Abstract
Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework that teachers can use to create safe and effective learning environments and to proactively teach students appropriate academic, social, emotional, and behavioral skills. This chapter presents an overview of PBIS as part of multi-tiered systems of support to provide universal academic and behavioral instruction to all students, selected group support, and specialized individual supports.
The origins, key principles, and defining features of PBIS that have emerged from three decades of research and practice are described. Next, the chapter focuses on how PBIS can be implemented by teachers in diverse inclusive elementary school classrooms. Specific evidence-based practices are shared to establish physical environments (e.g. classroom space, time, routines, and materials that provide structure and predictability), to teach behavior routines and expectations to students explicitly, to adapt instruction and curriculum to engage students in active learning, to acknowledge and reinforce students’ appropriate behaviors consistently, and to respond to students’ inappropriate behaviors meaningfully. The importance of culturally responsive PBIS that meets the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students also is highlighted. Finally, PBIS as a framework for teaching social-emotional learning and facilitating equitable access to academic instruction to meet the rigorous Common Core State Standards is discussed. Examples of strategies and interventions from an inclusive elementary school in Northern California are shared throughout the chapter.