Providing Behavioral Feedback to Students in an Alternative High School Setting

Abstract

Schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is conceptualized as a public health approach to supporting school personnel and students in the domain of behavior management. The PBIS framework encourages the establishment of a tiered system of support whereby the primary support (Tier 1) is aimed at the entire school population and encourages the adoption of clear behavioral expectations and practices that prevent problem behaviors and encourage positive interaction between all members of the school community (Sugai & Simonsen, 2012). Secondary and tertiary supports are targeted and individualized interventions serve to reduce problem behaviors. Sugai and Horner (2002) identified four core elements for schools to consider when planning a PBIS framework for assessment and intervention: (a) identify desired outcomes (both academically and socially), (b) use evidence-based practices and programs, (c) collect and use data to inform decision making, and (d) build systems to complete each component of the process (e.g., routines, schedules, sources of support).George, George, Kern, and Fogt (2013) demonstrated the importance of extending PBIS into alternative school settings. Existing literature on PBIS outcomes in alternative high school settings has focused on finding ways to decrease serious behavior incidents (Simonsen, Britton, & Young, 2010;Simonsen & Sugai, 2013) and reduce the use of physical restraints for students with emotional and behavioral challenges (Miller, George, & Fogt, 2005). Tier 1 PBIS in alternative school settings, however, has been shown to correlate highly with fewer office discipline referrals and high levels of social validity from school professionals (Farkas et al., 2012).This article describes how alternative schools can develop a Tier 1 routine to improve the provision of specific behavioral feedback given to students during their homeroom period. A case example in which teachers, administrators, and university consultants worked collaboratively to develop such a routine is given. This case illustrates (a) how to conduct a needs assessment process to identify problems of practice and define desired behaviors within an alternative school setting, (b) how to collect data to certify the current problem of practice, (c) how to develop routines to improve the provision of behavioral feedback given to students, and (d) how to use data to evaluate if the new routine is being implemented. AbstractThis column provides an example method for improving the consistency and quality of daily behavioral feedback provided to students in an alternative high school setting. Often, homeroom or advisory periods are prime points in the day for students to review their behavior from the previous day and set goals for a successful day to come. The method described outlines a planning process and strategy for building teams and teachers to use to establish a behavioral feedback routine, and a case example of the implementation of the routine.Keywords positive behavioral interventions and su...

Determinants And Markers Of Formation Of Inclusive Competence Of Future Teachers

“…There are separate experimental studies in this area: a training of specialists of inclusive universities (Dokhoyan, Ismailova, Yegizarjants, & Sokolova, 2017), a special training that informs students not only about disability but also how to respond to the needs of people with disabilities (Moriña et al, 2015), and daily behavioral feedback (Whitcomb, Hefter, & Barker, 2016). However, the system solutions of such formation of inclusive competence are not offered to students neither in foreign, nor in Russian studies.…”