Guide to PBIS training for staff (with example modules)

Because the success of your school’s positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) program relies on effective implementation, you need to provide teachers and staff with the necessary tools and support. PBIS training for staff bolsters your PBIS framework by educating staff and empowering them with the foundation needed to use PBIS in their classrooms and throughout the school.  

In this article, we’ll review the important components of PBIS training for staff, including a sample curriculum to guide your own program. Whether you’re new to PBIS or already have an existing framework in place, this article will help you develop PBIS training or PBIS professional development that empowers your staff and leads to better outcomes for students.

Who participates in PBIS training?

A successful PBIS program relies on teamwork and varied avenues of cooperation. That’s why your PBIS training shouldn’t be limited to only teachers. A strong PBIS framework involves all levels of your school, from counselors to support staff and leadership. 

The ‘staff members’ in your PBIS training program can include:

• Teachers
• Counselors
• School staff
• Principals
• District personnel
• Janitors, cafeteria personnel, bus drivers, and office staff

There is no set rule for who can and cannot participate effectively in PBIS. The only rule to PBIS involvement is that a strong framework depends on collaboration.

How to deliver PBIS training for staff

PBIS training goes far beyond a single presentation. The most effective training program leverages incremental instruction with regular follow-up support, check-ins, and data-driven decision-making. Below is everything you need to design a PBIS training that delivers positive motivation and actionable tools for your staff.

Foundation of a PBIS training module

Not sure how to structure an effective PBIS training session? For each module, you should:

1. Outline goals for the training session (what do you want staff to learn today?)
2. Define and describe the core components of the given PBIS tier or feature
3. Give examples of the core components
4. Allow time to answer questions and provide additional clarification or examples
5. Define the next steps and outline how to measure successful learning and implementation

For a quick and easy resource on implementing PBIS, take a look at our free PBIS implementation guide.

Best practices for implementing PBIS training for staff

Here are a few ways to ensure your staff and teachers receive a comprehensive and supportive training program that sets them up to perform at their best. You can implement all or some of these best practices. Like everything else in PBIS, the end result will vary depending on your school’s individual goals, needs, and resources.

Break it down. Don’t overwhelm your staff by trying to teach every detail of PBIS in a single session. Break your curriculum into smaller modules and give staff time to master each one.

Invest in PBIS coaches. Implementing new PBIS strategies can sometimes be overwhelming for teachers and staff when they’re already presented with other responsibilities for students. Give them support through PBIS coaches that provide professional support like in-classroom feedback. 

Foster collaboration. In addition to outside PBIS coaches, peer-to-peer collaboration can hugely support your PBIS training program. Encourage mentorships, sharing of tips and best practices, and other collaboration among your staff.

An example of PBIS staff and teacher training curriculum

We’ve broken down a sample PBIS training curriculum below. Each school or district will have a different curriculum to meet its own school cultures’ goals, needs, and resources. However, the modules below will help you get started. 

PBIS Tier 1 exploration and readiness

This module gives teachers and staff an introduction to positive behavioral interventions and supports — what it is, why it’s important, and how it works. This is a crucial time to foster staff and teacher buy-in to your PBIS initiative, so it’s important to highlight how PBIS can help them in their own roles at your school. In this module, you’ll review Tier 1, the foundational tier of PBIS where all students receive the same essential support.

Desired outcomes for this module

• Foundational knowledge of PBIS and Tier 1
• Understanding of the “why” for implementing PBIS
• At least 80% buy-in among staff and teachers
• Development of leadership teams at school and district levels

Training content for this module

During this training session, you can expect to cover:

1. The definition of PBIS
2. Data and research supporting the efficacy of PBIS
3. The core features of PBIS:
   • Outlining the expected behaviors for students (classroom rules, schoolwide behavioral matrix)
   • Teaching the expected behaviors and giving concrete, real-world examples
   • Recognizing students who exhibit desired behaviors 
   • Discouraging negative behaviors
   • Making data-informed decisions
4. The “why” behind using PBIS at your school
   • Review current weaknesses at your school and district
   • Outline how PBIS will help alleviate those issues
   • Discuss the overall benefits of PBIS for students, teachers, and staff
   • Identify the desired outcomes of your PBIS framework

PBIS Tier 1 implementation

This module reinforces training from the last module and builds upon it with actionable plans for implementing PBIS Tier 1. At this point, you should already have a schoolwide PBIS goal, behavioral matrix, and other outlined expectations. Additional tools to help PBIS training for teachers and staff include PBIS lesson plans and example schedules, and defined responses to behavioral issues (like a flow chart outlining what to do in response to specific behaviors.)

Training content for this module

During this training session, you can expect to cover:

1. A review of information from the last module
2. The science of behaviors
3. Effective classroom practices:
   • Outline and teach classroom rules, procedures, and expectations
   • How to recognize positive behaviors
   • Strategies to prevent negative behaviors
   • How to implement active supervision
   • How to use opportunities to respond appropriately 
4. Best practices for student, family, and community involvement 
   • Why it’s important
   • How to foster communication and buy-in
   • Define steps the school or district will take to promote communication
5. Related PBIS practices and strategies for academic performance and other initiatives
   • How are you creating an interwoven, streamlined, related framework?
6. Processes and procedures

PBIS Tier 2 exploration and readiness

Once teachers and staff have successfully mastered Tier 1, they’re ready to explore Tier 2. This PBIS training session builds on the previous modules and explores the foundational principles of Tier 2 (targeted supports). 

Training content for this module

During this training session, you can expect to cover:

1. A review of Tier 1 and how it relates to Tier 2
2. Importance for Tier 2:
   • Prevention of new problem behaviors
   • Lowering the rates of current problem behaviors
   • Providing targeted support for students who don’t respond to Tier 1 
   • Why we need Tier 2 (prevention of new problem behaviors)
3. The Tier 2 process:
   • Identify the student
   • Collect and review data to clearly define the negative behavior
   • Choose and implement the targeted intervention
   • Monitor student progress and make data-supported adjustments

PBIS Tier 2 implementation

This PBIS training session builds on the previous modules and gives actionable steps, best practices, and tools to implement Tier 2 interventions.

Training content for this module

During this training session, you can expect to cover:

1. Research-informed interventions (small groups for social skills, check-in and check-out)
2. How to effectively communicate with students and parents
3. How to use an information management system to:
   • Track behaviors, targeted interventions, and outcomes
   • Match interventions to student behaviors
   • Evaluate program success and make necessary changes
4. Processes and procedures in place to identify students:
   • What tools are available
   • How teachers and staff can use them
   • Procedures for using tools (where to submit a teacher nomination form or a standardized screening tool)

PBIS Tier 3 exploration and readiness

Once teachers and staff have successfully mastered Tier 1 and Tier 2, they are ready to explore Tier 3. This PBIS training session builds on the previous modules and explores the foundation of Tier 3 (intensive support). 

Training content for this module

During this training session, you can expect to cover:

1. A review of Tiers 1 and 2, and how they relate to Tier 3
2. Importance of Tier 3
   • Prevention of new negative behaviors
   • Lowering rates of current problem behaviors
   • Targeted support for students who don’t respond to Tier 2
3. Process of Tier 3
   • Identify the student
   • Collect and review data to clearly define the negative behavior
   • Design an individualized behavior support plan (BSP) according to school climate
   • Choose and implement additional targeted interventions and individualized supports
   • Monitor student progress and make data-supported adjustments

PBIS Tier 3 implementation

This PBIS training session builds on the previous modules and gives actionable steps, best practices, and tools to implement Tier 3 interventions.

Training content for this module

During this training session, you can expect to cover:

1. How to maintain Tier 1 and Tier 2 systems with fidelity
2. How to foster communication with parents and support specialists
3. How to write behavioral support plans (BSPs) or functional behavioral assessments (FBAs)
4. Review processes for:
   • Identifying students (screenings, nominations, data tracking)
   • Defining problem behaviors with teachers and family
   • Submitting BSPs and FBAs
   • Using information management systems to monitor data and progress

Bonus: your training or support team can also give additional guidance and coaching to staff who currently work with students receiving Tier 3 interventions. This support can either be additional training during the module or follow-up coaching.

Finalizing your PBIS staff training program

The above is a general idea of how to model your PBIS training for staff. However, you should customize the curriculum to meet the needs and goals of your school. Don’t forget to plan your modules based on the number of professional development days on your academic calendar, and tailor the curriculum to your staff’s existing PBIS knowledge.

Photo credit:

Photo Credit: Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto