Establishing an Effective Network of PB4L: School wide Coaches Tim Lewis, Ph.D. University of Missouri OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports pbis.org

Build parallel systemic processes Provide school/district teams with a process to address the presenting challenge (SWPBS) Develop a parallel process for districts/regions to support school implementation and continue to expand with integrity (District /National Leadership Team)

District Initiative District Coordinator / Trainer PBS Coaches/ Trainers School Teams 4

Most Training Guskey (1986, 2000) Nearly every major work on the topic of staff development has emphasized the failings of these efforts. Majority of staff development fail to consider two factors: "What motivates teachers to engage in staff development, and the process by which change in teachers typically takes place" (p. 6). Considerations: Change is a slow, difficult, gradual process; Teachers need to receive regular feedback on student learning outcomes; and Continued support and follow-up are necessary after initial training.

34 “Train & Hope” WAIT for REACT to New Problem Behavior Expect, But Select & ADD Practice Hire EXPERT to Train WAIT for New Expect, But HOPE for Implementation

PD to Change Staff Behavior Development Change in Teacher Practice Change in Student Outcomes Change in Teacher Beliefs Guskey, 1986

Blueprint Logic - Training Assess and map training to school team “readiness” Training targets focus on specific steps in building a continuum of behavioral supports All training should be outcome based with measurable goals (along with tool to measure) Trainers must master and demonstrate competency on essential features

Most Technical Assistance Relies on expert model Case by case Contingent upon funding streams and/or student eligibility Often poor fit within an instructional model

Rethinking Technical Assistance Moving from a case by case expert model to building expertise in the school Focus of all TA is on teaching the school team to solve problems or address challenges for themselves Shift from providing answers to asking questions Shift from developing plans to prompting plan development Shift from being viewed as the expert to being viewed as a facilitator Will not replace need for specialist, re-focus all to building capacity

Blueprint Logic – Technical Assistance Key competencies and skill sets of TA providers provided Basic logic of SW-PBS problem solving adhered to across all related activities (data-practices –systems) Tools and measures to assist in process School Team(s) are target of all TA

Building the Blue Print

Phases of Implementation Exploration Installation Initial Implementation Full Implementation Innovation Sustainability 2 – 4 Years Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005

Coaching within SWPBS Implementation Defining the Role Internal vs External Selecting Coaches Training and support for coaches Assessing Impact

Coaching Defined Coaching is the active and iterative delivery of: (a) prompts that increase successful behavior, and (b) corrections that decrease unsuccessful behavior. Coaching is done by someone with credibility and experience with the target skill(s) Coaching is done on-site, in real time Coaching is done after initial training Coaching is done repeatedly (e.g. monthly) Coaching intensity is adjusted to need

COACHING FUNCTIONS(enabling) Guidance for team startup Technical assistance Resource access Problem solving Data-based decision making Positive reinforcement Prompting & reminding Communications network

Outcomes of Coaching Fluency with trained skills Adaptation of trained concepts/skills to local contexts and challenges And new challenges that arise Rapid redirection from miss-applications Increased fidelity of overall implementation Improved sustainability Most often due to ability to increase coaching intensity at critical points in time.

Coaching Competencies Who should be a coach Coaching Competencies Necessary Preferred Participate in team training Able to attend team meetings at least monthly Effective working with adults Knowledgeable about school operating systems Professional Commitment Knowledge about SWPBS Knowledge about behavior support practices (targeted, individual) Skilled in collection and use of data for decision-making.

Coach Competencies

“Coaching Considerations” PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY Formal to Informal Specialized to General Direct to Indirect Frequent to Infrequent Predictable to Unpredictable Internal to External Individual to Group

Trainers Train more than you think you need Levels of skill development Organized around Phases of Implementation Team Member Team Leader Coach Trainer Coach Coordinator Regional/State Coordinator

Illinois Network 2009

Tools To Assist Identify Progress Monitoring Tool Tier I Tier II/III Team Implementation Checklist Benchmarks of Quality School-wide Evaluation Tool School Assessment Survey SWIS Tier II/III CICO Progress Monitoring Tool Benchmark for Advance Tiers (BAT)

SW-PBS Lessons Learned Invest in 1-3 yrs of on-going professional development Provide annual boosters Establish school & district/regional COACHING Annual self-assessment of integrity & outcomes Integrate initiatives with similar outcomes Establish local content & implementation expertise

Establishing an Effective Network of PB4L: School wide Coaches Tim Lewis, Ph.D. University of Missouri OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports pbis.org