Using Positive Behavior Support in the Classroom: Primary Prevention Guidelines for Setting up a Classroom Prevention System

Guidelines for Classroom Rules LIMIT TO 3 – 5 STATED POSITIVELY MAKE THEM REALISTIC MAKE THEM UNDERSTANDABLE - STATED SIMPLY & BEHAVIORALLY/USE ICONS/ETC. POST THEM TEACH THEM REINFORCE THEM 8. REVIEW AND PERIODICALLY UPDATE

Establish a Continuum of Consequences Consequences for rule violations Using corrective feedback Tell student what is wrong and what to do instead Use only if it changes behavior Use calmly and consistently Severity of consequence matches severity of behavior/infraction Problem: Overuse may increase problem behavior! Again, consequences for positive and negative behavior should be developed by the teacher and by the classroom. Corrective feedback is often useful in describing what was wrong and what to do instead. For example I statements describing what is wrong and how it made you feel then provide alternatives. Corrective feedback should not be overused with students in that it tends to become a punitive and unpleasant experience which may prompt more challenging behavior. In addition, it should only be utilized if it changes behavior. If corrective feedback has to be given two times on Monday and increases throughout the week until it has to be provided ten times on Friday, it is obvious that it is somehow reinforcing that child’s behavior. Stop using this approach. Even though it may appear as if this corrective feedback should not be reinforcing, sometimes what we think is a reinforcer for one student may not be for another student. Finally, corrective feedback should be used in a calm and consistent manner. It should not be delivered only to one student. One student should not be singled out above other students and the delivery of that feedback should be done in a positive way, in a low or neutral tone of voice and without any sort of disrespectful statements attached to it. .

Use of Positive Reinforcement (“catch them being good”) Consistency Immediate reinforcement for new skills Delayed reinforcement for established skills Pair Tangibles with Praise Vary the type of reinforcement available More reinforcement early, less later Reinforce more often early, less later Contingent and Non-Contingent

Teaching Rules/Procedures in the Classroom: Involving Students Teacher defines the general parameters Students develop rules with each other Students vote on negotiable rules Students develop rules with the teacher