PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach which is designed to help students to act and perform better by applying the techniques and tools that are connected with evidence. It aims to create a positive school environment, support positive student behavior, and cut down on the number of disciplinary concerns through a multi-tiered system.
PBIS is composed of three fundamental elements which are, forming and instructing appropriate attitudes, recognizing and rewarding good attitudes, and employing data for improvement and monitoring of behavioral practices. The schools, for instance, may set clear expectations, such as, 'Respect', 'Responsibility', and 'Safety' and give the students the necessary specific examples of how to achieve these expectations. Positive reinforcements, like, 'PBIS tokens' that can be replaced with different rewards, are the main encouraging factors for the students to stick to these actions.
In contrast to the punitive nature of the discipline methods that are prevalent in traditional systems, PBIS takes a completely opposite root that leads to the use of positive techniques. The approach is to find the root causes of the behaviors and deal with them through teaching and support systems instead of punishment. A good example is when a school that has disruption problem from a student chooses not to suspend the child but rather to teach him or her social skills through a PBIS intervention and on top of it the kid gets extra assistance in the classroom.
The realization of PBIS surely can manifest the most benefits, some of which are the diminished frequency of misbehavior, the enhancement of academic performance, and the improvement of the school climate. PBIS implementation frequently results in the decline of disciplinary actions like suspensions and expulsions and at the same time, the rise of student involvement and satisfaction. A case in point is a school that after implementing PBIS, found a 30% decrease in office referrals, and an increase in student attendance rates central to achieving that within the initial year.
Data plays a pivotal role in PBIS as it allows schools to evaluate the impact of their behavioral interventions and thus, make right decisions. To find trends and areas for improvement, schools gather data on student behavior, like transgressions and the success rate of interventions, among other things. For example, if the data reveal that lunch periods is when most behavior issues arise, the school will be able to put in place some particular strategies, such as organized games, to tackle those specific difficulties.