Chapter 1 Introduction to Behavior Management and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

Chapter Summary

These are interesting times for educators. We are under intense public scrutiny to raise academic standards and improve student outcomes. Yet, at the same time, teachers and administrators are challenged to serve children with multiple and complex needs: children who come to school ill-prepared for even basic learning tasks, children with significant behavioral problems and learning disabilities, children with serious but untreated emotional conditions, and children from diverse backgrounds and family situations. These children respond positively to clear, predictable, and well-planned environments. But studies consistently reveal teachers’ opinions that they do not have the training needed to address these students’ disciplinary and behavior management needs. Teachers and administrators quickly exhaust all of their traditional tools with these students, but to no avail.

But there is hope! Research over the past 40 years has produced a wealth of knowledge about effective prevention and intervention strategies for even the most difficult-to-manage students. The challenge now is to apply this knowledge, on a large scale, to ensure that every teacher and administrator has knowledge of effective behavioral prevention and intervention strategies, knows how to apply these strategies under varying conditions, and can use systematic problem solving to adjust techniques when needed.

Chapter Objectives

The objectives for this chapter and how they were addressed are as follows:

1. Describe the common types of school-based challenging behaviors.

2. Describe why the teacher may be the most important variable in students’ classroom behaviors.

3. Describe the diversity found in today’s classrooms and explain the implications of this diversity for behavior management.

4. Describe traditional disciplinary methods and the concerns associated with those methods.

5. Define and explain positive behavior interventions and supports.

6. Define response to intervention and how this concept relates to positive behavior interventions and supports.

7. Explain the nine Behavior Assumptions that form the foundation for managing behavior in school settings

Chapter 1 PowerPoint

Chapter Activity

1. Watch the video: Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS).

Define and explain Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS).

2. Answer the questions on Introduction to Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Self-Assessment Form.

After you have answered the ten questions on the self-assessment form, write a reflection of your own personal philospohies and beliefs about the concepts in the chapter.