Basic Positive Behavior Intervention Plan

Student Name: _____________________________ Birthday: _________________

Student ID: _______________ Case Manager: _______________________
School: _________________________ Grade: ______
Date of initial plan: __________________ Date plan was modified: _________________

1. Target Behaviors
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2. Challenging Behaviors
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3. Rationale for this plan
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4a. Strategies for increasing the target behaviors
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4b. Strategies for decreasing the challenging behaviors
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5. Antecedent Change to be made
Physical lay out of classroom ___________________________________________________
Curriculum ___________________________________________________
Homework assignments ___________________________________________________
Seating arrangements ___________________________________________________
Academic level of assigned work ___________________________________________________
Additional methods for increasing attention ___________________________________________________
Instructional strategies to be added ___________________________________________________
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6. Reinforcement plan
Reinforcer When will it be given? How much will be given each time?
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7. Data Collection System
What information will be collected?
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How will the information be recorded?
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How often will the information be collected?
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8. Generalization
How will other staff be made aware of this plan?
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How will they be asked to participate in helping this student learn new behavior?
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How will you know what they have observed and done?
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9. Success/Change Criterion
How long will the student have to show improved behavior before you are comfortable there is real change?
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How long will the student have to show no behavior change before the program is modified?
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Success criterion/Change criterion (At what point will the program be phased out or modified/strengthened?)
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 How to Fill Out the Basic Positive Behavior Intervention Plan

1. Define the TARGET BEHAVIORS (the behaviors you want to INCREASE)

Start here, because the best way to decrease a bad behavior is to increase a good behavior. The student who is
doing the RIGHT thing has a lot less time to do the WRONG thing.

Make sure you describe the target behavior(s) so that other people (including the student) know what you mean.
Your idea of plays well with others might be very different from mine. But if you say uses polite language with
classmates I have a good idea of what you mean.

2. Define the CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS (the behaviors you want to DECREASE)

Specificity is important here too. My roughhousing might be your fooling around might be another person’s
acting like an idiot. But we all know what running in the halls is.

3. State the RATIONALE (why the student should learn the new behavior)

This is important, because people learn new things better if they know why it is important to learn them.
However, because I’m the teacher is not a good rationale. When you pay more attention to your work you learn
more is a good rationale.

4. Choose the STRATEGIES (what you will to help the student learn the target behaviors and unlearn
the challenging behaviors.

Teaching behavior is like teaching any skill. The more directly and specifically you teach it, talk about it, and
reward it, the more learning you will see.

In developing strategies, focus first on what you are going to do to help the student learn the target behavior.
Good strategies include paying attention to the target behavior when it happens and giving the student many
chances to practice the target behavior. You also have to develop strategies for responding to the challenging
behaviors when they occur. Ignoring the challenging behavior is the simplest, although that will not work for
some things. You can never call on a student when he is yelling, and always call him when he is silent, but you
can’t ignore a fight.

If you are considering any kind of strategy that would limit the student’s access to food, water, or
bathroom breaks, or would put him in time out away from the classroom, or would physically or
mechanically restrain him in any way, STOP NOW! These procedures can be used only in a Conditional
Behavior Plan.

5. Consider changing the ANTECEDENTS (what happens BEFORE the challenging behavior occurs)

If a behavior happens only in certain circumstances (in particular classes, with certain people, or at certain times
of day) those circumstances are antecedents to the behavior. Changing the antecedent can reduce the
challenging behavior.

Antecedents include many things that define the set-up and operation of your classroom, therefore, you control
them. Potential antecedents to challenging behavior include the kinds of instructional materials you use, the
physical layout of your classroom, the words you use to instruct students to pay attention or follow directions,
how you teach particular materials, how you correct students who have made mistakes, and what level and kind
of curriculum you use. Stop and think about the patterns of when the challenging behavior occurs and when it
doesn’t occur. Consistent patterns are a clue to antecedents that might be affecting the behavior.
6. Develop a menu of REINFORCERS (the rewards the student earns by showing the target behavior)

Rewarding someone for showing good behavior is not bribery. It is paying attention to what a person wants and
doesn’t want and using that knowledge in helping them learn something new.

Being reinforced for using the target behavior will increase the chances the student will use the target behavior
again. Candy and extra privileges are tangible reinforcers. Social reinforcers (for example, getting attention,
praise, and hearing someone praise you to another person) are just as powerful. Points on a card are symbolic
reinforcers; they can be used to earn tangible and social reinforcers. For some students, accumulating the points
is reinforcing in itself, but others will need to see a clear connection between the points they earn and a reward
they receive.

The reinforcer menu has to include what the reinforcers will be, when (on what schedule or in response to what
behaviors) the student will earn reinforcers, and what size a reinforcer he will earn at a time. In developing this
menu, keep these facts in mind:

• Giving reinforcers on a fixed, unchanging schedule doesn’t have as powerful effect on behavior as a
more random schedule that the student can’t predict.
• Reinforcers should be given more frequently in the earlier stages of behavior change.
• Ask the student what he wants to earn. If you think he might ask for something you cannot give him, ask
him to choose among a menu of possible reinforcers.
• Classroom privileges and access to favored classroom activities are naturally occurring reinforcers that
can fit naturally into a student’s day, and not disrupt classroom functioning.

7. Develop a DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM (how you keep track of the student’s behavior changes)

A data collection system has three components: the information you are going to collect, the method you use to
record it, and how often you record the information. It is important that you track both the target behavior and
the challenging behavior in order to be certain the plan is having the desired effect.

Some examples of information you can collect:

• How many math problems the student finishes
• How many times you have to repeat a direction before the student follows it
• How long the student works before stopping
• How many fights the student gets into at recess

Some examples of data collection methods:

• A point sheet
• A star chart
• Checkmarks on a piece of paper taped to the student’s desk

How often you record information will vary depending on the particular circumstances:
• If a challenging behavior occurs frequently, record data relating to the behavior frequently.
• When a behavior change program is new, data should be recorded more often.

8. Make a plan for GENERALIZATION (how the student will learn to show the target behavior when he
is not with you)

Students have to learn that using the target behaviors is important all the time – not just when they are with you.
Other staff have to be brought into your plan so they can reinforce the target behaviors when they see them.
9. Success/Change CRITERION (how you know when it is time to modify the program)

The most important element in evaluating if a behavior change program is working is time. How long will you
need to see the target behavior before you are comfortable that it has been established? How long will you need
to see no change before you decide the program isn’t working?

If the student shows the target behavior more and the challenging behavior less, the program is working. Once
the target behavior is occurring regularly in several settings, it’s time to modify the plan. You can have the
student earn smaller reinforcers less often for the target behavior, you can focus on new target behaviors, or you
can do both. If you are teaching new target behaviors, you have to go back to the original high rate of
reinforcement; teaching new behaviors takes more attention than maintaining learned behaviors. You also have
to plan for how you will maintain the already-learned behaviors. A skill that is not practiced and not reinforced
can disappear quickly.

If the student’s challenging behavior isn’t decreasing or if the target behavior isn’t increasing, the program is
not working and needs to be changed. To decide how to change it, ask the questions:
• Are the challenging behaviors I am focusing on the right ones?
• Are the target behaviors appropriate to increase?
• Is the student actually earning reinforcers with any regularity?
• Does the student actually care about the reinforcers I’m using?
• Is something reinforcing the challenging behaviors that I’m not aware of?
• What’s happening when the student isn’t with me?