| |
Page
2
POSITIVE
BEHAVIOR SUPPORT AND FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT
By Cynthia Warger
School-wide
Positive Behavioral Support
Research studies have demonstrated that when PBS strategies are
implemented school-wide, children with and without disabilities
benefit by having an environment that is conducive to learning.
They learn more about their own behavior, learn to work together,
and support each other as a community of learners. One PBS model,
Effective Behavioral Support (Sugai, 1996), emphasizes a school-wide
system that defines, teaches, and encourages appropriate behavior
in children in elementary and middle schools. This model is based
on the fact that about 85 percent of students have the social skills
to do quite well if placed in a reasonable environment.
To
address the behavioral support needs of all students within a school
context, this model considers support from four major perspectives:
-
School-wide
support-procedures and processes that are intended for all students,
all staff, and all settings. The most important element of support
is a building-wide team that oversees all development, implementation,
modification, and evaluation activities.
-
Specific
setting support-a team-based mechanism for monitoring specific
settings that exist within the school environment. In settings
where problem behaviors occur, teams should develop strategies
that prevent or minimize their occurrence.
-
Classroom
support-processes and procedures of the individual classrooms
where teachers structure learning opportunities. Classroom support
should parallel the PBS features and procedures that are used
school-wide.
-
Individual student support-immediate, relevant, effective, and
efficient responses to those students who present the most significant
behavioral challenges. There must be processes and procedures
for high-intensity, specially designed and individualized interventions
for the estimated 3-7 percent of students who present the most
challenging behavior.
Strategies
for the school-wide, specific setting, and classroom levels include
having:
-
A
clearly stated, positive purpose.
-
A
set of positively stated expectations for behavior.
-
Procedures for teaching school-wide expectations.
-
A
continuum of procedures for encouraging students to display
expected behaviors.
-
A continuum of procedures for discouraging violations of school-wide
expectations.
-
A method for monitoring implementation and effectiveness.
At
the student level, procedures include functional assessment strategies,
social skills instruction, self-management training, and direct
instruction. For implementation of the procedures at the individual
student level to be effective, the school-wide PBS system must be
in place and functioning efficiently. Fern Ridge Middle School in
Elmira, Oregon, experienced a 42 percent drop in office referrals
in one year's time after implementing Effective Behavioral Support
(see Taylor-Greene et al., 1997). Three levels of PBS were implemented:
-
Level 1: This preventive level provided the necessary supports
to 80-90 percent of the student population. Staff defined their
expectations for student behavior-called "High Five." At the
beginning of the year, staff directly taught the skills underlying
these expectations. Students then practiced the appropriate
behaviors with reinforcement and feedback. A school-wide token
economy system was put into place to reinforce students throughout
the year.
-
Level 2: Some students needed more structure to help them solve
problems and set goals. These students attended daily morning
check-in and afternoon check-out sessions with counseling staff.
Students carried a point card on which teachers awarded points
when the youngster demonstrated the High Five expectations.
The card is brought to the counselor at the end of each day
and sent home to families. An individualized behavioral education
plan (BEP) also was developed for these students.
-
Level 3: Intensive support and additional structure were provided
to students who were not succeeding. To support these students,
a more intensive BEP was developed.
|
|
