The need for teachers to manage disruptive behaviors in the classroom is certainly nothing new. Since the pandemic, however, educators have been reporting significant increases in aggressive, disrespectful, and inappropriate behavior and a decline in students’ social-emotional development. Furthermore, unwanted behaviors are no longer limited to small segments of students or specific schools but rather are being widely reported by districts across the country.
Disruptive behaviors can interfere with a sense of safety and predictability in the school environment and can contribute to emotional and behavioral dysregulation amongst peers. The time needed to re-direct disruptive students and restore order in the classroom decreases instructional time and further contributes to the learning loss that has lingered post-pandemic. And, frankly, dealing with the disruptive behavior of some students is exhausting for both educators and other students.
Fortunately, over the years school systems have developed numerous evidence-based strategies for managing classroom and school-wide behavior and these are well suited to address the recent spike in unwanted behaviors.
Importance of PBIS in Educational Settings
Most professional educators are familiar with PBIS, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, an evidence-based model for encouraging positive behaviors and for creating a success-oriented school environment. Although the spike in disruptive behaviors is recent, the tried-and-true strategies associated with PBIS continue to be highly relevant and districts would benefit from taking a step back to reassess and shore up existing programs or to create a formal PBIS where none exists.
What is PBIS?
PBIS is a multi-tiered system that is designed to improve social-emotional well-being, academic success, and overall school climate. Its defining characteristic is the emphasis on preventing unwanted behaviors rather than on punishing them, thus diminishing the need for corrective actions. Punishment and other corrective actions contribute to negative emotions including anger and fear and can undermine the positive student-teacher relationships that are the foundation of academic learning and social-emotional growth.
As with all tiered systems, the goal is to provide more support to those students with the greatest needs. Tier 1 services are universal supports that are directed toward all students. Approximately 10-25% of students will require Tier 2 services that might include both small group and individual interventions, and approximately 3-5% of students will require highly targeted and intensive individual interventions. Students with diagnosed learning, developmental, or emotional disabilities who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) typically will receive either Tier 2 or Tier 3 services depending on their needs.
Core Elements of PBIS
As described by the Center on PBIS the four critical features of a school-wide (SWPBIS) are:
- Locally-meaningful and culturally-relevant outcomes.
- Empirically-supported practices.
- Systems to support implementation.
- Data to monitor effective and equitable implementation and to guide decision making
The first step in creating or re-evaluating a PBIS is to clearly articulate the intended outcomes. All stakeholders should be consulted to determine a wish list of desirable school behaviors to be increased and as well as the behaviors to be decreased. Care should be taken to analyze the underlying causes of disruptive behavior and to identify patterns where possible. The general categories of improved executive functioning, academic growth, school safety and climate, and enhanced social-emotional skills should be considered.
Next steps involve the selection of specific evidence-based PBIS strategies that will best target the desired behaviors, and to agree on a data set to be routinely collected and analyzed to assess program effectiveness. Throughout the process feedback from teachers and other school staff should be sought, and ongoing in-service training and support should be offered.
Benefits of Implementing PBIS In Schools
Typically, PBIS strategies are universally applied and affect all students, building the skills that are needed for academic achievement as well as for emotional/behavioral self-regulation. Taking this universal approach maximizes efficiency and reduces the need to focus on individual students for basic skill development and the reinforcement of desirable behaviors. Furthermore, when classroom-based and school-wide expectations and rules are universally applied, students are more likely to learn from each other. More highly regulated students model appropriate behavior and set examples for their peers and demonstrate the benefits of such behavior by acquiring rewards and recognition. Peer “buddies” can also coach and nudge along those students who are struggling more with managing their own behavior.
Implementing PBIS Strategies Successfully in Schools
The most effective PBIS programs adhere to the tiered model of support and provide distinct interventions within each tier. Prior to selecting and implementing a set of strategies it is essential that leadership engage all stakeholders in defining the behaviors being targeted and the outcomes that are desired as this will guide the selection of supports that are chosen. In addition, staff must be thoroughly trained in their respective roles, and a process for ongoing consultation and support must be developed for staff.
Universal Support (Tier 1) Techniques
Tier 1 support falls in the category of primary prevention and is provided for all students across all settings. There are several examples of such interventions that are rather simple to implement at minimal cost. For example, once stakeholders decide on school behaviors to be targeted, they can create a list of behavioral expectations and rules. Posters that clearly explain these expectations can be posted in each classroom and in all common areas as constant reminders to students about what they are striving for. Staff can be trained on several preventive classroom management techniques that include how to effectively provide verbal reinforcement, how to use body language and signals to cue behavior, and how to use positive rather than punitive language in the classroom.
SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) curricula are another example of preventive Tier 1 support. These curricula target many types of social and self-regulatory skills that affect both academic success and the ability to function effectively with both peers and adults. Yet another example of a Tier 1 support is the adoption of a school-wide trauma-informed model that helps staff approach students from a “what happened to you?” rather than a “what did you do?” perspective. This approach honors the belief that most disruptive behaviors are learned responses to cope with trauma and severe stress and not deliberate attempts to “be bad”.
Targeted Interventions (Tier 2) for At-Risk Students
Research has shown that approximately 10-25% of students will require more targeted, Tier 2 interventions. These students typically exhibit mild to moderate behavioral or emotional symptoms, and/or academic difficulties. The goal of Tier 2 support is akin to secondary prevention, that is, to address current problems to relieve suffering and to avoid an exacerbation that might require more intensive intervention in the future.
Tier 2 interventions might include an individualized behavioral plan that specifies both rewards for desirable behaviors and consequences for inappropriate behaviors. Small groups that provide specialized instruction in executive function or social skills might be offered, or groups that highlight specific topics such as coping with grief or learning how to manage ADHD symptoms. Short-term individual counseling to help a student cope with a stressful event or situation and teach coping skills is another Tier 2 intervention.
Intensive Support (Tier 3) for High-Need Students
Tier 3 interventions are required for approximately 3-5% of students in a school district. These are students who require significant amounts of support ranging from intensive and specialized academic instruction to higher levels of mental health care to treat potentially debilitating psychiatric symptoms.
Some districts address the psychiatric needs of Tier 3 students by offering onsite mental health monitoring in combination with outpatient therapy in the community and periodic episodes of higher levels of care such as partial hospitalization or inpatient care. But these students can be at such high risk that an out-of-district placement at a therapeutic school is required. Other districts contract with specialty providers such as ESS to provide intensive Tier 3 services onsite so that at risk students can remain in school and continue to participate in most of their classes and school-based activities while receiving intensive mental health services.
Data Collection and Progress Monitoring
As with all school-wide initiatives, data collection and analysis are critical when a district is striving to improve student behavior and enhance school climate. New measures can be added to those already collected (e.g., absences, grades, disciplinary actions, etc.) and regular data analysis will reveal whether the effort and finances required to support a comprehensive PBIS are yielding the desired outcomes.
How to Integrate Mental Health Support with PBIS
PBIS systems can be successful even when they are not integrated with mental health interventions but the synergistic effect of folding mental health support into the MTSS model can be quite impressive. Partnering with experts in school-based mental health programs (such as ESS) is a path that many districts have taken to efficiently approach both school behavior and mental health needs.
The Connection Between Mental Health and Behavior
As discussed above, students rarely intend to be “bad” and disruptive at school. A more useful way to think about disruptive behavior is that it results from a combination of biological, neurological, and environmental factors that include poorly organized and/or impoverished families, persistent and overwhelming stress, and/or trauma experiences that have required the adoption of extreme survival mechanisms. Within this framework it is easy to see the logic of providing behavioral and mental health interventions in an integrated fashion.
The Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) is a way to blend PBIS with mental health support in schools. By integrating the school-wide PBIS (SWPBIS) with a tiered mental health system (MTSS) students in need of help are identified earlier and have greater access to evidence-based interventions. At the same time, data collection and analysis can inform both the academic and mental health arms of the system while it drives opportunities for a healthier, safer, and more welcoming school climate.
Trauma-Informed PBIS Practices
School professionals are increasingly aware that many of their students have been impacted by trauma. For this reason, it is advisable that any integrated PBIS-mental health system be designed from a trauma-informed perspective. This approach will directly address the misconceptions and biases that contribute to negative perceptions of students with behavioral problems and that lead to punitive rather than supportive behaviors by school staff.
Staff Training and Professional Development
Teachers and other school professionals for the most part are eager to assist students who are suffering with mental health problems. At the same time, they are not trained to intervene as mental health counselors, nor should they be given the impression that this is what is expected of them. Rather, school professionals need to be trained in mental health literacy (that is, knowledge and beliefs about obtaining positive mental health) and in mental health “first aid”. Mental health first aid is the ability to recognize signs of mental health disorders, to provide initial support, and to guide people toward the specialized help that they need.
Creating a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
It is important that school districts know that they are not alone in their efforts to implement an integrated MTSS – help is available from several expert sources. ESS has extensive experience in designing and implementing school-based Tier 2 and Tier 3 programs in schools across the United States. In addition, another New Jersey-based organization, The Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP), in collaboration with the Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE), has led the development of a series of courses dedicated to translating leading-edge science into effective implementation of MTSS in K-12 settings.
Enhance Your District’s Behavioral Support Framework
The implementation of any far-reaching school-wide initiative can seem daunting and can trigger concerns about budgets and community buy-in. At the same time, establishing or revitalizing a PBIS that is integrated with a tiered system for offering mental health support is an efficient and cost-effective way to address many school problems. There is considerable data to support the effectiveness of these methods, and in fact, this framework may provide an organized way to conceptualize and thus maximize services that a district is already providing but in a less integrated manner.
As always, ESS is ready to provide clinical experts to discuss your school’s particular challenges and to help you determine if a partnership is in your district’s best interest.
FAQs About PBIS Strategies
What is an example of PBIS in the classroom?
Some examples of positive behavior supports are posting a list of behavioral expectations and rules in every classroom and in common areas around the school; establishing and maintaining classroom routines and rituals; teachers using proximity and non-verbal signals to cue behavior; positive phrasing, with an emphasis on recognizing positive behaviors rather than punishing unwanted behaviors; teaching self-regulation skills (e.g. paced breathing and re-set strategies).
What is the difference between PBIS and MTSS?
PBIS is a specific approach to behavior management. MTSS is a broader framework that includes academic and behavioral supports, and increasingly mental health support in many districts.
What are Tier 1 strategies for PBS?
Tier 1 strategies include the explicit teaching and modeling of expected behaviors; an emphasis on positive reinforcement and recognition; the creation of predictable structures and routines; the specific teaching of social-emotional skills and creation of opportunities to practice.
What are Tier 3 interventions for PBIS?
Tier 3 interventions are designed for 3-5% of students in any district that might require maximum levels of support due to severe academic and/or mental health challenges. This may involve conducting Functional Behavior Assessments and individual Behavior Intervention Plans (FBA/BIP); offering onsite individual, group, and/or family therapy; and providing individualized instruction in executive function skills.
What are the barriers to PBIS?
As with any school-wide initiative, barriers might include budget concerns, lack of faculty and community buy-in, poor communication about intentions/results, and not involving all stakeholders in the design process.
Resources:
5 Examples Of PBIS Strategies In Schools | ClickView
10 PBIS Strategies in the Classroom | Article
Center on PBIS | What is PBIS?
Mental Health/Social-Emotional Well-Being
