Abstract
Socially skilled students are more successful in school. Just like academic skills, social skills need to be explicitly taught. Students, including students who display at-risk behavior, benefit when social skills instruction is delivered schoolwide as part of a comprehensive intervention approach. This article presents a seven-step action planning sequence to facilitate schoolwide social skills instruction—highlighting how an expectations-within-settings matrix facilitates effective, efficient, and contextually relevant schoolwide social skills instruction. Useful tools, including an example matrix, lesson plan template, and implementation fidelity self-assessment, are included.
Students who are fluent with social skills are more successful in school. Socially skilled students are able to self-manage, initiate, and sustain social relationships with peers and teachers, benefit from instructional routines and expectations, and navigate the social and behavioral expectations and routines of nonclassroom (e.g., hallways, sporting events, cafeteria, bus) and classroom settings (Flook, Repetti, & Ullman, 2005; Gresham, 2002; O’Neil, Welsh, Parke, Wang, & Strand, 1997).
As with academic skills, students need to be taught the social skills they are expected to use in school (e.g., Gresham, Sugai, & Horner, 2001; Lane, Menzies, Barton-Arwood, Doukas, & Munton, 2005; Walker, Schwarz, Nippold, & Irvin, 1994). Both packaged social skills instruction—for example, Second Step (Frey, Nolen, Van Schoiack Edstrom, & Hirschstein, 2005), Project ACHIEVE (Kilian, Fish, & Maniago, 2006), Incredible Years (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoolmiller, 2008)—and teacher- or school-developed social skills instruction lead to positive student outcomes.
Social skills training has often been reserved for small groups or individual students with social skills deficits. However, classwide and schoolwide approaches to social skills instruction are becoming more common. Benefits associated with teaching social skills as part of a comprehensive, schoolwide intervention include improvements in students’ fluent use of social skills, perceived school safety, academic achievement, and problem behaviors across settings (Algozzine & Algozzine, 2009; Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010; Horner et al., 2009; Lewis, Colvin, & Sugai, 1998; Lewis, Powers, Kelk, & Newcomer, 2002; Metzler, Biglan, Rusby, & Sprague, 2001). In addition, students with at-risk behavior benefit when social skills are taught in a schoolwide context (Cheney, Blum, & Walker, 2004; Lane et al., 2003). Teaching social skills at the schoolwide level can efficiently support the behavioral needs of all students in a school.
This article describes the main features of a schoolwide approach to teaching social skills. The next section describes a seven-step sequence for explicitly teaching social skills schoolwide and emphasizes the use of an expectations-within-settings matrix, explicit lesson plans, progress monitoring procedures, and self-assessment.
Explicitly Teaching Social Skills Schoolwide
Schoolwide social skills instruction requires an action plan to guide school teams through implementation. The action plan should include (a) a list of tasks or activities, (b) associated outcomes, (c) timelines, and (d) persons responsible for each step of implementation. Although each action plan is designed to be contextually and culturally appropriate for a specific school, all school teams should follow seven critical steps when developing a plan. In addition to explaining each step below, staff members from a New England middle school share authentic applied examples of how they implemented schoolwide social skills instruction.
Develop an Expectations- Within-Settings Matrix
A matrix is a simple table with three to five positively stated expectations or social skills (e.g., “be safe,” “be respectful,” “be responsible”) written as row headers and common school settings or routines (e.g., “hallway,” “classroom,” “cafeteria”) written as column headers. Each expectation is operationally defined within each setting or routine. For example, being safe (expectation) in the hallway (setting) looks like walking to the right of the hallway; keeping hands, feet, and objects to self; and alerting an adult to any dangers. Operational definitions are written as positive statements in the matrix at the intersection of each expectation and setting.
At a minimum, a complete teaching matrix consists of a few mutually exclusive social skill expectations, settings, or contexts in which those skills are expected and specific behavioral examples that illustrate the expectation for that setting. Matrices should (a) be developed collaboratively by all team members, (b) be given to all faculty and staff members for feedback, (c) incorporate existing schoolwide behavioral expectations, (d) identify the most important settings in a school, and (e) use developmentally, culturally, and contextually relevant language and examples.
Application
After receiving training in schoolwide positive behavior support during the fall, a representative team from the middle school developed a schoolwide matrix. The team recruited feedback from all staff members, student representatives, parent representatives, and community members (e.g., police, library staff) and then presented a revised matrix to students and staff during a schoolwide assembly immediately after the winter break. Their matrix defined their schoolwide expectations (“be respectful,” “be responsible,” and “participate”) in all settings, including the hallway, media center, and bus (see Figure 1).
Example of a schoolwide matrix from a middle school
Develop Scripted Lesson Plans
After developing the matrix, teams create explicit and age-appropriate social skills lesson plans. Depending on the school and students, lesson plans could be organized by setting (i.e., teach behavior examples for all expectations for a particular context), by expectation (i.e., teach behavior examples for one expectation for all settings), or by expectation and setting (i.e., teach behavior examples for one expectation for one setting). Regardless of the size of what is being taught and where, lesson plans should contain the following critical features: (a) operational definition of the skill, (b) learning objective(s), (c) required materials, (d) positive and negative teaching examples, (e) explicit instructional activities (i.e., demonstrations, guided practice, and performance feedback [or model–lead–test]) in the natural setting, (f) follow-up activities to prompt and reinforce appropriate displays of social skills and to correct errors, and (g) plans for monitoring and evaluating students’ use of the social skill across time (see Figure 2 for a lesson plan template). Team members determine the most efficient way to develop multiple lesson plans, and they ensure that all staff members are invited to give input and all lesson plans contain the critical features.
Template for a social skills lesson plan
Application
The middle school team developed all lesson plans, using a “divide and conquer” approach. Team members worked with classroom teachers to create classroom matrices and lesson plans. Other school teams have developed one or two lesson plans as exemplars, presented them at a faculty meeting, and asked grade-level teams or individual faculty to develop additional lesson plans.
Develop Schedule for Teaching Lesson Plans
To facilitate generalization of social skills, instruction should take place in the natural setting. For example, cafeteria social skills are taught in the cafeteria, preferably by the adults typically in that environment (e.g., cafeteria staff, supervisory assistants, administrators). Teams develop a comprehensive schoolwide schedule for social skills instruction focusing on social skills training at the beginning of the school year, with subsequent review opportunities throughout the year at natural breaks (e.g., after school vacations) and as indicated by regular review of school data (e.g., lack of responsible behavior on the bus, tardy behavior after recess). New students and staff arriving during the school year should receive social skills training as part of their orientation to their classrooms and school. Teams should provide positive reminders and monitor lesson plan delivery to ensure that all students receive appropriate instruction in the natural setting.
Application
Often, during the first weeks of school, school teams schedule specific times to teach schoolwide social skills lessons, and teachers take their homerooms to each setting in the school environment and deliver or assist in delivering the social skills lesson. Teachers then repeat an abbreviated version of this schedule at the beginning of each quarter. Other schools develop a schedule for all instruction to occur at a specified period during the school day across the first weeks of school, with a plan to revisit social skills during that same period throughout the year. For example, the middle school team delivered social skills instruction during students’ daily advisory period.
To support students and staff who join the school during the year, some schools have developed a “passport” game or system where new students receive stamps for completing specific lessons. Similarly, new staff members receive a binder of all lesson plans as part of their orientation materials packet. Records are kept to ensure all new students and staff members are oriented to schoolwide social skills.
Develop Plans for Acknowledgment and Correction
To maintain appropriate social skills across time and settings, students need opportunities to practice and receive feedback about their behavior. All school staff should give positive feedback contingent on students’ displays of social skills, and staff should correct social behavior errors in the same manner as they correct academic errors. For example, staff should briefly state the error (e.g., “You just ran in the hall”), describe the desired response and expectation (“Please walk instead to be safe”), provide an opportunity to practice (“Please go back and walk from the corner”), and provide positive feedback for the corrected performance (“Thank you for walking and being safe”). During and immediately following instruction, staff members should deliver frequent feedback, especially for displays of expectation-following behavior. In addition, positive feedback can be paired with additional rewards (e.g., positive behavior ticket, activity privilege, choice time). Once most students consistently demonstrate appropriate social skills, use of teaching prompts (e.g., reminders, practice) and instructional reinforcement (e.g., tangible rewards) may be faded; however, social positives, verbal praise, and other typical and natural positive feedback should continue to ensure that students learn that their appropriate behavior is still noticed, appreciated, and valued.
Application
After they introduced the schoolwide matrix and lesson plans, the New England middle school team developed a tangible reinforcement system that they used at the start of the following school year. In addition to the verbal praise already provided by staff, students began receiving “Caught Ya” cards contingent on expectation-following behavior. The cards prompted students (and staff) to focus on the schoolwide expectations, and they also provided the team with a way to collect important and essential student and staff data on card distribution.
Develop a Plan for Collecting and Reviewing Data
Teams collect and review data to (a) evaluate staff members’ fidelity of implementation and (b) monitor students’ responsiveness to the instruction. When evaluating fidelity, teams collect data on when lesson plans were delivered and how frequently staff members are providing rewards or corrective consequences; relevant data include the number of positive behavior tickets, office discipline referrals (ODRs), and observed expectation-following behaviors in a particular setting. These data can be used to recognize staff members who are implementing with fidelity (e.g., providing behavior tickets consistently, delivering engaging lessons) and those who may need additional support.
Teams also develop plans to monitor student behavior that include reviewing (a) data on positive behaviors (e.g., number of positive behavior tickets) to recognize students who meet and exceed expectations and (b) discipline data (e.g., ODRs) to identify students who continue to violate expectations and may require additional support. Observational data may be collected to learn more about how students are responding. For example, after delivering instruction on cafeteria behavior, teachers can attend lunch and use their class roster to put a plus by the name of each student who demonstrates expectation-following behavior and a check by the name of each student who repeatedly violates expectations.
At regular intervals, teams collect and review data to make decisions about students’ responsiveness to instruction. In addition to determining how many students are meeting and not meeting expectations, teams review the (a) location of most social behavior errors, (b) time of day when most errors occur, and (c) nature of errors. If necessary, teams then can make data-based decisions and amend the action plan. If data suggest most students are responding to instruction, instructional prompts and reinforcement can be faded. If data suggest that most students are not responding in a particular setting, teams can reteach expectations and increase opportunities for practice and feedback.
Application
The middle school team used data from the “Caught Ya” cards to determine which students were (and were not) regularly receiving the reinforcers. In addition, the team tracked both ODRs and days of suspension before and after their implementation of the schoolwide matrix and social skills instruction to determine if their implementation was successful. A review of preliminary data (see Figure 3) indicated reductions in ODRs and days of suspension during the 2010–2011 school year, the first year that all of the aforementioned critical features were in place.
Office discipline referral data from a middle school before and after implementing schoolwide social skills instruction
Develop Professional Development Activities
In addition to seeking feedback on the previously described components, teams involve all staff in professional development activities to ensure fluency in (a) expectations and related social skills, (b) instructional strategies for teaching these skills to students, (c) strategies to provide feedback to students, and (d) data collection procedures. Teams also provide ongoing coaching and feedback to staff throughout the school year. All adults should model, prompt, monitor, and recognize students’ displays of appropriate social skills across all school environments throughout the year. In general, discussions about teaching schoolwide expectations, student displays of these expectations, and importance of supporting the use of these expectations should become embedded in typical student (e.g., homeroom, announcements, assemblies) and staff (e.g., grade level teams, faculty meetings, student support team meetings) routines.
Application
After the initial rollout of the schoolwide matrix, 90% of staff members at the middle school attended a voluntary summer meeting to develop classroom matrices. Throughout the next school year, in addition to attending training in schoolwide behavior supports, the team provided the staff with regular updates on the schoolwide implementation, available data, and opportunities to give feedback on all aspects of planning and implementation.
Develop a Plan for Schoolwide Social Skills Lessons
Once all of the above components are developed, teams schedule a kickoff event to initiate instructional activities with students and introduce and implement plans for recognizing and correcting students’ appropriate and inappropriate social skill use, respectively. For example, some schools plan a schoolwide assembly or pep rally to introduce the expectations to all students before the detailed lesson plans are taught. Other schools designate a particular homeroom period and date, show a school-made video of the new approach, or have school leaders (students and staff) conduct classroom visits and presentations.
Application
The middle school team held a schoolwide assembly to introduce the schoolwide matrix and social skills instruction. The team used the opportunity to teach students about appropriate auditorium behavior, which provided an example of what direct social skills instruction should look like for those teachers who would be teaching lessons based on their own classroom matrices.
Conclusion
In sum, a well-developed action plan includes the seven critical features described in this article. All faculty and staff members should be (a) given opportunities to give input and feedback during the development of the action plan and related products and (b) involved in all aspects of schoolwide social skills instruction across time and all settings. Teams collect and use data continuously to evaluate and guide implementation of the action plan, making adjustments as necessary. Teams should use a checklist (see Figure 4) to guide and self-assess implementation fidelity.
Fidelity checklist for teams implementing schoolwide social skills instruction
To be academically successful, students must be fluent with a range of critical social skills, including listening, following directions, requesting assistance, and working in groups. Rather than just assuming that students arrive at school with the requisite level of social skillfulness and waiting for evidence to the contrary before intervening, schools can take a proactive approach by instituting a schoolwide model of social skills instruction. Schoolwide expectations should be operationally defined within the context of school routines, and then these expectations should be explicitly taught, practiced, reinforced, and monitored by all staff across all school settings. The experience of the highlighted team demonstrates how using a matrix facilitates effective, efficient, and contextually appropriate schoolwide social skills instruction.
Footnotes
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
The development of this article was supported in part by Grant H029D40055 from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education for OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (
). Opinions expressed herein are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Education, and such endorsements should not be inferred.