Time-Out Procedures in School Settings

Time-out is a consequence-based strategy that includes altering a child’s environment such that he or she has relatively less contact with reinforcement, contingent upon a target behavior. Time-out may be considered a type of negative punishment procedure because it includes the removal of reinforcing stimuli, resulting in a decrease in the future frequency of a target behavior. This chapter describes time-out and several notable variations of time-out that range along a continuum of intrusiveness. In addition, procedural elements commonly incorporated within time-out are briefly described, followed by additional considerations when using time-out in school settings.

Tier II Basics

Schools are charged with the challenge of addressing the complex social and academic needs of an increasingly diverse student body, while simultaneously facing reductions in funding, resources, and personnel. Schools are in need of effective and efficient behavioral support strategies to meet the needs of a wide range of students. Although Tier I strategies are essential to prevent many challenging behaviors, some students may require additional intervention and support. Tier II interventions are one mechanism for providing the additional support within an MTSS framework. This chapter defines the critical features of Tier II interventions and provides guidelines for implementing a range of interventions. The chapter also addresses issues related to the transition from Tier I to Tier II.

Antecedent Interventions

Antecedent interventions are a class of intervention strategies in which environmental stimuli are manipulated prior to a behavior occurring, with the intention of stopping a behavior before it occurs. Antecedent interventions may also be used to modify settings such that students may no longer recognize triggers for problem behaviors. The chapter describes various advantages to antecedent interventions in relation to other classes of intervention strategies. Next, considerations for implementing antecedent interventions are discussed, including developing a comprehensive plan and ongoing data collection. The chapter then presents a range of antecedent interventions. Developing clear expectations, use of classroom seating arrangements, praise, increasing structure, delivery of effective instructions, and modifying task difficulty are among the procedures highlighted in the chapter.

Group Contingencies

Group contingencies describe interventions in which a reward is delivered to a group of individuals based on meeting a predetermined target level of performance. Group contingencies have repeatedly been found to be effective in modifying student behavior. Not only are group contingences effective, but they also have several logistical advantages over individual contingencies. Namely, the delivery of a common consequence to a group of individuals increases efficiency, the use of peers as change agents increases positive peer pressure for appropriate behavior, group contingencies are flexible, and they allow access to a variety of reinforcers. Three different types of group contingencies are described. Finally, specific examples of group contingencies are provided. This includes the Good Behavior Game, Positive Peer Reporting, and Mystery Motivator.

What Is Behavior?

Prior to implementing interventions, practitioners must first develop definitions of behavior that are objective. This chapter first provides a definition of behavior and provides three criteria for determining whether something is a behavior: it is demonstrated by a living organism, in interaction with the environment, and the interaction results in measurable change within the environment. Next, the chapter outlines how practitioners should develop operational definitions of behaviors of interest. Then, the chapter provides a description of the dead man’s test, a heuristic that practitioners often utilize when determining if something qualifies as a behavior suitable for intervention. Finally, the chapter describes the meaningful operant dimensions of behavior, such as frequency, duration, latency, and magnitude.

Tier III Basics

Within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), including Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) models, Tier III represents the most intense level of intervention. Interventions at Tier III are highly individualized, with a specific student in mind, and carefully consider the context of behavior, including function, for intervention planning. Given the intense and individualized nature of Tier III interventions, it follows that these efforts are reserved for students with the most significant needs. It estimated that 1%–5% of students require Tier III intervention for behavior. This chapter describes the distinguishing features of Tier III, discusses issues related to the transition from Tier II to Tier III, overviews appropriate assessment and progress-monitoring methods, outlines effective intervention approaches, and provides general guidelines for implementation of Tier III services.

Selected Social-Emotional Learning Interventions

Social skills, or social-emotional skills, are interchangeable terms used to describe an individual’s ability to perform social behaviors, as well as regulate and express emotions appropriately. Substantial correlational and longitudinal research evidence indicates that children and youth’s social-emotional competencies are related to positive adjustment outcomes and inversely related to a number of problem behaviors. Although social skills training is frequently implemented as a preventive measure at Tier I and a targeted intervention at Tier II, some students may require more targeted and individualized social skills instruction in order to improve target skills. The chapter describes evidence-based practices for addressing small group social skill needs, as well as the adaptation of various evidence-based social skills curricula.

School-Home Notes and Daily Behavior Report Cards

School-Home Note (SHN) and Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) programs are a highly effective intervention approach to improving children and adolescents’ behavior at school. These terms, while not exactly synonymous, have both been used in the research literature to describe a similar approach to intervention. That is, SHN and DBRC programs can be thought of as a class of interventions that capitalize on three key elements: (1) providing frequent behavioral feedback, (2) utilizing contingency management procedures, and (3) increasing collaboration between home and school environments. The chapter describes strategies for development and implementation of SHNs and DBRCs, as well as highlighting the use of technology to increase the feasibility of these strategies.

Self-Management

Within the literature, the term self-management has been used to refer generally to a number of methods that can be used to help children manage their own behavior (e.g. self-regulation, self-modeling). The focus in this chapter, however, is more specifically on those interventions in which, at the core, students are taught to observe and record their own behavior, or what has been called self-monitoring. This chapter discusses various ways in which self-management may be used as a Tier II intervention for students with identified behavioral needs. Although this intervention approach may be used with students across all grade levels, there are important modifications that must be made in order to ensure developmental appropriateness, which are discussed later in the chapter. The chapter begins, however, by outlining the various intervention components that may be combined to form a comprehensive self-management intervention.

Check-In/Check-Out

When implementing multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for behavior in K–12 schools, it is important to identify interventions that are effective at each tier, but it is also crucial to identify interventions that match the level of the problem in terms of intensity and resources allocated to solving the problem. Tier II interventions in MTSS systems are designed to support the behavior of 5%–15% of students in a school that are at risk. One of the most well-developed, evidence-based, and efficient Tier II behavioral interventions is Check-in/Check-out (CICO). CICO (also known as the Behavior Education Program) was designed to reduce the behavioral problems of students who are not responding to Tier I intervention strategies. This chapter describes recent research and provides a detailed how-to guide for implementation of CICO.