Irvine H.S. (IHS), Vista Verde (VV), Bernice Ayer Middle School (BAMS)

1. Irvine H.S. (IHS), Vista Verde (VV), Bernice Ayer Middle School (BAMS) • Team driven (IHS) & establishing local expertise (VV) • Data based decision making &problem solving (IHS) • 1-5-9 week & data displays (VV) • Early screening (BAMS), continuous monitoring & structured problem solving (IHS) • Parent communication (VV) • Increasing contact & relationship between students & staff (IHS) • Linked to SW….consistently (BAMS) • Locally based interpretations (IHS) & applications (BAMS) • RtI, use simple first (classroom teacher before 2nd tier interventions) (VV) • Public & frequent (BAMS) • Integrated academic (BAMS) & social behavior efforts (IHS) • Range of interventions (BAMS) • Teach process & requirements directly to & w/ students (VV)

2. Encouraging Student Behavior: Misrules & Science George Sugai OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports UConn Center for Behavioral Education & Research March 10, 2008

3. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT PREVENTING VIOLENCE? • Surgeon General’s Report on Youth Violence (2001) • Coordinated Social Emotional & Learning (Greenberg et al., 2003) • Center for Study & Prevention of Violence (2006) • White House Conference on School Violence (2006) • Positive, predictable school-wide climate • High rates of academic & socialsuccess • Formal social skills instruction • Positive active supervision & reinforcement • Positive adult role models • Multi-component, multi-year school-family-community effort

4. Big Goal Promote acceptable, expected student academic & social behavior by establishing relevant & durable positive interactions & relationship between learner & teacher • Parent & child, worker & boss, teacher & teacher, bus driver & riders, etc.

5. How? • Engaging in high positive social interactions • Arranging for high academic success rates • Expressing high positive outcome expectations • Regularly teaching, practicing, acknowledging prosocial behavior

6. Why do educators resist use of positive acknowledgements (misrules)? • Use of extrinsic rewards will inhibit development of intrinsic motivation. • Students don’t need rewards & acknowledgements to do what’s right & supposed to do. • Strong, natural aversive consequence will get the message across. • Give them time, & maturity will kick in. • If they can’t do it on their own, they shouldn’t be in this course. • Any students who need me to tell them what’s right & wrong aren’t going to make it my class… personal responsibility • I teach biology. I don’t & shouldn’t have to teach respect and responsibility. • It’s obvious to me, just look at her family. • When I was his age, I had to do it all on my own….no breaks & privileges in my class. • Etc.

7. Challenge Despite the research & conceptual literature, teaching & encouraging student prosocial behavior are not embraced by some teachers: • Limited fluency • Narrow, non-contextual applications • Inefficient, non-sustainable strategies • Philosophical opposition • Etc.

8. What do we know? • Antecedent & consequence environmental events affect behavior probability • Function matters • Appropriate & inappropriate academic & social behaviors are similarly acquired, maintained, & lost • Social skills must be taught & maintained like academic skills • Academic & social reinforcers are required but vary in form, intensity, frequency • Self-management success is linked to other-management success

9. Irony from teacher’s lounge: “Students shouldn’t be recognized for what they’re supposed to do. Besides why should we do something extra; you never acknowledge us for what we do now!”

10. General Guidelines • Showoff outcomes • Model what you want • Work from conceptually sound theory • Involve others • Teach self-management • Individualize • Use naturally occurring, contextually, & culturally appropriate forms of rewards & reinforcers • Reward/reinforce staff use