H3 – Honor the classroom/school community as a milieu for learning.
Throughout EDSP 6644 (Educating Exceptional Students), the School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) framework consistently stood out to me and it fits in with the H3 standard to honor the classroom/school community as a milieu for learning. SWPBS aims to create a school-wide culture of positive and cooperative behavior and to correct problem behavior through prevention rather than through punitive actions. By setting up a universal set of behavioral expectations, SWPBS unites the entire school both in and out of the classroom. The expectations serve to create a safe, respectful and academically centered environment for students and staff in order to foster academic and social success.
I have worked in a school that utilizes this type of system and I find it helpful that regardless of what classroom I am helping in, I can expect the same behavior from all students. Additionally, it gives me a set of standards that I too have to uphold. I cannot expect respect, preparedness and promoting safety from my students if I cannot act the same way. I must lead by example.
I found it useful to research this specific topic for multiple reasons. First, because I work in such an environment, I wanted to know more about the framework, how it functions and its effectiveness in other schools. Second, I can take some of the qualities of the framework and tailor them to my classroom environment. By avoiding negative and exclusive repercussions for problem behavior, I can keep more students in class rather than send them to the office for disciplinary action. By establishing a general set of guidelines that emphasize respect, preparedness, safety and academic effort early in the academic year, I can expect this behavior all the time and hopefully not have to revert to negative consequences.
In implementing some aspects of SWPBS, I can encourage positive interactions among my students, which will foster academic and social success. Both of these improvements will create a positive and safe environment for student learning and growth as citizens.
Online Teaching Portfolio 