Engaging Staff in PBIS: Strategies for Tough Situations (a PBIS follow-up)

Engaging Staff in PBIS: Strategies for Tough Situations(a PBIS follow-up) Dr. Hank Bohanon hbohano@luc.edu

Thank you • Lucille, Steve, Marla, Candy (ISBE) • PBIS Network Coaches • Dr. Pamela Fenning, Kelly Carney, Myoung Minnis, Dr. Beverly Kasper, Kira Hicks, Kristyn Moroz, Sarrah Harriss • Brigid Flannery and Rob Horner, U of Oregon • George Sugai, UCONN

Our Mentor! • Dr. Pamela Fenning • School-wide mentor for Positive Behavioral Interventions & Strategies (PBIS) • Group level supports • Policy research

Purpose • Encourage people to stay in the field and not to open a boutique in a small resort town. • Unless this is a part of their own personal vision for their overall quality of life.

PowerPoints • Participants will be able to identify what makes a situation difficult • Participants will be able to articulate their vision of what is a healthy climate or good quality of life in a school (in general) • Participants will be able to identify strategies for responding to difficult situations when they arise.

Topics • What makes something tough? • What are you trying to do to me? • K. Rogers approach to intervention

Last Year’s Goal • Orientation for students • Orientations for staff • Developing a chair = a go-to person • Major celebrations • Systems for school acknowledgment • Team meeting regularly • Delegation of tasks NOPE / Maybe Later

Your most difficult situation • What were you trying to accomplish and when you became stuck? • When did this happen? • What happen afterward? • Any major events happening to teachers or school?

For whom is the problem?

What are you trying to do to me?

Teaching “Behavior” • Every one is different, and yet they are not • Model A, Minivan, Corvette, Pickup • What are the principles – the big ideas • Why are you doing this? Your re-enforcers and setting events matter • What is the goal and objective of your lesson?

What IDEA says about PBIS • Consider if a behavior Impedes • School-wide consistency • General education • Incidental benefit • School is a Service not a place • Differentiated School-improvement • Analyzed with an FBA/BIP

Key Principles • ALL Behavior is Purposive & Communicative • Reinforcement = Add or take away something, behavior increases +/- • Punishment = You do something, behavior does not occur again • Setting events = before behavior • Discipline = to teach • Shaping = baby steps

What is the key? • I am not going to give them candy for doing what I expect of them (Fun time!)  • You each get a piece of candy • Give a piece of candy to someone who is doing something you like, or has on something you like • Give them the candy, but do not tell them why • They have to guess why they got the candy • Now, tell them what you liked and give them candy, praise, high five, hug, etc.

Welcome to the School-wideFree Operant Conditioning Program Be who you are! Our motto: “We sure hope you know what you are doing, ‘cause we sure don’t!”

Goal: at the School-wide level –aim to get 80% of your staff teaching behavior! Illinois research – when schools get to 80/80 • Fewer risk factors • More protective factors • More likely to have tried interventions beyond SW • More students with fewer discipline problems

Previous School-wide Evaluation • Teaching = 40% • Overall = 78%

“Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run…” Kenny Rogers

You have to start somewhere • What do you do when working with individual students? • Start with one behavior • Start with one school • Who asks whom to the dance?

Kansas City Kansas City • We have ways • We were ready for you • We started with individual students • We presented to one school first • Now how many schools? 

Battles • Choosing battles – or choosing to not make it a battle • When do you become most frustrated with your child, students, staff, or team? • You cannot stand between people and their consequences • Battle only when you have to or when you think you can win

Resolutions • I knew what was happening • How I felt – similar to what to struggle over as a teacher, • for a brief moment…

Orientation for staff – Could not get time, made guidebook • Professional development tool • Best thing since sliced bread • Presentation for LRE came at end of the year • Great, please do this at the beginning

SET/Referrals • New “Scores” • Teacher = 60 (vs. 40) • Overall = 82 (vs. 78) • ODR’s • August to March - two years of reduction • November onward was great!

PBIS Team • Assign Tasks and Chairs • SET - Recommendations • Post expectations in classrooms • Fast access to tickets • Have go-to person • Teach and remind (particularly freshmen) • Turned out to be good modeling for professional development

PBIS Team: (con’t.) • Look at the outcomes from data review • Create hypothesis for behavior • Create differentiated intervention(s) • More teaching – fewer referrals • Documentation for why orientation was useful • Practice in the classroom

Defining Next Steps

Next action plan already set • Turned them loose with data and get out of their way – going to address uniforms • Orientations are being scheduled • Chair – go-to person elected • Handbook is being updated • Teachers will be supported for training • Professional development is being scheduled

Conclusion • Stay true to the PBIS model – the scientific exploration of behavior – i.e., … • Save room for falling down, we learn through example and non-example – it took 10,000 tries to create the light bulb • Be prepared to be the only one who believes, for a period of time. This is true for students, true for schools – Einstein did not develop the theory of relativity by committee • If you are using your data, then you never have to list struggles as failure, they become “next steps.”

Engaging Staff in PBIS: Strategies for Tough Situations (a PBIS follow-up)