FAQ

PBIS World is a website containing links to hundreds of interventions, supports, resources, and data collection tools, all of which are organized into the tier 1 through 3 framework. It is designed to help guide users through the PBIS implementation process, starting with behavior identification and offering suggestions for interventions and data collection tools. All links with footnotes on both PBISWorld.com and in The PBIS World Book link to external websites, which are not a part of PBIS World, therefore the content on these external sites is not included in The PBIS World Book and is not a part of the PBIS World website. In general, PBIS World can be thought of as a PBIS reference tool. PBIS World is in no way affiliated, associated, or connected with any other website, entity, organization, or federal, state, local, or other government agency, department, program, policy, organization, or initiative.

I have been a School Social Worker in the Detroit, MI Metro area for 7 years. I am the one and only SSW for the district, servicing 8 schools, K-12, including 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school (grades 6-8), 1 high school (grades 9-12), and 2 private schools. I also serve as one of two PBIS coaches for the district.

I received my Bachelor of Social Work from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI in 2003. I then attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where I received my Master of Social Work degree in 2004. My concentration area for both degrees was in children and youth.

The development of the site was very intensive, requiring advanced planning and a massive and detailed outline of the site structure, pages, layout, etc. There were over 200 pages to write and construct and hundreds of resources and links to find. The entire project, from conception to going live, took over 2 years. The site will continue to be updated, expanded and further developed on an ongoing basis.

Accessibility was a significant focus when I was thinking about and constructing PBIS World. Anyone anywhere in the world can access and utilize PBIS World just by typing in the web address, PBISWorld.com. I chose the name PBIS World to reflect my aspiration of a global and international resource. Additionally, PBIS World is a name easy to spell and remember. I chose the extension .com over .org and .net for the same reasons. Most people think of and try .com first when accessing a website.

PBIS World is for anyone. PBIS is widely used in schools, school districts, juvenile detention facilities, day treatments, group homes, etc. There are many resources on PBIS World that could be helpful in many settings to many people. Even parents, home schoolers, clubs, Sunday schools, and many others may find useful intervention ideas. If you find something useful on PBIS World, then it’s for you.

No. Many interventions are not research based and work as well and better than research based interventions. Being researched based does not mean an intervention is guaranteed to work or that it will work better. As a School Social Worker, I love research based interventions, but many times, interventions result from a new idea or thought that comes about during a behavior meeting or student session. Implementing behavior interventions can be a very fluid thing, especially as they become more individualized and intensive. When I develop a highly individualized and intensive intervention on the spot during a behavior meeting, they are not research based many times. For example, an intervention where a student, who loves fishing, earns the parts and components to assemble and maintain a fish in a fishbowl for meeting or exhibiting certain behavior expectations. I cannot give any assurances or supporting research this intervention will be effective, but if it does result in success, I will likely use it again and have more success, even though I do not have specific supporting research for the intervention.

After serving as a School Social Worker and PBIS Coach, I’ve found the most important and pivotal thing is fidelity. One intervention implemented with a high degree of fidelity and integrity is better than 100 implemented half-heartedly. This seems to be the most significant factor and predictor with regard to success, not whether an intervention is research based or not. While research based interventions are definitely the gold standard, they fail miserably when implemented half-heartedly and tend to succeed when implemented with a high degree of fidelity. Likewise with non-research based interventions. My biggest challenge and struggle as a SSW and PBIS Coach has always been getting schools and staff to implement interventions with a high degree of fidelity and integrity.

A highly motivated staff implementing research based interventions with a high degree of fidelity and integrity… That’s the PBIS Holy Grail.

Some see the 3 tiers as rigid, distinct, and highly differentiated, while other see the tiers as more fluid, flexible, progressive, and evolutionary. I see the 3 tiers as being both. Imagine you needed glasses to see clearly. While looking at a flag with alternating stripes of colors with your glasses on, you see distinct lines of color with sharp edges between each stripe. When you take your glasses off, everything becomes blurry. While looking at the flag without your glasses, you still see there are alternating stripes of color, but the line between them is very fuzzy and you can no longer pinpoint exactly where the color changes between stripes. Rather, you can only determine the general zone or area where you know the stripes meet and the color changes. Sometimes it’s very clear and distinct that you are at the tier 2 or 3 level while other times its difficult to determine.

For example, if you put a small group of kids in your classroom on the same standardized behavior plan, this is likely a Tier 2 intervention. However, imagine that for one of the kids, you tweak this standardized behavior plan a little. Is this student now at Tier 3 because his plan is now more individualized? It’s hard to say really. This is where it becomes fuzzy and the line between tiers becomes a shade of gray. What you do know for sure is that you are somewhere on the spectrum between Tier 2 and Tier 3. If you took the slightly tweaked behavior plan from above and completely changed it, making it almost entirely specific to the student and highly individualized, such that it no longer reflected the initial standardized behavior plan, than it would be safe to say you have clearly entered the Tier 3 level of intervention.

Here are some general criteria that will help you distinguish which tier you are on:

• Tier 1: Generalized interventions (which includes rules, routines, rewards, expectations, consequences, etc) formally taught and practiced on a large scale in a systematic and structured manner on an ongoing basis.

  Tier 1 interventions apply to large groups and systems, like an entire class, school, school district, day care, building, program, etc. They tend to be more generalized interventions that most kids respond to, like classroom and school rules, expectations, and consequences. For example, each classroom in a school going over and practicing bathroom routines and procedures in the morning would be a Tier 1 intervention. If you do a flip card system for your class, this would be Tier 1. If your school has a specific routine for what and how students should proceed at lunch time (line up, throw trash away, sit in seat, etc), this would be Tier 1. If your daycare has a morning arrival routine, this is Tier 1.

• Tier 2: Moderately intensive and focused interventions formally taught and practiced on a small group and individual scale in a systematic and structured manner on an ongoing basis.

  Tier 2 interventions apply to the small number of students who do not respond to Tier 1 interventions. Tier 2 interventions consist of more highly intensive interventions and require more support and instruction. They may be delivered on an individual basis or to small groups. For example, if there are a number of students who do not respond to Tier 1 interventions for how to behave during passing time, these students may all be placed on the same standardized behavior plan that addresses passing time behavior. One pre-made behavior plan applied to multiple students or groups. In addition, simple functional behavior assessments may be employed at the Tier 2 level.

• Tier 3: Highly intensive, focused, and individualized interventions formally taught and practiced on an individual basis in a systematic and structured manner on an ongoing basis.

  Tier 3 interventions apply to the smaller number students who do not respond to Tier 2 interventions. Tier 3 interventions consist of highly customized and individualized interventions and require a high level of support and instruction. Tier 3 interventions are typically delivered on an individual basis due to their high degree of specificity. For example, if a student who has trouble following passing time expectations does not respond to Tier 1 interventions or Tier 2 interventions (like the behavior plan mentioned above), the student may be placed on a Tier 3 custom made and unique behavior plan specifically made to address the exact triggers and behaviors they are demonstrating during passing time. Tier 3 interventions are generally not pre-made and cannot usually be used for multiple students due to the fact that they address specific behaviors of a particular student in a particular place and time. Tier 3 interventions will employ the use of an extensive functional behavior assessment to help form and shape interventions as well as other scales and assessments.

Yes I do accept PO’s. The info I would need on the PO form is which license type and how many. There is a $5 single user license, which covers an individual and a $20 multi user license, which covers all staff in one school. For example, if you had 5 schools you were purchasing for, you would want 5 multi user licenses, which would total to $100. PO’s can be emailed to PBISWorld@gmail.com.

Payment can be made through the online system with credit/debit card, PayPal, or Google Checkout. Or payment can be made with a check. If using the online system, after I receive your PO and the school(s) or individual(s) receive the digital book download, you would simply go to the PBIS World product page here, add the multi user or single user license to the cart, adjust the quantity of licenses in the cart, and checkout. To pay with a debit/credit card without a PayPal or Google account, you would checkout like above and use PayPal to pay, but on PayPal’s page, just select to complete purchase without a paypal account.

If paying by check, you would make it out to my name and contact info, which is on the receipt emailed to you after receiving the PO and filling the order.

Generally, the book download is handled automatically through the online ecommerce system, but with PO’s I have to distribute it manually, therefore I can either email the file to you and you could forward it to any individuals or schools it was purchased for, or I can email it directly to the individuals and schools it was purchased for. I would need the emails of the individuals and schools.

With most districts I’ve done PO’s with, they’ve just emailed the book to one point person at each school who then forwards it on to the rest of the staff. Let me know how I can help and please email with any other questions.

PBIS is widely used in schools, school districts, juvenile detention facilities, day treatments, group homes, etc. There are many resources in The PBIS World Book that could be helpful in many settings to many people. Even parents, home schoolers, clubs, Sunday schools, and many others may find useful intervention ideas. If you find something useful in The PBIS World Book, then it’s for you.

Interventions, depending on how highly customized and individualized they are made and utilized, can be used at more than one tier. For example, behavior intervention plans (BIP) can be a Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention. At the Tier 2 level, the BIP would be a pre-made plan that is not customized to individual students, rather made to address certain behaviors that commonly occur among those students that do not respond to Tier 1 interventions. In other words, a Tier 2 BIP would be one pre-made plan applied to multiple students or groups. At the Tier 3 level, a BIP would be highly customized and individualized to address the specific behaviors and circumstances of one particular and individual student. In other words, a Tier 3 BIP would be one custom made plan applied to one specific student.
Another example would be teaching coping skills. At the Tier 2 level, you may teach a pre-made lesson on coping with a small group of students in your class that is not responding to Tier 1 interventions. At the Tier 3 level, you would custom make a lesson plan or strategy to teach to one specific student who is having trouble coping in a particular way with a specific stressor.

Therefore, some Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions on PBIS World are the same. The distinction is made when these interventions are conceptualized and delivered at either a moderately intensive level with multiple students or groups, or delivered at a high level of intensity and customization to one specific student to address a specific behavior.