Supporting Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders through School-wide Positive Behavior

Supports

Tim Lewis, Ph.D.

University of Missouri

Center on Positive Behavioral Intervention & Supports

www.pbis.org

Starting Point….

• Educators cannot “make” students learn or behave

• Educators can create environments to increase the likelihood students learn and behave

• Environments that increase the likelihood are guided by a core curriculum and implemented with consistency and fidelity

The Challenge

• The “core curriculum” is often punishment to try and reduce problem behavior in school

• However, “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 & Sulzar-Azaroff, 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

= instructional strategies - “teaching”

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

Essential Features at the School Level

• Teams of educators within the school• Data-based decision making• Instructional Focus

– Teach & Practice• Acknowledge student mastery of social

skills– Positive Feedback

SYST

EMS

PRACTICES

DATASupportingStaff Behavior

SupportingDecisionMaking

SupportingStudent Behavior

PositiveBehaviorSupport OUTCOMES

Social Competence &Academic Achievement

Academic Systems Behavioral Systems

1-5% 1-5%

5-10% 5-10%

80-90% 80-90%

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Students•Assessment-based•High Intensity

Intensive, Individual Interventions•Individual Students•Assessment-based•Intense, durable procedures

Targeted Group Interventions•Some students (at-risk)•High efficiency•Rapid response

Targeted Group Interventions•Some students (at-risk)•High efficiency•Rapid response

Universal Interventions•All students•Preventive, proactive

Universal Interventions•All settings, all students•Preventive, proactive

Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success

Universal School-Wide Features

• Clearly define expected behaviors (Rules)– All Settings– Classrooms

• Procedures for teaching & practicing expected behaviors

• Procedures for encouraging expected behaviors• Procedures for discouraging problem behaviors• Procedures for data-based decision making• Family Awareness and Involvement

I am…. All Settings Classroom Hallways Cafeteria Bathrooms Playground Assemblies

Safe •Keep bodies calm in line•Report any problems•Ask permission to leave any setting

Maintain personal space

WalkStay to the right on stairsBanisters are for hands

•Walk•Push in chairs•Place trash in trash can

Wash hands with soap and waterKeep water in the sinkOne person per stall

Use equipment for intended purposeWood chips are for the groundParticipate in school approved games onlyStay in approved areasKeep body to self

•Walk•Enter and exit gym in an orderly manner

Respect-ful

•Treat others the way you want to be treated•Be an active listener•Follow adult direction(s)•Use polite language•Help keep the school orderly

Be honestTake care of yourself

Walk quietly so others can continue learning

Eat only your foodUse a peaceful voice

Allow for privacy of othersClean up after self

•Line up at first signal •Invite others who want to join in•Enter and exit building peacefully•Share materials•Use polite language

Be an active listenerApplaud appropriately to show appreciation

A Learner

•Be an active participant•Give full effort•Be a team player•Do your job

•Be a risk taker•Be prepared•Make good choices

Return to class promptly

•Use proper manners•Leave when adult excuses

•Follow bathroom procedures•Return to class promptly

•Be a problem solver•Learn new games and activities

•Raise your hand to share•Keep comments and questions on topic

Benton Elementary School

Tier II (small group)

• Efficient and effective way to identify at-risk students– Screen– Data decision rules

• Informal assessment process to match intervention to student need– Small group Social Skill Instruction– Self-management– Academic Support

• Part of a continuum – must link to universal school-wide PBS system

Tier III (individualized support)

• When small group not sufficient• When problem intense and chronic• Driven by Functional Behavioral Assessment• Connections to Mental Health and Community

Agencies• Part of a continuum – must link to universal

school-wide PBS system

Outcomes

FRMS Total Office Discipline Referrals

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06

Total ODRs

Mental Health Outcomes

• Does School-wide SW-PBS fit within a comprehensive mental health model of prevention and intervention?

Minimizing and reducing “risk factors” by building “protective factors”

Correlation of Risk Variables with EBS Survey Score

N = 13 Middle SchoolsSprague, Walker, Sowards, Van Bloem, Eberhardt & Marshall, 2001

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

Risk Variables

Pearson R

Series1 0.017896 -0.119001 0.115955 -0.291545 -0.513794 -0.376016

Free & R Acd Fail Mobiltiy A&D Crm ASB Total

A&D = Alcohol and Drug; ABS = Anti-social Behavior Scale

BALLWIN ACHIEVEMENT PBS

405

302

185

760

32.531

58.2

47.4

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2000 2001 2002 2003

YEAR

NUMBER OF REFERRALS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

MAP PERCENTILE

Office Referrals Proficient or Advanced on MAP

Tier II & IIISmall Group and Individual

Interventions

Supporting Students At-Risk and those with Disabilities Within Their

Home School

STUDENTS RECEIVING A "BEHAVIOR PLAN"EIGHT OR MORE REFERRALS

1999/2000 vs. 2000/2001

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

A* B C D E F* G H I J* K L M N O P

STUDENT NAME

NUMBER OF REFERRALS

REFERRALS 99-00 REFERRALS 00-01

AVERAGE PERCENT DECLINE IN REFERRALS

50%%

*STUDENT LEFT SCHOOL DISTRICT BEFORE THE END OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR

SSRS-T Social Skills Non PBS PBS

Pre Mean 72.8 (56-86) 78.3 (70-84)Post Mean 80 (61-103) 90 (77-125)P Value .11 .04*SSRS-T Problem Behavior

Non PBS PBS

Pre Mean 123.6 (110-138) 124.8 (113-133)

Post Mean 121.4 (102-139) 124.7 (115-138)P Value .50 .97

* Significance at the .05 P Value

Comparison of a Social Skill Intervention in SW-PBS and non SW-PBS schools

Classroom Intervention within SW-PBS

• Subject:– Seven years old– Identified with EBD and ADHD

• Setting– General education 2nd grade classroom with 19 other

students• Concern

– Student exhibits high rates of off-task– Student shouts out answers and questions and comments at

high rates and often inappropriate

Stichter, J. P., Lewis, T. J., Johnson, N., & Trussell, R. (2004). Toward a structural assessment: Analyzing the merits of an assessment tool for a student with E/BD. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 30, 25-40

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Baseline Level 1 Level 1 & 2 Level 1, 2 & 3 Follow-Up

Mean Percent of Teacher Behavior

High Structure Materials Accessiblity Rules Visible Assistance Consistent Answering Consistent

Does Implementation of SW-PBS Improve Individual Interventions?

• Illinois “profile” analysis.– Assessment of intervention effectiveness

Very Low, Low, Med, High, Very High 0 1 2 3 4

– School-wide– Individual Intervention

N=223

N=169

N=38

N=17

Profile Effectiveness Scores (Illinois Schools 02-03)

0

1

2

3

4

School-wide Individual

Mean Effectiveness Scores

t = 11.11 (335) p< .0001 t = 2.30 (27) p < .03

Partial

N=169

Full

N=223

Partial

N=17

Full

N=38

Field Elementary School

SW-PBS and Response to Intervention with Literacy

Field Elementary School• High Diversity

– School has 290 students; 50% minority; 20% English Language Learners; 13% Special Education

• Instructional leader turnover• Poverty

– 79% of students live in poverty• Highly transient population

Field Elementary School

+ Teachers and Staff committed to increasing academic and social successof all students

+ A committed Principal who supported faculty in their efforts to change the way they taught to improve children’s lives

Field Elementary School

• Academic Standing– Only 5% of all students scored proficient in 2005– Breakdown by ethnicity:

–0% African-American–18% Caucasian–0% Students with disabilities–0% English Language Learners–7% Students living in Poverty

Field Elementary School

• Literacy• In 2004–05, 44% students required

intensive support for reading and writing

• Social Behavior• In 2003-04 Averaging 10.4 discipline

referrals per day

Positive Behavior Supports

MU College of Education —140 years of discovery, teaching and

learning

Impact on Behavior Problems

From 10.4 per dayTo 1.6 per day

Impact on Literacy• Improved Academic Standing

– In 2007, 27% of Field’s students scored proficient in 2007 (up from 5%).

– African American: 0% improved to 16%– Caucasian: 18% improved to 57%– Students with disabilities: 0% improved to 25%– English Language Learners: 0% improved to 27%

Why Invest in SW-PBS?• Change in school discipline system creates an

environment that promotes, teaches, and acknowledges appropriate behavior

• Reduction in problem behavior resulting in less staff time dealing with problems, more student time in the classroom

• Improved academic performance• Improved social behavior performance• Improved school safety, mental health

connections, and individual interventions

Impact of our SW-PBS Center’s Efforts To Date

• Over 11,000 schools in the United States• Working with researchers and educators

in Canada, Australia, and several countries in Europe

Supporting Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders through School-wide Positive Behavior

Supports

Tim Lewis, Ph.D.

University of Missouri

Center on Positive Behavioral Intervention & Supports

www.pbis.org