1. TIPS: Team Initiated Problem Solving
KY PBIS Network Coaches Training Institute
Louisville, Kentucky
June 2012
presented by Lea Brown, KY PBIS Network
Developed by
Steve Newton, Anne Todd, Rob Horner, UO
Bob Algozzine, & Kate Algozzine, University of NC at Charlotte

2. Objectives Provide an overview of the TIPS system
Research results from two studies
Preview effective meeting practices through use of the TIPS Meeting Foundations
Preview Foundations Checklist
Roles & Responsibilities
Preview Meeting Minute Form
Be able to identify a problem that includes (not include) precision elements critical for problem solving

3. Context Every school has teams
Teams are being expected to do problem solving
Select curricula
Get training and implement new ideas/programs
Provide efficient leadership
“Communities of Practice”
Teams need to report data to staff, families, administration, district, state
Teams NEED data to do good problem solving.
Most teams are not skilled at running problem solving meetings and using data for decision-making.
Review the set of ‘assumptions’ we have about context. If data are collected that are not being used, the fidelity of collecting the data decreases over time.

4. A Model: Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS)
Includes:
Tools to define a system for effective meetings
Roles, responsibilities, materials, accountability and procedures
Steps of effective problem solving
A strategy for assessing, monitoring and evaluating the implementation and results of solutions
Can be used with other data sets

5. TIPS Model TIPS Training Team Meeting
One full day team training
Two coached meetings
Team Meeting
Use of electronic meeting minute system
Formal roles (facilitator, recorder, data analyst)
Specific expectations (before meeting, during meeting, after meeting)
Access and use of data
Projected meeting minutes
Research tool to measure effectiveness of TIPS Training
DORA (decision, observation, recording and analysis)
Measures “Meeting Foundations” & “Thoroughness of Problem Solving”
TIPS Training is a package across time starting with one full day of team training (the binder has all the materials, the thumb drive has the files) Followed by two coached meetings. Coaching includes:
Prompting & supporting the facilitator, minute taker and data analyst to prepare for meetings
Prompting the use of the TIPS model during meetings
Helping the team stay focused during meetings
Points to make: tough to build fluency if meeting once a month. The frequency is too lean.

6. Building Capacity and Sustainability
Hold effective meetings that use data to problem solve and plan AND that result in positive student outcomes
Building Capacity and Sustainability
For Social Competence,
Academic Achievement, and Safety
OUTCOMES
Team-based, documentation, regular communication
cycles
SWIS
DIBELS
SYSTEMS
INFORMATION
Meeting Foundations
Meeting Minute Format
Problem solving routine
Building Capacity and Sustainability using the TIPS model to:
1. Conduct effective, efficient meetings when using SWIS data for problem solving and decision making.
2. Implement and evaluate solutions that result in positive effects on student achievement, social behavior and safety.
a. The Information system is the use of the School Wide Information System. The data are current, accurate, believable
b. The Practices include the use of the meeting minute form and the problem solving process
c. The System is the implementation of Meeting Foundations, the TIPS model, and the documentation of decisions, action plans, and evaluation plans
PRACTICES
Supporting
Staff & Student Behavior and Decision Making

7. What we are learning Need to conduct Team Training
Team includes all members and a coach
Define Roles and Responsibilities is critical
Plan for absences (have back up people)
Coaching is critical
Training critical skills to facilitator, minute taker, and data analyst
Keep people on track,
document relevant information for progress monitoring and evaluation
Launch the meeting with a data summary
Documenting decisions, actions, timelines, evaluation plan is critical for sustainability

8. Data Analyst Role & Responsibilities
To create data summaries that will facilitate the team in
determining if there are problems
jump starting a problem solving discussion, and
evaluating the impact of solutions and fidelity of implementation
General Responsibilities
Prepares a brief written summary for distribution at meetings using each of the data sources needed for problem solving and decision making
Help to generate reports during the meeting as questions of the data arise

9. Start meeting with defining the problem with precision
Launch the meeting with a data summary that helps define the problem with precision
How?
Establish the role of a data analyst (and backup person)
Teach data analyst to develop data summary
DIBELS, SWIS…. Etc
Start meeting with defining the problem with precision
Refine precision of problem statement through inferences and hypothesis
Have data accessible for custom report generation during the meeting

10. Problem-Solving Meeting Foundations
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Problem-Solving Meeting Foundations
Structure of meetings lays foundation for efficiency & effectiveness
This information is organized to help team define the processes, procedures, roles and responsibilities for teams in their schools/districts. This basic set of Problem-Solving Meeting Foundations is based on teams using data for problem solving and decision making. Teams can adapt content and forms as needed.
All supporting documents are saved as word documents and can be adapted, titled, etc.
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Newton, J. S., Todd, A. W., Algozzine, K., Horner, R. H., & Algozzine, B

11. Meeting Foundations Elements
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Meeting Foundations Elements
Define purpose of the team
Decisions to be made, cycle of decision making, and data source(s) to use
Define roles & responsibilities
Define team agreements about meeting processes
Inform facilitator of absence/tardy before meeting
Be prepared for meeting by completing previously assigned tasks
Avoid side talk: Remind each other to stay focused
Start and end on time
Be an active participant
Use electronic meeting minutes
Basic Meeting Foundations Elements are essential no matter what type of meeting is being conducted. Teams need to know the purpose and expected outcomes of their group, they need to establish operating agreements (always start with something nice, avoid side talk, be on time, etc), and they need to establish roles and the expected responsibilities .
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12. Define roles for effective meetings
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Define roles for effective meetings
Core roles
Facilitator
Minute taker
Data analyst
Active team member
Administrator
Backup for each role
Typically NOT the administrator
We need primary people with a back up person for each role needed. It is encouraged to NOT have the administrator play a primary role for facilitator, data analyst, or minute taker. Administrators need to be flexible with what might come up and it is unpredictable when a situation causes administrator absence from a planned meeting. Since we know that this might occur, let’s avoid problems and set up the roles so that the team is not dependent on administrators being at the full meetings 100% of the time.
Can one person serve multiple roles?
Are there other roles needed?
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Responsibilities are organized around roles and the meeting cycle (before, during and after).
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14. 9/20/2018

15. Using Meeting Minutes Documentation of Reviewing Meeting minutes
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Using Meeting Minutes
Documentation of
Logistics of meeting (date, time, location, roles)
Agenda items for today’s meeting ( and next meeting)
Discussion items, decisions made, tasks and timelines assigned
Problem statements, solutions/decisions/tasks, people assigned to implement with timelines assigned, and an evaluation plan to determine the effect on student behavior
Reviewing Meeting minutes
An effective strategy for getting a snapshot of what happened at the previous meeting and what needs to be reviewed during the upcoming meeting
What was the issue/problem?, What were we going to do?, Who was going to do it and by When?, and How are we measuring progress toward the goal?
Visual tracking of focus topics during and after meetings
Prevents side conversations
Prevents repetition
Encourages completion of tasks
Help people understand what needs to be documented and why. If someone talks the entire meeting and there is no discussion, that is a memo, not a meeting! No need to document irrelevant anecdotes like: ‘ Jason yawned after Debbie explained her problem’, or ‘Debbie rolled her eyes and sighed when we talked about the testing schedule’
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16. Organizing for an effective problem solving conversation
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Organizing for an effective problem solving conversation
A key to collective problem solving is to provide a visual context that allows everyone to follow and contribute
Problem
Use Data
Animated slide telling a well too known story.
Out of Time
Solution
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17. Where in the Form would you place:
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Langley Elementary PBIS Team Meeting Minutes and Problem-Solving Action Plan Form
Today’s Meeting: Date, time, location: Facilitator: Minute Taker: Data Analyst:
Where in the Form would you place:
Planning for next PTA meeting?
Too many students in the “intensive support” for literacy
Schedule for hallway monitoring for next month
There have been five fights on playground in last month.
Next meeting report on lunch-room status.
Next Meeting: Date, time, location: Facilitator: Minute Taker: Data Analyst:
Team Members (bold are present today)
Today’s Agenda Items Next Meeting Agenda Items
01.
02.
03.
Administrative/General Information and Issues
Information for Team, or Issue for Team to Address
Discussion/Decision/Task (if applicable)
Who?
By When?
Problem-Solving Action Plan
Implementation and Evaluation
Precise Problem Statement, based on review of data
(What, When, Where, Who, Why)
Solution Actions (e.g., Prevent, Teach, Prompt, Reward, Correction, Extinction, Safety)
Who?
By When?
Goal, Timeline,
Decision Rule, & Updates
This slide is animated to teach the different parts of the meeting minute form each click adds the next section
Most schools have the title at the top and write/type as the meeting progresses
Make a point that we don’t need to document everything that happened (i.e., NM rolled her eyes KJ entered the room, SW continued to repeat the same issue, we took at 5 minute bathroom break)
Our Rating
Yes
So-So No
1. Was today’s meeting a good use of our time?
2. In general, did we do a good job of tracking whether we’re completing the tasks we agreed on at previous meetings?
3. In general, have we done a good job of actually completing the tasks we agreed on at previous meetings?
4. In general, are the completed tasks having the desired effects on student behavior?
Evaluation of Team Meeting (Mark your ratings with an “X”)
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18. Meeting Agenda Item: Meeting Foundations Tasks: What, by whom, by when
Any tasks assigned get copied to the meeting minutes of the next meeting as a follow up item
Meeting Agenda Item: Meeting Foundations Tasks: What, by whom, by when
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19. Meeting Foundations 9/20/2018
Example of meeting foundation checklist items getting transferred to the meeting minutes for future tracking of completion.
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20. Problem Solving Meeting Foundations
Identify
Problems
Team Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) Model
Develop
Hypothesis
Evaluate and
Revise
Action Plan
Collect
and Use
Data
Ask participants about knowledge and experience of SWIS
Discuss and
Select
Solutions
Develop and
Implement
Action Plan
Problem Solving Meeting Foundations

21. SWISTM (School-Wide Information System)
Defined
SWISTM is a web-based information system for gathering, entering, summarizing, reporting and using office discipline referral information
Purpose
A progress monitoring tool for improving the ability of school personnel to develop safe and effective learning environments

22. How SWISTM works

23. Organizing SWIS Data for Decision-making
Universal Screening Tool
Proportion of students with
0-1 Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs)
2-5 ODRs
6+ ODRs
Progress Monitoring Tool
Compare data across time
Prevent previous problem patterns
Define Problems with precision that lead to solvable problems
OK…. Building precision problem statements is a skill that is needed for using the data. organizing and interpreting the data requires another set of skills.
Slides provide a sequence of slides to illustrate different precision statements based on different pictures of the same type of data.

24. Using the Referrals by Student report as a Universal Screening Tool

25. Using office discipline referrals as a metric for universal screening of student social behavior
~5%
~15%
0-1 office discipline referral
~80% of Students

26. Using ODRs to Identify Problems
Build a picture for the pattern of office referrals in your school.
Compare the picture with a national average
Compare the picture with previous years
Compare the picture with social standards of faculty, families, students.
Goal
Identify problems empirically
Identify problems early
Identify problems in a manner that leads to problem solving not just whining

27. Total Office Discipline Referrals as of January 10
Let’s talk about accuracy of the data again. When you begin to use the data and draw comparisons, the data need to be comparable. Look at the data above. First, as a data analyst, you look and see, ‘wow.. Things are getting better, the graph is going down’…. Then you do what you are supposed to do first, and look at the label on the Y axis. This label says total office discipline referrals. It is great to compare the total ODRs, but now… look at the X-axis. There are a different number of days in each month and the number of schools day in each much has a wide range (Dec may have 10 school days, January may have 19 school days). These months, the way they are arrayed here, are not comparable and this data should not be used! If you aren’t using SWIS, do the math to get average referrals per day per month by using the total referrals and the total days each month. If you are using SWIS, do not fear….. (next slide)

28. SWIS does that calculation for you. look at the Y-axis label now
SWIS does that calculation for you. look at the Y-axis label now. Average referrals per day per month allow us to compare months. Now look at the trend….. ‘we are going to have a wild spring term if we don’t do anything differently!). This is the same set of data on the previous slide and look at what the pattern of data does for the problem solving process.
Accurate data and data that are formatted for purposes of making decisions is critical.
I like to make this a bit dramatic by going back and forth between this slide and previous, telling them they are the team and they are reviewing this data…

29. SWIS summary 2009-10 (Majors Only) 4,019 schools; 2,063,408 students; 1,622,229 ODRs
Grade Range
Number of Schools
Mean Enrollment per school
Median ODRs per 100 per school day
K-6
2565
452
.22
6-9
713
648
.50
9-12
266
897
.68
K-(8-12)
474
423
.42
*Median scores are a more accurate reflection of the average score for all schools.

30. Elementary School 465 students (465/ 100 = 4.6 X .22= 1.01)
Our rate of problem behavior has been above the national average for schools our size across 9 of 10 months this year. There has been a decreasing trend since Dec.

31. Elementary School 1000 Students (1000/100 =10 X .22= 2.2)
The rate of problem behavior has been at or below the national average for schools our size across 6 of 10 months. The past 4 months have been below the national average

32. Middle School 765 students (765/100 = 7.6 X .50= 3.8)
The rate of problem behavior has been at or below the national average for schools our size across 9 of 10 months. The past 8 months have been below the national average with a decreasing trend

33. Describe the narrative for this school

34. Describe the narrative for this school

35. Describe the narrative for this school

36. Describe the narrative for this school

37. The black line reflects the median score of all SWIS schools for this particular grade level. The green line shows 25th percent score, and the red line the 75th percent score. This provides a range for schools to see where they fall in relation to other SWIS schools.

38. Primary Problem Statements examples
Our average Major ODRs per school day per month are higher than national average for a school of our enrollment size
Our average ODRs per school day per month are higher this year than for corresponding months of previous year
Our average ODRs per school day per month are showing an increasing trend
Faculty, parents, and students say our ODR levels are too high

39. More Precision Is Required to Solve the Identified Problem
Define problem by identifying What problem behaviors are involved in ODRs
Clarify problem by identifying
When ODRs are occurring (time of day)
Where ODRs are occurring (location)
Who is engaging in problem behaviors that result in ODRs
Why are problem behaviors continuing to occur

40. Which Statement Is More Precise?
1a. Too many ODRs
1b. Total of 22 aggression ODRs on playground last month; twice as many as last year & showing increasing trend this year; occurring during first recess; 15 different students involved; aggression appears to provide peer attention, and resolve unclear playground rules (who gets equipment),
2a. Verbal threats and gender harassment in the cafeteria are increasing; 80% of events are from 4 students during second lunch; We are unclear what is maintaining these behaviors.
2b. Behavior in cafeteria is uncivil and unsafe.
3a. Hallway noise is too loud (disruptive) during 7th grade passing periods before and after lunch.
3b. Hallway noise is unbearable.
4a. The number of ODRs per day has increased by 20% each month since school started.
4b. The number of ODRs per day has increased by 20% each month since school started. Most incidences are with 4-6 grade, in the afternoon. Students are engaging in inappropriate language and harassment.

41. Problem Solving Meeting Foundations
Identify
Problems
Team Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) Model
Develop
Hypothesis
Evaluate and
Revise
Action Plan
Collect
and Use
Data
The full TIPS model.
Two parts.
Implementation of Problem Solving Meeting Foundations
Use of the problem solving process (strategy?)
Discuss and
Select
Solutions
Develop and
Implement
Action Plan
Problem Solving Meeting Foundations

42. Examples Primary to Precise
Carly is having reading difficulties
50% of 2nd graders are not meeting math benchmarks
Carly is reading 20 cwpm (goal is 60), skips or guesses at words she doesn’t know, mostly during language arts
2nd graders, who entered school after Oct 31, do not know whole numbers and are not accurately adding two digit numbers because of lack of skills

43. Example Primary to Precise
Our school did not meet AYP last year
The past two years this cohort of students (3rd to 5th grade) has gradually decreased in overall proficiency, their comprehension strand scores are low, we shifted to blended grade classes during their 4th grade year
The 5th graders are below the state proficiency score as compared to 5th graders in Oregon

44. Data Analyst Role & Responsibilities
To create data summaries that will facilitate the team in
determining if there are problems
jump starting a problem solving discussion, and
evaluating the impact of solutions and fidelity of implementation
General Responsibilities
Prepares a brief written summary for distribution at meetings using each of the data sources needed for problem solving and decision making
Help to generate reports during the meeting as questions of the data arise

45. Start meeting with defining the problem with precision
Launch the meeting with a data summary that helps define the problem with precision
How?
Establish the role of a data analyst (and backup person)
Teach data analyst to develop data summary
Oakes, DIBELS, SWIS…. Etc
Start meeting with defining the problem with precision
Refine precision of problem statement through inferences and hypothesis
Have data accessible for custom report generation during the meeting

46. Achieving a Precise Problem Statement for Fictional Trevor Test School
Middle School – Grades 6, 7, & 8
565 students

47. Trevor Test Middle School Is there a problem? If so, what is it?

48. Trevor Test Middle School Identified Problem
for last 4 mos., Major ODRs per day higher than national avg.
increasing trend across all 5 mos.

49. Trevor Test Middle School 11/01/2007 through 01/31/2008 (last 3 mos.)

50. Trevor Test Logical Inferences Based on Big 4
Most Disruptions occur in Cafeteria
Most Disruptions occur in Cafeteria between 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM
Most instances Inappropriate Language occur in Cafeteria between 11:30 AM and 12:00 AM Now…use a Custom Graph to confirm (or disconfirm) your inferences, starting with Disruptions, by grade level

51. Trevor Test Precise Problem Statement
Many instances of disruption (what)…
occurring in cafeteria (where)…
between 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM (when)…
with large majority involving 6th graders (who)…
particularly Student #10 (who)

52. Beginning to Develop a Problem-Solving Action Plan
Write your precise Problem Statement as one element of your “Problem-Solving Action Plan”
The P-S Action Plan is simply a record of
team decisions and
actions needed to implement the decisions
Here’s Problem Statement section of P-S Action Plan for Trevor Test Middle School

55. Trevor Test Hypothesis Statement
Many instances of disruption occurring in cafeteria between 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM; large majority involving 6th graders, particularly Student #10…
because (a) cafeteria overcrowded at that time, (b) 6th graders have received insufficient instruction in cafeteria expectations, and (c) disruption results in attention from adults and peers Here’s hypothesis statement incorporated into P-S Action Plan

57. Hypothesis
Is best explanation for what the data and your experience tell you
Provides a possible “why” for other Ws you discovered
AND guides you toward possible solutions

58. Solutions – Generic Strategies
Prevent – Remove or alter “trigger” for problem behavior
Define & Teach – Define behavioral expectations; provide demonstration/instruction in expected behavior (alternative to problem behavior
Reward/reinforce – The expected/alternative behavior when it occurs; prompt for it, as necessary
Withhold reward/reinforcement – For the problem behavior, if possible (“Extinction”)
Use non-rewarding/non-reinforcing corrective consequences – When problem behavior occurs
Consider Safety issues

59. Trevor Test Middle School
Hypothesis - cafeteria overcrowded; 6th graders with insufficient instruction in cafeteria expectations; attention from adults and peers rewarding disruption
Prevent “Trigger”
Define & Teach
Reward/Reinforce
Withhold Reward
Corrective consequence
Other
Safety

60. Trevor Test Middle School
Hypothesis - cafeteria overcrowded; 6th graders with insufficient instruction in cafeteria expectations; attention from adults and peers rewarding disruption
Prevent “Trigger”
Change lunch schedule so fewer students are eating between 11:30 AM & 12:00 PM?
Define & Teach
Focus on 6th graders; define cafeteria expectations; develop and post expectation signage in cafeteria; demonstrate/teach expectations in class periods occurring just prior to lunch
Reward/Reinforce
Set up “Friday 5” (extra 5 mins. of lunch time on Friday, if no ODRs occur in cafeteria during lunch time)
Withhold Reward
Ensure staff don’t argue back and forth with student if instance of disruption occurs (may be an inadvertent reward); remind students that paying attention to a disruptive student can mess up Friday 5
Corrective consequence
Ensure active supervision during lunch (add one supervisor between 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM?); ensure quick corrective consequence, per our handbook
Other
Determine whether Behavior Support Program has been initiated for Student #10; if it has, make sure it includes focus on disruption in cafeteria
Safety

61. Trevor Test Solution Actions
Choose the least number of solution(s)that will have the biggest impact on decreasing the problem.
Implementing the solution requires action
Here are solution actions, added to the P-S Action Plan…

62. Monitoring and Evaluation
Fidelity
Did we do what we said we would do?
Make it simple
Student Outcomes
Did our intervention produce the outcomes we were expecting
Use the right data to answer the questions you are asking

63. Solution Actions Are we doing the plan? 1 ….. 2 …..3 ….. 4 ….. 5
Choose the solutions that will create an environment that makes the problem irrelevant, inefficient, and ineffective.
Choose least amount of work that will have the biggest impact on decreasing the problem.
Implementing the solution requires action and time lines
Problems need goals so that we can measure progress and know when to move on.
Use weekly 1-5 survey of playground monitors to assess implementation of plan
Are we doing the plan?
1 ….. 2 …..3 ….. 4 ….. 5
No Yes

64. Problem Solving Meeting Foundations
Identify
Problems
Team Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) Model
Develop
Hypothesis
Evaluate and
Revise
Action Plan
Collect
and Use
Data
The full TIPS model.
Two parts.
Implementation of Problem Solving Meeting Foundations
Use of the problem solving process (strategy?)
Discuss and
Select
Solutions
Develop and
Implement
Action Plan
Problem Solving Meeting Foundations