Presentation Abstract

In order for a school's PBIS program to be effective, teachers and staff members must be equipped with the tools to engage positively with their students. Many PBIS programs fail because teacher buy-in and preparation have not occurred. At Winterville Elementary School, we feel that our PBIS program is successful because teachers receive regular training and updates on topics such as establishing effective classroom management procedures, building positive relationships with students, working with students with difficult behaviors, and knowing functions of behavior. We conduct PBIS walkthroughs, our UGA behavior analyst records positive vs. negative comments from teachers, administrators conduct classroom observations, and we review discipline data. Through these various pieces of data, we are able to identify trends, areas of needed improvement, and areas of strength to determine the types of support our teachers need. From there, we develop professional learning opportunities for individual teachers or the entire faculty to build their efficacy in managing student behavior and interacting positive with students.

We train our teachers to involve parents, mentors, therapists, and other stakeholders in developing behavior plans for students with difficult behaviors. We also try to be proactive instead of reactive in our approaches to working with difficult behaviors.

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Building Teacher Efficacy in a School-wide PBIS Program

In order for a school's PBIS program to be effective, teachers and staff members must be equipped with the tools to engage positively with their students. Many PBIS programs fail because teacher buy-in and preparation have not occurred. At Winterville Elementary School, we feel that our PBIS program is successful because teachers receive regular training and updates on topics such as establishing effective classroom management procedures, building positive relationships with students, working with students with difficult behaviors, and knowing functions of behavior. We conduct PBIS walkthroughs, our UGA behavior analyst records positive vs. negative comments from teachers, administrators conduct classroom observations, and we review discipline data. Through these various pieces of data, we are able to identify trends, areas of needed improvement, and areas of strength to determine the types of support our teachers need. From there, we develop professional learning opportunities for individual teachers or the entire faculty to build their efficacy in managing student behavior and interacting positive with students.

We train our teachers to involve parents, mentors, therapists, and other stakeholders in developing behavior plans for students with difficult behaviors. We also try to be proactive instead of reactive in our approaches to working with difficult behaviors.