When we think about Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), most teachers think about school-wide incentives. As an educator myself, I’ve been a part of many PBIS reward days like pizza parties in exchange for positive student behavior points. I’ve also utilized PBIS effective praise by highlighting students meeting hallway expectations.
Sarah Besand, a teacher and Possip Reporter, examines how PBIS, a traditionally schoolwide system, can be implemented on a smaller scale in classrooms.
Programs like PBIS or other similar programs beautifully promote students modeling appropriate behavior norms. PBIS also clearly communicates expected procedures to students who may not be meeting those desired norms yet. Julie Gembra, a seasoned teacher and PBIS expert, shares tips on how to activate these ideals within your classroom.
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Schools generally implement PBIS on a community-wide level. However, Julie emphasized how the principles of PBIS could easily be adapted on the individual classroom scale. She shares,
“The first step for PBIS to be used in the classroom is to develop 3-5 expectations that go with an acronym of your classroom/school. This can be done as a grade level or individual teacher. For example, if you are the Element Elementary School Eagles, you may pick the acronym SOAR to go with the expectations: Be Safe, Be On Task, Act Responsibly and Respectfully.”
Begin brainstorming how your expectations could fit into an acronym for your class! Students often latch onto acronyms like this–especially when it can earn them rewards later on. Setting aside some time to think about an acronym students would enjoy is a step that will pay off in the long run. Julie also emphasized that this process could be completed in collaboration with the class to promote student buy-in.
