1. Positive Behavior Support in Early Childhood Settings: Current Issues, Challenges, and Solutions
Tim Lewis, Ph.D.
University of Missouri
OSEP Center on Positive
Behavioral Intervention & Supports
pbis.org

2. Big Ideas Program-wide vs. school-wide
Primary focus at classroom level
Data collection challenges
Developmentally appropriate / need for direct instruction of social behavior
Intensity match intensity of challenges across the continuum
Apply basic logic of PBS across
Data, practices, systems

3. Starting Point We cannot “make” students learn or behave
We can create environments to increase the likelihood students learn and behave
Environments that increase the likelihood of social and academic success are guided by a core curriculum, adapted to reflect student need, and implemented with consistency and fidelity 3

4. The Challenge
School-wide discipline systems are typically unclear and inconsistently implemented
Educators often rely on reactive and crisis management interventions to solve chronic problem behavior
Educators often lack specialized skills to address severe problem behavior
Resources scarce
Educators under multiple pressures to meet standards
Traditional “discipline” methods simply do not change behavior among the most challenging students
Students with the most challenging behaviors need comprehensive systems of support
Students have limited opportunities to learn school-based social skills and to receive feedback on their use

5. Typical responses to students
Increase monitoring for future problem behavior
Re-review rules & sanctions
Extend continuum of aversive consequences
Improve consistency of use of punishments
Establish “bottom line”
Zero tolerance policies
Suspension/expulsion
Exclusionary options (e.g., alternative programs)

6. However…
“Punishing” problem behaviors (without a proactive support system) is associated with increases in (a) aggression, (b) vandalism, (c) truancy, and (d) dropping out. (Mayer, 1995, Mayer & Sulzar-Azaroff, 1991, Skiba & Peterson, 1999)

7. The Good News…
Research reviews indicate that the most effective responses to school violence are (Elliot, Hamburg, & Williams, 1998 Gottfredson, 1997; Lipsey, 1991; 1992; Tolan & Guerra, 1994)
Social Skills Training
Academic Restructuring
Behavioral Interventions

8. Toward a Solution
The answer is not the invention of new solutions, but the enhancement of the school’s organizational capacity to:
Accurately adopt and efficiently sustain their use of research-validated practices
Provide a Seamless continuum of behavioral and academic support for all students
Be part of a district wide system of behavior support
Increased focus, teacher training, community training, and funding for early intervention

9. School-wide Positive Behavior Support
SWPBS is a broad range of systemic and individualized strategies for achieving important social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behavior
OSEP Center on PBIS

10. Positive Behavior Support Social Competence & Academic Achievement
OUTCOMES
Supporting
Decision
Making
Supporting
Staff Behavior
DATA
SYSTEMS
PRACTICES
Supporting
Student Behavior

11. Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success
Academic Systems
Behavioral Systems
Intensive, Individual Interventions
Individual Students
Assessment-based
High Intensity
Intensive, Individual Interventions
Individual Students
Assessment-based
Intense, durable procedures
1-5%
1-5%
Targeted Group Interventions
Some students (at-risk)
High efficiency
Rapid response
5-10%
5-10%
Targeted Group Interventions
Some students (at-risk)
High efficiency
Rapid response
Universal Interventions
All students
Preventive, proactive
80-90%
Universal Interventions
All settings, all students
Preventive, proactive
80-90%

12. Continuum of Supports Intensive Targeted Universal Math Science
Spanish
Soc skills
NOTICE GREEN GOES IS FOR “ALL”
English
Reading
Horses

13. Essential Features at the School Level
Teams of educators within the school (administrator)
Data-based decision making
Instructional Focus
Teach & Practice
Acknowledge student mastery of social skills
Positive Feedback

14. Sample Agenda
Working Agreements on the Agenda

15. Universal School-Wide Features
Clearly define expected behaviors (Rules)
All Settings
Classrooms
Procedures for teaching & practicing expected behaviors
Procedures for encouraging expected behaviors
Procedures for discouraging problem behaviors
Procedures for data-based decision making
Family Awareness and Involvement

17. Area/Activity
Expectation
Be Safe
Be Responsible
Be Respectful
Suggestions for arrival and departure
Stay with adult
Stop and watch for vehicles
Hold adult’s hand in parking lot
Use walking feet on stairs, ramp, and
sidewalks
Hold onto railing
Follow the safety rules
Ask/sign for help if needed
Listen to adults
Use good greeting words
Use good manners words
Classroom entry and welcome
Keep entryway clear for others
Use walking feet
Keep hands to self
Go to cubby
Remove and hang up coat in cubby
Go to sink and wash hands
Choose activity and join friends
Share and take turns
Use indoor voice
Bathroom
Walk up and down stairs
Go potty, wipe, and flush
Wash hands with soap and water
Turn off faucet
Use three turns of paper towels
Dry hands
Return to activity
Indicate need to go potty by telling teacher
Wait turn
Classroom
Keep feet on the floor
Touch friends gently
Use materials only for intended purpose
Cough/sneeze in elbow
Listen
Wait and take turns
Share
Clean up
Follow instructions
Use inside voice
Use good talking words
Take care of classroom property
Be a good friend to everyone

19. Group Contingency for Appropriate Behavior (Beehive)

20. (sung to the tune of ‘Do Your Ears Hang Low?’) Do you like to buzz?
Are you covered in fuzz?
Do you call a hive a home
In the garden where you roam?
Do you know how to make honey?
Are your stripes a little funny?
WE FILLED OUR
BEE HIVE TODAY!
WE ARE:
BEING SAFE, KIND
AND RESPONSIBLE

21. Social Skills Lesson Plan
Classroom
Skill: Be Safe – Use Walking Feet 
Steps:
Introduce Skill
A way to be safe is to use walking feet in the classroom
Teach the Expected Behavior
Discuss with students why it is safe to use walking feet instead of running in the classroom.
Ask students: When do we need to use our walking feet? (possible answers: when we are inside, when going to the playground, going to the bus, going home, etc…)
Demonstrate
Show the children what using your walking feet looks like (thumbs up)
Show the children what using your running feet looks like (thumbs down)
Model walking, marching, stomping -e.g., “walking feet go 1and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5”
Practice
Different opportunities through out the day
Have students practice walking softly, loudly, quickly, slowly, forward, backward
“We walk, we walk, we walk, and we stop” (repeat)
Review/Re-teach
Use pre-corrects before “walking” activities begin—“We are getting ready to go outside for recess. What do we need to do with our feet?”
Re-teach the skill as needed
Reinforce
Specific praise—“You are using your walking feet while walking to recess! Good job!”
Other reinforcers

24. Effective Teaching Plan
Circle Time
Teachers encourage children to sit on circle nametags
Teacher begins singing the Good Morning song
Students sign in (match pictures to nametags)
Supporting teachers assist students with this
Teacher reviews calendar
Sing 2 to 3 songs, finger-plays, or a story 
When children have a good listening body with hand raised and quiet mouth let them take turns sharing and listening
Review helpers of the day, rules, and work time areas
Share any special news
Supporting teachers model appropriate behavior (sitting on floor, looking at teacher, participating in songs, keeping hands in lap)
Supporting teachers provide positive feedback in a quiet, non-disruptive way (thumbs up, pat on back, quiet “nice job sitting!”) to students acting appropriately in Circle
This is an example of one piece of the day…our teaching plans cover classroom set up, transitions, from start to finish……..

25. Reinforcement System

26. I can also listen with my ears and try to do what the teacher says.
Social Stories
I can sit nicely and look at the teacher.
Everyone can go to circle and sit on their seat.
I can also listen with my ears and try to do what the teacher says.

27. Visual Prompts

37. Demonstrate the Labeling and Expression of Emotions
Model the use of emotion language through real life scenarios: “How do you feel when…?”
Publicly acknowledge your own mistakes and emotions.
Expect, accept, and acknowledge all emotions. Express that the issue is how we manage those feelings.
Teach facial expressions and body language: “When do people smile?”

38. Demonstrate the Labeling and Expression of Emotions
Photos of people in various emotional states.
Provide storybooks on feelings.
Place a mirror in the classroom.
Sing songs about emotions.
Make feelings collages.
Label a child’s feelings, tone, and body language.

39. Mood Thermometer
MAD!!
Upset
Okay
Happy

41. Teach Friendship Building Skills
Target behaviors and role-play and practice during area play.
Model phrases to initiate and encourage interactions.
Peer modeling, peer buddies
Create opportunities for working together (e.g., plan by drawing play partners, assign clean-up buddies).
Utilize activities that require turn-taking and sharing.
Provide cooperative toys: puppets, 2 phones, board games).
Provide storybooks on friends.

42. Assessment Tools PBIS.org Pre-School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET)
Pre- Self Assessment Survey (SAS)
Benchmarks Of Quality
Team Implementation Checklist
Other
Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool
Inventory of Practices for Promoting Social Emotional Competence

43. Classroom Supports

44. Essential
Classroom expectations & rules defined and taught (all use school-wide, create classroom examples)
Procedures & routines defined and taught
Continuum of strategies to acknowledge appropriate behavior in place and used with high frequency (4:1)
Continuum of strategies to respond to inappropriate behavior in place and used per established school-wide procedure
Students are actively supervised (pre-corrects and positive feedback)
Students are given multiple opportunities to respond (OTR) to promote high rates of academic engagement
Activity sequence promotes optimal instruction time and student engaged time
Instruction is differentiated based on student need

45. Systems Teach Brief in-service, single topic focus
Practice (performance feedback)
Peer coaching
Principal “walk throughs”
pbismissouri.org 45

48. Pre-school SAS Pre-school SET
Needs Assessment
Pre-school SAS
Pre-school SET

49. Pre-school SAS

51. PRE-SET (Horner, Benedict, & Todd, 2005)
Adaptation of an assessment tool called the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) used in K-12 educational settings to measure critical features of school-wide PBS.
The Pre-SET assesses classroom and program-wide variables across 9 categories:
A. Expectations Defined
B. Behavioral Expectations Taught
C. Appropriate Behavior Acknowledged
D. Organized and Predictable Environment
E. Additional Supports
F. Family Involvement
G. Monitoring & Decision-Making
H. Management
I. Program & District-Wide Support

52. Pre-SET Administration
Information necessary for completion of the Pre-SET is gathered from multiple sources including review of permanent products, observations, and staff and child interviews.
A Pre-SET should be conducted for each classroom within an early childhood program if the implementation status or practices (e.g., classroom rules) are different for each classroom.
The Pre-SET may be conducted at the program level if all classrooms within the early childhood program are at the same implementation status and use the same practices (e.g., have same classroom rules).

54. System/Intervention Evaluation
Pre-school ODRs?

55. EC Behavioral Report

61. Identifying at-risk students
Tier II / III

62. At-risk Students Behavioral incident reports Teacher Referral
Create data decision rules – capture 10-15%
Teacher Referral
Clear process with supporting data
Screening

63. Early Screening Project (Walker, Severson, & Feil)
Proactive multiple-gated screening:
Stage One: Teacher ranking of externalizing & internalizing behaviors
Stage Two: Teacher ratings of the 5 highest ranked children
Stage Three: Direct observations & parent questionnaires of children exceeding Stage Two criteria
Teacher Ranking
Teacher Ratings
Observations

64. Trinity Lutheran Child Learning Center
Trinity Lutheran Child Learning Center (TLCLC) is a ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church serving families with young children ages 2 1/2 years (by August 1st) through Pre-K.
TLCLC incorporates daily religion and developmentally appropriate activities into a school and optional before and after school daycare program.

65. Trinity Lutheran Child Learning Center
115 total children enrolled for school year (current trend is for more children to be enrolled 5 days instead of the 2 day or 3 day)
On a daily basis:
MWF = 85/90 per day
T/Th = /90 per day
annual school days = 189
9 classrooms
4 pre-school
4 pre-k

66. Trinity Lutheran Child Learning Center
1 Director
1 School Secretary
1 Full-time cook
10 Classroom teachers
- 4 fulltime with benefits
- 6 part time no benefits
- All hourly wage

67. As In Most Pre school Programs: At TLCLC It’s all about Play, Play, Play…
Instruction is implanted within play, activities, and developmentally appropriate practices and routines.
Loosely follow Creative Curriculum
Another major focus is to support social relationships: interaction and communication
Instructional activities are concrete (real) and brief.

68. Challenges for Implementing PBS for TLCLC Program
Minimally staffed
Have no immediate access to behavioral expertise
A lack of formal credentials for some staff
Have very little training in behavior
Have limited to no experience working as a team and problem solving
Hourly wage

69. Implementing PBS Keeping it simple Making it apply to them
Taking into account these Challenges it was vital for implementation success to build the systems by:
Keeping it simple
Making it apply to them
Ongoing training and TA for staff
Program committing to 2-3 year process to achieve full Implementation
Director supporting teachers to implement
Educating staff about community support programs available

70. Challenges to Forming Leadership Team at TLCLC
Often hourly wage added time constraints for meetings.
Because of minimum staff team is comprised of entire faculty, even the ones who DON’T want to be there.
Staff have limited to no experience working as a team.

71. Implementing PBIS Critical to form trust among the team by:
Spending adequate time forming the team
Doing some team building exercises
Encourage involvement by voting and obtaining 80% agreement when making decisions
Specific Roles for team members
Giving everyone a voice
Creating and agreeing on working agreements

72. What do you want your school to be?
TLCLC’S Journey
What do you want your school to be?
Had them focus on what they wanted their school environment to LOOK like and SOUND like and FEEL like.

73. Proven Preschools Outcomes
Improved adaptive behavior & social outcomes
Decreased problem behavior overall in school
Decreased acting out and aggressive behavior displayed by young children at high risk for behavioral disorders.
Serna, Nielsen Lambros, & Forness 2000
Stormont, Smith & Lewis 2007
Tankersley, Kamps, Mancina, & Weidinger, 1996
The practice of PBS is different in each school because each school serves a different population, but all use the evidence based practices.

74. Making It “Real” With Other Possible Outcomes of Implementing
More positive overall school environment
Better relationships with your students
Increase in positive staff interactions
Increased teaching time
Feeling better about your ability and effectiveness as a teacher because you feel more confident in knowing what to do.
Decrease in staff stress
Powerful for both staff and students in many ways.

75. First Steps Obtained Staff Commitment Form a Leadership Team
-Obtained 80% commitment through vote by ballot
Form a Leadership Team
The staff decided everyone who can should be on the team - Director and all classroom teachers
Assigned Roles: Chairs, Time keeper, Secretary, and Cheerleader
Decided on bi-monthly meetings- 1 hour each
3. Created Vision