Why it works
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports rests on decades of behavioral research showing that clearly defined, explicitly taught, and consistently reinforced expectations reduce problem behavior more effectively than reactive punishment. Specific positive feedback, at a healthy ratio to corrections, shapes the whole climate of a room.
The research: The PBIS framework; research on positive reinforcement and praise ratios.
The run-of-show
Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.
The core activity: plan specific positive feedback
Teachers leave with specific acknowledgment planned for the behaviors they most want to grow.
- Name the two or three behaviors you most want to grow.
- Write what specific acknowledgment sounds like: name the behavior, not just 'good job.'
- Plan when and how often you will catch it.
- Check your own positive-to-correction ratio and plan to raise it.
Facilitator notes
- Be specific, not generic.
- Raise the positive-to-correction ratio deliberately.
- Reinforce the behavior you want to see more of.
Adapt it
- <b>Elementary:</b> frequent specific praise and simple visual systems.
- <b>Secondary:</b> quiet, genuine acknowledgment that avoids embarrassing students.
- <b>Students who need support:</b> consistent, predictable positive feedback.
Participant handout
One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.
Positive Reinforcement: catch it, name it, grow it
<b>Grow behavior by naming it specifically:</b> what you want, caught often, at a healthy ratio to corrections.
- The two or three behaviors to grow:
- What specific acknowledgment sounds like:
- When and how often I catch it:
- My current positive-to-correction ratio:
- How I will raise it:
Make it stick
Keep the ratio high:
- Keep several specific positives for every correction.
- Name behaviors specifically, every time.
- Bring a behavior that grew to the next PLC.