In Pursuit of Positive and Proactive Behaviors – The Challenge
Every school wants to provide a safe, preventive, and positive learning environment, but recent shifts in societal and cultural norms have given rise to reactions that can be injurious, uncivil, and discriminatory. Creating and maintaining positive and proactive school discipline plans while preserving societal values and norms is more challenging than ever. Urges to get toughand enact zero tolerance policies may give impetus, but not tools. Schools are often left wondering how to address problematic behaviors, make real change happen, and accomplish their intended goals.
Seven Steps shows practitioners and pre-service educators what, why, and how to build effective school-wide discipline practices using both data and documented successes. It offers a step-by-step process that maximizes teaching and learning and prevents problem behavior while establishing and maintaining desirable behavior to enhance school success. Seven procedural steps show how to:
· Develop, teach, and maintain schoolwide behavior expectations
· Correct problem behaviors
· Sustain your plan for the long haul
Get started in creating a positive and supportive environment by exposing students to the best possible practices by all teachers in all settings.
Geoff Colvin draws on his experience as a classroom teacher, administrator, researcher and instructor at the University of Oregon, and national public school consultant. Widely recognized as an expert on the subjects of school safety and violence prevention, Colvin has provided inservice training for teachers and administrators in more than 100 school districts and agencies nationally and internationally. He recently served as research associate at the University of Oregon and independent consultant in the areas of schoolwide discipline, school climate, school safety, and violence prevention, classroom management, and individual cases involving students with severe behavior disorders. Geoff also directed a juvenile detention school and a school program for youth with serious emotionally disturbances. Colvin has authored more than sixty publications, books, book chapters, journal articles, and video programs on the subject of teaching and managing students who exhibit the full range of problem behavior.
George Sugai is Professor and Carole J. Neag Endowed Chair in the Neag School of Education, Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. His research and practice interests include school-wide positive behavior support, behavioral disorders, applied behavior analysis, classroom and behavior management, and school discipline. He has been a classroom teacher, program director, personnel preparer, and applied researcher. Dr. Sugai has a noteworthy publi¬cation record in refereed journals having published over 130 peer-reviewed articles, numerous monographs, and five college textbooks on effective teaching practices and Applied Behavior Analysis. He presented at numerous local, national, and international conferences and professional meetings, and has served as advisor to the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services. His international work includes projects and consultation in eleven countries. He is co-director of the OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), research scientist in the UConn Center on Behavioral Education and Research, and co-director of the OSEP Early Childhood Personnel Center.
