Tier 2 behavior support interventions provide (a) additional instruction/time for student skill development, (b) additional structure/predictability, and/or (c) increased opportunity for feedback (e.g., daily progress report).
Tier 2 involves equipping small groups of students with similar learning needs who work with a facilitator using a specific instructional practice or program. Tier 2 instructional materials and methods are typically similar to those used for the Tier 1 core instruction.
It is important to note that a Tier 2 intervention is ALWAYS in addition to Tier 1 universal (core) instruction (Brown-Chidsey & Bickford, 2016). Tier 2 should supplement Tier 1 because students who have not yet met learning goals need more time to learn, practice, and review skills.
Tier 2 interventions should offer more focused instruction than the typical classroom social skills instruction, in order to:
Remediate skill deficits
Pre-teach and review skills for Tier 1 lessons
Provide multiple opportunities to practice
Provide immediate corrective feedback
Just as with Tier 1, Tier 2 instruction should be of high quality. The lesson plan should be the main focus of each intervention session. While the activities may vary during each group meeting, the lesson plan should follow a general sequence that includes:
Elementary and Middles School site Tier 2 Teams who choose to implement the Emotion Management intervention will be provided with a series of lesson plans designed to support Tier 1 Second Step instruction.
For more information talk to your SWSS Tier 2 PoC or attend the Emotion Management LCSSP training series.
Regardless of the intervention, Tier 2 interventions should include additional instruction for key social, emotional, and/or behavioral skills. An important outcome of a Tier 2 intervention is when students can regulate on their own. Students learn when, where, and under what conditions particular skills are needed and can successfully engage in those skills.
Once data indicate a positive response to the intervention (i.e., students earn >80% of their DPR points, for 4 out of 5 consecutive days, for 4 to 6 consecutive weeks), students move into the Fading Phase of the intervention. During the Fading Phase students will learn additional Self-Management skills (goal setting, self-evaluation, self-recording, self-reinforcement , and self-instruction) so they can monitor and manage their own behavior.
Center on PBIS
The work of the Tier 2 Team is to create a series of systems and processes to support each Tier 2 intervention. This will build structure and predictability for the students enrolled in these groups.
Systems support the accurate and durable implementation of practices by staff, the efficient use of data for decision-making, and achievement of outcomes. Systems provide the procedures and infrastructure to support and maintain new evidence-based practices.
Each Tier 2 Team will need to identify and create systems to support the implementation of their sites interventions. Refer to the sample list to the right when considering which systems to build.
Below is an example of how a Tier 2 Team could systematically support students whose response to an intervention is questionable.
When the distance between the student’s trend line and the goal line is closing but occurs at an unacceptable rate, the response to the intervention is viewed as questionable.
The first step the Tier 2 Team will take is to examine and evaluate fidelity to implementation - were all components of the intervention delivered consistently and accurately?
Once fidelity to implementation is confirmed, and the Tier 2 team decides to modify or intensify the intervention they will consider the following:
1. Reconsider function: Ensure the correct function was identified (review FACTS results), confirm the intervention aligns with the function, and review all features of the implemented intervention to determine alignment.
2. Reconsider the goal: Review the initial goal to ensure it was appropriately established based on the baseline data, and review student’s current daily percentages and adjust goal as appropriate to ensure student success - as success is achieved, begin increasing the goal.
3. Provide more frequent feedback: Implement additional feedback sessions with the intervention facilitator, and allow for more frequent interactions between student and their teacher.
4. Individualize the feedback procedure: Allow the student to select a different adult with whom they will regularly meet to review progress.
5. Individualize the reinforcer: Collaboratively develop an individualized contract that specifies the reinforcers the student will earn, and/or individualize the reinforcer based on the student's function of behavior - For example:
Peer attention - Earn reinforcer/activity to share with a peer,
Avoid task - Provide high rates of reinforcement for effort or earn reinforcers that provide breaks/preferred activities.
6. Add a Self-Monitoring Component
A process is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end (Oxford Dictionary).
Each Tier 2 Team will need to identify and assist staff to create processes to support the implementation of their sites interventions. Refer to the sample list below when considering which processes to build:
Group operating procedures (# of students, location, times, etc.)
Group expectations (create with student input, when appropriate)
How to entering/exiting group
How to exit class to attend group
How to re-enter class after group
Tier 2 interventions should be designed to target the development of expected behavior by providing positive reinforcement often.
For example, students who participate in a Tier 2 Check-in/Check-out intervention engage in feedback sessions with their classroom teacher 4 to 7 times per day and their assigned facilitator 2 times per day. Monitoring of this additional feedback is built into the Student's Daily Progress Report (DPR). Many students view this positive adult attention as reinforcing and as a result may be more likely to continue engaging in expected behaviors.
Center on PBIS
One way for the Tier 2 Team to support staff in the increased use of feedback is to incorporate Daily Progress Reports (DPRs) into each intervention.
Daily Progress Reports allow for multiple opportunities for the student and teacher to interact.
Daily Progress Reports (DPRs) allow for multiple opportunities for the student and teacher to interact. They include a minimum of 4 rating periods. The rating periods should not last longer than 75 minutes, because students respond better when they receive feedback after short intervals of time.
For middle and high school settings, the periods of the day are used as rating periods, giving the student 7 opportunities to receive feedback on their behavior.
For elementary school settings, the rating periods correspond to the natural transitions in the school day such as before recess, before lunch, etc. Ensure that there is a minimum of 4 periods for feedback.
The purpose of creating multiple rating periods is to provide regularly scheduled teacher feedback about the students behavioral performance.
The DPR also has a section for positive teacher comments (“Success Notes”). It is important that Teachers only write positive rather than negative comments on this section. By virtue of their behavior status, students in Tier 2 interventions often receive negative, corrective feedback throughout the day.
Teachers who have students on a Daily Progress Report are also encouraged to provide frequent verbal feedback to the student who is at risk (requires Tier 2). This additional feedback should occur throughout each rating period. The goal is to catch students “being good” or following expectations and let them know in the moment if they are not meeting expectations. The rating at the end the period is a summary of all of those pieces of feedback that were provided during the period.
Site Tier 2 Teams who would like to learn more about how to incorporate a Daily Progress Report into their interventions should talk to their SWSS Tier 2 PoC or attend the Check-in/Check-out and/or Emotion Management LCSSP training series.
Students in Tier 2 will require high rates of feedback in order to support the generalization of skills being taught within their intervention. At the Tier 2 level Specific Feedback is recommended. Characteristics of Specific Feedback include:
Contingent
Specific
Immediate
Frequent
Genuine
Resources have been provided below to help equip staff to deliver Specific Feedback.
How to Score 2 Points on TFI 2.6
To receive a 2 Point Score Teams must be able to say yes to the following set of questions.
For each intervention selected in TFI 2.5:
