For Adults Only: Team Building with Reminders and Reinforcers

Teams need reminders and reinforcement as much as our students. They may need visuals just like our students, in order to support an understanding of the skills needed to interact with the students. Use a checklist and/or request an inservice about positive behavior supports. Next, have the team ‘self-assess’ their rate of using the skills from the training and/or on the checklist. Choose one skill each week that the team feels they should try to increase. Write the skill on a strip of construction paper or a notecard. Post this one item somewhere in the classroom; or if needed outside the view of students but where adults will see each day. For example, “One adult speaks to a student at a time”. Fill a jar with items your team likes, such as coupons to a restaurant, little favorite sweets. When one member displays the skill, another team member provides the reinforcement by selecting an item from the jar and delivering it to the member demonstrating the skill. Each week add another skill strip/notecard.   Even adults need to know they are doing a good job and working hard to improve the lives of our students. This is a fun non-threatening way to keep us on our toes! (NOTE: There are some schools who have expanded this idea throughout their building – see ‘For Adults Only II: Team Building with Reminders,  Reinforcers, and P.E.A.R.L.s  )

“For Adults Only: Team Building with Reminders & Reinforcers”  is a simple way for teams to learn positive student support strategies in a non-threatening manner while reinforcing the use of the skills in ‘real time’. The adult interventions can make teams more consistent with their skills and consequently increase their students’ positive  behaviors and independence. Teams learn the skills and utilize a checklist to self-assess and prioritize their needs. A visual display is used to remind the teams of the skill(s)  they will work on for the week. Teams provide each other with social and tangible reinforcement.

• Child's Age: 3-5, 6-10, 11-13, 14-17
• Planning Effort: Moderate
• Difficulty Level: Easy

In-service materials on Positive Behavior Supports and/or a listing or checklist of these skills

 

See link to “Quality Guidelines”

 

Adult reinforcers

1. Arrange for an in-service about Positive Behavior Supports for Students and/or provide a checklist of behavior supports for teams to utilize

2. Ask the team to identify and review skills needed to interact with students in a positive and preventative way

3. Have the team prioritize their needs, choosing one skill to begin practicing in the classroom

4. Write the skill on a strip of paper or on a notecard that can be posted so the team can see it daily.

5. Fill a jar with items team members like, such as coupons to restaurants or small sweets

6. Each time a team member demonstrates a skill, another team member can reinforce by placing an item from the jar on the team member’s desk.

7. At the end of the day discuss with the team, use of the skill and how effective it seemed.

8. Choose a new skill each week while  keeping all of the  previous visual skill supports displayed. The display board will grow and well as the skills of the team and consequently the students.