Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Individualized Interventions: Schoolwide Skill Supports for Students with EBD
First Presenter's Institution
The University of Alabama
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Dr. Benner is an experienced Professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Social and Emotional Learning, School and Community Transformation, Whole Child Initiatives, English as a Second Language (ESL), Program Evaluation, Urban Education, Classroom Management, Academic Advising, and Lesson Planning. Strong education professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Special Education, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Second Presenter's Institution
The University of Alabama
Second Presenter’s Email Address
sdwilliams9@ua.edu
Third Presenter's Institution
The University of Alabama
Third Presenter’s Email Address
baile032@crimson.ua.edu
Fourth Presenter's Institution
The University of Alabama
Fourth Presenter’s Email Address
eolee1@ua.edu
Document Type
Event
Primary Strand
Positive Behavior Interventions and Support
Relevance to Primary Strand
This session relates directly to the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports strand as this session focuses on the school-wide implementation of strategies to meet the behavioral needs of students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. This session highlights strategies for schools in the initial stages of implementing school-wide PBIS but also is beneficial for schools focused on sustaining effective PBIS practices.
Brief Program Description
This session presents a variety of skill strategies including welcoming activities and optimistic closures and how to differentiate these strategies to meet the needs of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) on a school-wide level. In this session, you will experience an engaging, user-friendly blueprint for implementing and sustaining school-wide PBIS for all students.
Summary
It is well documented that students with or at-risk for emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) have severe deficits in their academic functioning that worsen over time. Compared to their counterparts with and without disabilities, youth with BD experience the bleakest school and post-school outcomes. About 60% of these youth drop out; three out of four of these youth are arrested within two years of dropping out. Researchers have found that about 58% of devoted classroom instructional time is lost due to problem behavior (e.g., off-task, disruptive). Of course, even when youth are engaged, they may not be successful with the academic task. Researchers have found that youth are engaged and successful only 17%, or about one hour, of the 6 hours of available instructional time per day in general education settings. The window of opportunity for academic learning time, where youth are engaged and successful, is smaller for youth with EBD given that, on average, only 30% (less than 2 hours) of their school day is focused on academic instruction.
Closing the academic achievement gap for students with EBD starts with closing the opportunity to learn gap. Closing the opportunity gap means providing access to core and intensive instruction. It also means boosting student engagement using positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and effective instruction on a schoolwide level. In this educator-friendly workshop, attendees will be equipped to do what works to create positive and engaging learning environments for students with EBD across a school environment. Attendees will come away with doable strategies to establish the engaging and positive classroom culture they envision and to keep it going all year. Attendees who apply the content of this workshop will experience reduced stress, improved job satisfaction, and more time to teach. Students with EBD will have significantly more engagement in classroom learning, academic success, self-efficacy, and respectful classroom behaviors.
Evidence
In July 2013, the American Journal of Public Health published the findings of a 20-year study that focused on how measuring children’s social-emotional or life skills in kindergarten may be a predictor of wellness in adolescence and adulthood. Researchers tracked a total of nearly 800 kindergarteners in four locations whose teachers measured their social competency skills in 1991, following their progress and noting key life milestones until each reached age of 25. The kindergarteners who had developed such skills as cooperating, sharing, being helpful, and resolving conflict with peers were more likely to graduate from high school, go to college, and obtain full-time employment. The children who had not developed strong social skills in 1991 were more likely to lack higher education or abuse drugs, or to have served time in a juvenile detention center or have been arrested. Additionally, teachers indicate a need for individualized supports to address the variety and intensity of behavioral concerns within the classroom (Dalton & Zanville, 2002; Meister & Melnick, 2003). Additionally, sound classroom and school-wide management establish the environmental context that makes good instruction possible (Emmer & Stough, 2001).
Learning Objective 1
Implement low intensity, high yield behavior strategies (warm welcomes, optimistic closures, engaging skill strategies)
Learning Objective 2
Differentiate school-wide PBIS to support students with EBD at all levels
Recommended Citation
Benner, Gregory J.; Williams, Stephanie; Bailey, Pam; Lee, Erica; Michael, Elizabeth L.; Sanders, Sara; and Guthridge, Daraius, "Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Individualized Interventions: Schoolwide Skill Supports for Students with EBD" (2022). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 21.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2022/2022/21
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Individualized Interventions: Schoolwide Skill Supports for Students with EBD
It is well documented that students with or at-risk for emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) have severe deficits in their academic functioning that worsen over time. Compared to their counterparts with and without disabilities, youth with BD experience the bleakest school and post-school outcomes. About 60% of these youth drop out; three out of four of these youth are arrested within two years of dropping out. Researchers have found that about 58% of devoted classroom instructional time is lost due to problem behavior (e.g., off-task, disruptive). Of course, even when youth are engaged, they may not be successful with the academic task. Researchers have found that youth are engaged and successful only 17%, or about one hour, of the 6 hours of available instructional time per day in general education settings. The window of opportunity for academic learning time, where youth are engaged and successful, is smaller for youth with EBD given that, on average, only 30% (less than 2 hours) of their school day is focused on academic instruction.
Closing the academic achievement gap for students with EBD starts with closing the opportunity to learn gap. Closing the opportunity gap means providing access to core and intensive instruction. It also means boosting student engagement using positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and effective instruction on a schoolwide level. In this educator-friendly workshop, attendees will be equipped to do what works to create positive and engaging learning environments for students with EBD across a school environment. Attendees will come away with doable strategies to establish the engaging and positive classroom culture they envision and to keep it going all year. Attendees who apply the content of this workshop will experience reduced stress, improved job satisfaction, and more time to teach. Students with EBD will have significantly more engagement in classroom learning, academic success, self-efficacy, and respectful classroom behaviors.
