proactive, positive Tier 1 approach, with a foundation of teaching as well as examples of both Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.
I know that a proposal to change the way we address challenging behavior in our district would be met with a fair amount of resistance. I would like to provide some responses to common objections.
1. There is no need for change. What we are doing right now works for most kids. No program is going to work for everyone.
First, is it well established that kids with challenging behavior NEED a proactive, positive approach. That is why PBIS is written into the major education laws. It is true that most kids will be able to survive punitive approaches. That speaks to their flexibility. However, negatively focused practices will not work for the very kids needing behavior management (generally about 20% of students). The research on this from the last 30 years is clear. If we are going to invest time and money into behavior management, let us make sure that it works for the target population, not just for the students who were going to be successful anyway.
Second, do we really know how well our current system is working? We are not using data to track the students needing intervention, nor are we tracking how well interventions are working. Currently, a student could sit facing the wall several times a day, for years, and never get a behavior support plan. It is not enough to simply remove the student from instruction. We would not find this acceptable for kids with academic challenges and we should not find it acceptable for kids with behavior challenges.
2. The “good” teachers are already doing the positive pieces of classroom management. The “bad” teachers are going to do what they want, and we can’t change that.
Instead of referring to teachers (and students) as “good” or “bad”, we should instead be thinking about lack of skills. All people, child and adult, want to experience success. Teachers who are relying on punitive practices, likely do not have the skills to have a positive classroom. Under our current system, they also have little motivation. With PBIS practices, we can empower teachers to use different tools, proven to be effective for improving student behavior.
3. We shouldn’t have to teach behavior in schools. That is the parents’ job. Teachers don’t have time to teach behavior with all of the other demands put on us.
There is not much point in spending time “admiring the problem”. While parents certainly play a significant role in the success or non success of their kids at school, blaming the parents does not lead to any real solutions. The reality is that many kids are coming to school unprepared, academically and socially. What we do while the kids are in the school setting is what matters.
Foundational to the PBIS model is that we treat behavior as we do academics. We would consider it unreasonable to expect a child to come into school knowing how to read, and to punish the child if they didn’t.
Additionally, there are different social skills needed for a school setting than a home setting. Not all kids are going to come into a classroom knowing how to appropriately ask for help or how to ignore distractions, as examples. We have to teach this.
With regard to time spent, wouldn’t we rather spend the time upfront, proactively teaching behavior, knowing that it will pay off later in the year, with less behavior problems?
4. I hear that PBIS model rewards students for positive behavior. Students shouldn’t be rewarded for doing what is expected. They need to be intrinsically motivated.
The reality is that we adults get rewarded for our behavior. We should ask ourselves how likely it is that we would continue a behavior without any positive reward attached. How many of us would stay at our job without a paycheck? How long would we stay on a diet if we never lost weight?
Foundational to evidence based practice is the recognition that all behavior has a function. We must understand that a student’s chronic misbehavior is working for them. Their misbehavior has rewards for them, as contradictory as that might seem. They wouldn’t exhibit the behavior over and over again otherwise. For example, many of our students are seeking attention from adults. Some have figured out that negative behavior is the quickest way to get that attention. Others are overwhelmed by academics and have figured out which behaviors will get them removed from the classroom setting. One goal of PBIS is to teach kids to get their needs met in more appropriate ways. Natural reinforcers would eventually maintain new behaviors, but contrived reinforcers can be helpful while establishing new habits.
Also, we can remember that rewards do not have to be tangible. A simple, verbal positive acknowledgement from a teacher is powerful for most kids. Rewards can also be social. For example, kids can be rewarded for positive behavior with the opportunity to work in the school kitchen, or given time helping students in a lower grade level, as examples.
5. As teachers, we are overwhelmed by all of the initiatives that we are supposed to adopt. We have RtI, PLC, now PBIS? It is too much.
The good news is that PBIS is RtI for behavior. The three tiered model of a strong foundation for all students, with built in supports for kids who struggle is the same for behavior and academics. Collaboration and the acknowledgement that we must all be learners, embedded in PLC are crucial for the success of the RtI/PBIS model.
I hope this and the included PBIS overview will be helpful.
Sincerely,
Michelle Jobe
ljskidawg@gmail.com
cc: Kevin Gilbert
Laura Jaecks
Dr. Walt Newman
Jesús Hernández
Gary Callison
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