Expert Instruction: The Teach by Design Podcast

In this episode, we continue the conversation around our year-long theme: Data in PBIS. Collecting data is an important step in your PBIS implementation. Using data to drive decisions is how those data truly come alive. How do you do that? Well, the Team Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) framework is the only scientifically-based data-based decision making practice available to schools. Joining us today to talk about the fundamentals of the TIPS framework is Dr. Erin Chaparro. Dr. Chaparro is a Research Associate Professor at the University of Oregon and the Principal Investigator for the TIPS project. For more than a decade, Erin has worked with districts and schools to implement multi-tiered systems of support for literacy as well as PBIS. She is also the co-author of the book Assessment in Special and Inclusive Education. Listen in as we share how to get more out of your team meeting time, make more informed decisions, and get students the support they need faster than ever. Don’t forget to check out the TIPS website and click “Submit Inquiry” at the bottom of the page to learn more about participating in their upcoming study! For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: TIPS Fidelity ChecklistUpcoming SWIS Drill Down Webinars Teach by Design “Start With Why: How to Put Purpose Back in Your Work” *NEW* TIPS meeting minutes template

This episode kicks off PBISApps’ 2025–26 school year theme: data in PBIS. Our guest today is a true PBIS pioneer: Dr. Rob Horner. Dr. Horner is an emeritus professor at the University of Oregon and a key figure in developing PBIS. He brings with him a 40-year history of research, grant management, and systems change efforts related to school reform and PBIS. He has published over 390 professional papers and directed over $200 million dollars in federal grants. Among many past national awards, in 2020 he won the Association of Positive Behavior Support Leadership Award. During our conversation, we talk about the early days of PBIS, when Rob and colleagues worked directly with schools to address challenging behaviors. They discovered that individual behavior plans could help—but lasting change required schoolwide systems and a preventative culture. PBIS emerged as a framework with core features that could adapt to local cultures, from rural schools to Native communities. Data always played a key role in this work. Listen in and learn how collecting and analyzing data can help your team see what’s really happening, ask better questions, and identify the smallest changes that make the biggest impact.  

In this episode, we’re looking back at the podcast over the past school year and sharing our favorite episodes and lessons learned. We’ve interviewed 16 guests across nine episodes. Every conversation gave us something to think about and find ways to infuse it in our work moving forward. Today, we wanted to highlight just five of those episodes and encourage you to take another listen over these summer months.To travel back in time to any of these episodes mentioned today, check out the following links:Ep. 43: Mythbusters - Rewards Don't Work to Improve OutcomesEp. 45: Mythbusters - Students Today Don't Care About School Like They Used toEp. 46: Creating Equitable PBIS Solutions that Work for All StudentsEp. 47: Cultivating a Culture of Belonging in Your ClassroomEp. 48: All Means All - Inclusive Practices in Tier 1 PBIS...and don't forget to sign up for more information about our PBISApps Community. We've got some great topics coming next year. You won't want to miss out of these conversations. Sign up for our email list!

In a perfect world, there would be a mental health professional embedded in every school across the country. Students would have immediate access to the support they need and the resources they deserve. The reality is, there is a workforce shortage among mental health providers and community resources are overwhelmed by the need. More students need support than we can serve efficiently. If we could change that outcome, shouldn’t we?That’s exactly what our friends and colleagues at The Ballmer Institute are trying to do! The Ballmer Institute offers an ground breaking undergraduates an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in child behavioral health. Graduates will enter the workforce with specialized training to:Identify youth who can benefit from early intervention or referral to mental health servicesTeach youth to label and regulate emotions and develop other skills to support well-beingDeliver evidence-based prevention and intervention programs to prevent or disrupt the progression of youth mental health concernsCollaborate with other professionals (like teachers, psychologists, and social workers) to support health and wellness among young peopleJoining us today is Dr. Miriam White-Pedeaux, an assistant clinical professor at the Ballmer Institute. In her work, Miriam supervises undergraduates completing their bachelor’s degree and she mentors youth-serving professionals earning a graduate-level microcredential in evidence-based mental health practices. Miriam has supported K-12 students at various school districts in Southern California, Oregon, Ghana and Ecuador. She is deeply passionate about increasing access to high-quality care and improving healthy literacy in youth and families.Listen in as we talk about the current mental health realities facing schools today and the low-level, high-impact strategies you can use right now to support all students in your building. For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links:What Works Clearinghouse  National Center for School Mental Health Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration ‍Resources about mental health and social-emotional well-being from The Center on PBIS

As we explore what inclusive education means, we need to talk about what it means to create truly inclusive schoolwide systems, data, and practices. If schoolwide means all students have access to the same foundational features, how do you ensure “all” really means “all” in your Tier 1 PBIS implementation? Joining us to help answer this question is Dr. Sheldon Loman from Portland State University (PSU). Sheldon is a Professor in the Special Education Department at PSU. He has a passion for researching and teaching about inclusive practices to support students with extensive support needs. Most recently, his research explores universal design and how to make schoolwide PBIS more inclusive of students with extensive support needs. Before his work at PSU, Sheldon was a special education teacher and positive behavior support coordinator in a diverse, urban school district in California.  For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following resources and links: Research Findings: Walker, V. L., & Loman, S. L. (2021). Strategies for Including Students With Extensive Support Needs in SWPBIS. Inclusive Practices, 1(1), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/27324745211000307 Research Findings: Walker, V. L., Loman, S. L., Mickelson, A. M., & Lyon, K. J. (2022). Participation of students with extensive support needs in SWPBIS: Administrator and educator perspectives. Psychology in the Schools, 59(8), 1623-1642. The TIES Center. This center works with states, districts, and schools to support moving students with disabilities from less inclusive to more inclusive environments. The TIES Center resources on PBIS The TIES Center PBIS video series on how to make PBIS more inclusive

Join us this month with guest Dr. Nikole Hollins-Sims as we discuss how to cultivate a culture of belonging in your classroom. Using the elements of PBIS, Dr. Hollins-Sims helps us break down how students thrive at school when they feel they belong. For starters, the ABCs of student wellbeing, Agency, Belonging and Connectedness, have a tremendous influence on whether students feel like they are part of your school. When educators focus on cultivating each of these components in their classroom climate through greetings, exercises and class culture, students thrive. We also visit how your own SWIS data results can tell a story of class belonging.Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D., is an internationally recognized speaker, author and facilitator. She currently serves as a research associate for Educational and Community Supports (ECS) as a research unit within the University of Oregon’s College of Education. Nikole has formerly served as a technical assistance coordinator for the Midwest PBIS Network and is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education.For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links:Expert Instruction Ep. 21: Benefits & Examples of Creating a Schoolwide Purpose Statement with Dr. Nikole Hollins-SimsSchool Climate SurveyFeedback & Input SurveyTiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI)Teach by Design “Proven Ways to Make Schoolwide Feedback Work”

As we explore what it means to achieve equitable solutions in PBIS implementation, we start by defining what equity looks like. So, what happens when our definitions of equity are different from each other? In this episode, learn how one coach successfully collaborates with the whole schoolwide community to create shared definitions and equitable systems that work for everyone.Joining us is Mari Meador from the University of Washington’s School Mental Health Assessment Research and Training (SMART) Center. As an implementation coach, Mari supports schools in their implementation efforts. She has been a PBIS state facilitator, an assistant coordinator for the Northwest PBIS Network, and a school-based counselor and mental health associate. Mari is a forever advocate for system-level change, culturally responsive practices, and social-emotional learning.Listen in as Mari shares her strategies for working with community and family members to define their shared values and identify interventions that are culturally responsive. Additionally, we’ll discuss the importance of mental health screening in schools and how it serves as a powerful foundation within any multi-tiered system of support.For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links:SMART CenterBehavioral Health AuditPBIS Community of Practice!Intervention Map Template

Whether its students clutching their phones or endlessly scrolling YouTube shorts, there is a sense student apathy is real and rampant. In this episode, we’re out to bust the myth that students today just don’t care about school like they used to. Joining us are Marisa Cardenas-Joslyn and Aydree, from Silverado High School in Mission Viejo, CA. Our colleague and friend, Mimi McGrath Kato is also a special guest cohost today while Danielle Triplett is out of the office. Marisa is a member of the Silverado’s PBIS team and an instructional coach supporting teachers and administrators to use data to enhance their instructional practices. She comes to our conversation with a passion for continuous improvement and helping everyone achieve their fullest potential for student success. Aydree is an 11th-grader at Silverado and a student in the school’s Peer Assistance Leadership (PALS) class. When the Silverado PBIS team needs to reteach an expectation, the PALS class comes up with the lesson plan and delivers it to their peers. The class is new this year, but Silverado has already seen more active engagement from students and an increase in the behaviors they hope to see. For her part, Aydree says the class makes her feel more involved at school and more confident in her skills as a leader. If students didn’t care about school, a class like this wouldn’t work…but it does! For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: PBISApps Job PostingExpert Instruction Ep. 42: Creating and Sustaining Positive School ClimateSchool Climate Survey

In this episode, we’ve tracked down some hilarious teacher stories from around the internet about the goofy things students say and do in school. From fart jokes, to the 1990s as the “old days,” to a student bringing in a live goat, this podcast will have you in stitches. The guests this month are our very own PBISApps trainer Nadia Sampson and Customer Support Manager Diertra Lomeli. Give it a listen and enjoy your winter break!

We’re back with another episode of Mythbusters where we explore some of the critiques about PBIS. Along with our guests, we’ll declare the criticisms true or busted! The myth we’ll explore today is: Rewards don’t work to improve student outcomes. Joining us in our conversation are Erica Bauer, Joya Mitchell, and Jaymz Keller Jr. Erica is a school counselor and the Green Local School District’s PBIS coordinator. Joya is the Student Services Director at Green Local Schools. She’s been an educator for over 20 years working in both special education and as an assistant principal before transitioning to her current position. Jaymz W. Keller Jr is the store manager at the local Starbucks in Green, OH. Erica, Joya, and Jaymz, have established a staff recognition system for Green Local School District like no other we’ve seen. Their partnership was only made possible because of the district’s focus on building strong relationships and supporting everyone in their larger schoolwide community. Listen to how they leveraged the power of recognition to uplift their staff, encourage students, and engage the entire town of Green, OH in their PBIS implementation. For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: Tiered Fidelity Inventory5 Ways to Reward Students the Right WayAre Schoolwide Tickets the Secret to Better Classrooms? Here’s the Truth Find your state-level PBIS coordinator

There’s a feeling you get when you walk into a school. You get a sense for the kind of place it is when you look at the people’s faces, or the way the light that comes through the windows. It’s even in the colors and art on the walls in the hallway. This intangible thing is your school’s climate and it’s something you co-create with your schoolwide community.In this episode of Expert Instruction, we’re joined by three educators who know how to create that positive school climate we all want to experience: Dr. Ginny Joseph, Kathy Stauffer, and Sun Saeteurn.Ginny is a PBIS and Mental Health Coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education in Costa Mesa, CA. She supports schools and district in their efforts to implement a multi-tiered framework for inclusive behavior supports. Ginny is passionate about creating safe learning spaces by engaging the entire schoolwide community. Kathy comes to us from the Saddleback Valley Unified School District in Mission Viejo, CA where she trains and supports school teams in their implementation of multi-tiered systems of support. In her work, she focuses on fostering respectful, responsible, and inclusive communities. Sun has been the principal at Monroe Middle School in Eugene, OR for the last six years. Before that, he was a high school assistant principal and a middle school teacher. Everywhere he goes, no matter what his role, Sun creates supportive spaces by engaging students, staff, and the larger community and building strong relationships. For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: School Climate SurveyTiered Fidelity Inventory Turquoise or Blue? How One Test Uncovers the Hidden Assumptions in Our Classrooms Proven Ways to Make Schoolwide Feedback workStart With Why: How to Put Purpose Back in Your Work

When educators are in the classroom day after day, year after year, the focus on fresh authentic, genuine PBIS implementation gets harder. In this episode, we’re talking about how to adapt, evolve, and continuously improve your efforts over the long term. Joining us in conversation are the three co-directors of the Center on PBIS.Dr. Brandi Simonsen is a professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at University of Connecticut. She is also the co-principle investigator of the National Multi-Tiered System of Supports Research Network. She's an advocate for supporting educator implementation across a continuum of settings.Dr. Kent McIntosh is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Special Education at the University of Oregon and the Director at PBISApps. His current research focuses on increasing racial equity in school discipline, and sustainability of systems for social, emotional, and behavior support in schools.Dr. Heather George is a professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida, the director of the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities and the co-director of Florida's Statewide PBIS Project. She's a longtime colleague of ours in this implementation work, and she's a continued advocate for supporting system level implementation to support all students wherever they learn.Our experts offer some timeless tips for continually improving your PBIS. These include focusing on building genuine relationships with your students right at the start of the school year and building relationships with families. In fostering meaningful bonds with students, educators approach PBIS in the classroom from a more holistic, respected position with students that is less about compliance and more about connection and kindness. We also share what it looks like to make an intentional effort to build an inclusive classroom that feels safe and welcoming to everyone. Resources • PBIS Implementation Blueprint • Tiered Fidelity Inventory • Crisis Recovery

In this episode, we’re looking back at every podcast we had over the past school year and sharing our favorite episodes and lessons learned. We’ve interviewed 16 guests across nine episodes. Every conversation gave us something to think about and find ways to infuse it in our work moving forward. Today, we wanted to highlight just five of those episodes and encourage you to take another listen over these summer months. To travel back in time to any of these episodes mentioned today, check out the following links: Ep. 32: The Fundamentals of Schoolwide TeamsEp. 34: Conferences as Professional Development Ep. 36: Culturally Sustaining Practices Ep. 38: Mythbusters — There are Some Students Skewing Our Schoolwide Data PBISApps Community Let us know you want all the details about our free PBISApps Community events by signing up with your email address. If you already know you’ll want to come to our August event, register today so you’ll be all set up when the school year starts!

By the end of the school year, you have a lot of data at your fingertips. There are two important actions to take. The first is to share it with your schoolwide community as part of your annual PBIS evaluation. The second is to plan how you’ll build on your success next year. In this episode, we’re talking about what it takes to evaluate PBIS implementation and use data to create an action plan at the end of the year. Joining us in our conversation are Diane LaMaster, Michele Cook, and Kim Barker. Diane LaMaster is a technical assistance coordinator with the Midwest PBIS Network. Diane brings with her decades of experience in various roles including as a special education teacher, behavior interventionist, and a district coach. Michele Cook has been a special educator, PE teacher, PBIS coach, building principal, and executive director of student support services in the Gresham-Barlow School District in Gresham, OR. Now she works part time to support multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) implementation in the district. Kim Barker is a long-time educator from Gresham-Barlow School District, too. This year marks her 21st year with the district where she now works as an administrator for Deep Creek Damascus K-8 School. During our conversation, we explored the way data serve as historical references for where implementation has been and where it will go in the future. For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: Tiered Fidelity InventorySelf-Assessment SurveySWIS Suite

Have you heard this before in your teams: If we removed these students from our schoolwide data, our trends would look better. In this episode, we’re tackling the myth that some students’ behavior data skew our schoolwide data. Joining us in this conversation are Rayann Silva and Mari Meador from the University of Washington’s School Mental Health Assessment Research and Training (SMART) Center. Rayann has done it all in education. From classroom teacher to district administrator, to state/regional school mental health training and technical assistance provider, she centers social-emotional well-being in every role she holds. In her current work, she supports education agencies and school districts to deliver evidence-based strategies that improve social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for all. As an implementation coach, Mari supports schools in their implementation efforts. She has been a PBIS state facilitator, an assistant coordinator for the Northwest PBIS Network, and a school-based counselor and mental health associate. Mari is a forever advocate for system-level change, culturally responsive practices, and social-emotional learning. Together, we talked about the unintended consequences of excluding some students from schoolwide data, and what it truly means to include every student’s experience in our schoolwide decisions. For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: Role of social worker at all three tiers from Washington State Association of School Psychologists Behavioral Health Coalition

There are two primary questions every team should ask related to their PBIS implementation: Are we doing what we said we would do? (Fidelity) How does our implementation affect the people in our school? (Outcomes)Because PBIS is an evidence-based framework, you know there are data to help you answer these questions. Which brings us to today’s topic: How do you choose a system to store and monitor the fidelity and outcome data you collect? Joining us today to help us answer that question are Diertra Lomeli and Seth May. Diertra is the PBISApps Customer Support Manager. She leads the team of people who connect with our users, set up every account, invoice every subscription, and problem-solve every bug as it comes in. Diertra is also a member of several project teams dreaming up new app features to address emerging needs related to data-driven decision making in PBIS implementation. Seth is the PBISApps IT Director. He started as a developer creating the very first version of the Schoolwide Information System (SWIS). Now, he leads a team of developers and IT professionals to create the applications schools use everyday. For more information about the resources mentioned in this episode, check out the following links: More information about SWISMore information about PBIS AssessmentPBIS Assessment Coordinator Form to sign up for PBIS Assessment Options to integrate your student information system with SWISSign up for more information about the new PBISApps Community

For PBIS implementation to feel authentic to your school’s culture, it’s important to ask your larger schoolwide community for their feedback about the systems and practices you’ve put in place AND to use that feedback to improve your implementation.In this episode, Dr. Ambra Green joins us to talk about how you can implement the foundational features of PBIS to create culturally sustaining, truly inclusive spaces. Ambra is an Associate Professor of Special Education at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is a national scholar with publications and research focused on students of color with and at-risk for disabilities, inequitable school practices, behavior disorders, PBIS, and the use of evidence-based practices. Ambra currently serves as a member of the Center on PBIS Equity workgroup and provides technical assistance at the school, district, and state levels. During our conversation, the three of us talked about how to know when there's a mismatch between your implementation and the lived experiences in your schoolwide community, the way two-way conversations are critical to the process of creating culturally sustaining implementation, and to engage everyone in those conversations requires trust you need to develop over time. For more information about the resources shared in this episode, check out the following links: Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI)State and Local PBIS Coordinator LookupNational Center on Intensive InterventionPBIS Cultural Responsiveness Field Guide‍

Today, we’re bringing you another installment in our mythbuster series. In October, we tackled the myth that PBIS is only about rewards. Spoiler alert: Rewards are part of it, but there’s more to it than the myth suggests. In this episode, we’re exploring the myth: There are no consequences in PBIS. Back again to help us bust this myth is Dr. Kent McIntosh.Kent is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Special Education at the University of Oregon and the Director at PBISApps. He is also Co-Director of the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. His current research focuses on increasing racial equity in school discipline, and sustainability of systems for social, emotional, and behavior support in schools.Together, we talked about the types of consequences we deliver in schools. We really honed in on how our options ought to be instructional whenever possible and removing students from instruction shouldn’t be our option B, C, or even D. For more information about the resources shared in the episode, check out the following links:Tiered Fidelity Inventory Consequence Matrix Referral Category Definitions Practice Guide – Supporting and Responding to Behavior: Evidence-based Classroom Strategies for Teachers

A system-level feature of your PBIS implementation involves the professional development you offer to all staff. Many of us take advantage of conferences to receive professional development, especially related to our PBIS implementation. We love a good conference. We also know lecture-style learning alone isn’t enough to sustain the outcomes we want to achieve. We wondered what it would look like to leverage our conference experience to supplement our on-going professional learning. We called on some conference organizers for our favorite PBIS conferences to see what they had to say about this idea. Joining us in conversation are Dr. Jessica Swain-Bradway, Kelly Perales, and Dr. Stephanie Martinez. Dr. Jessica Swain-Bradway is the executive director for Northwest PBIS Network – an organization providing professional development and support around PBIS & MTSS. She is also helps to organize the group’s annual PBIS conference. In her work, Jessica also focuses on equipping teachers with strategies for instruction, relationship-building, and designing effective learning environments. Kelly Perales is the co-director of the Midwest PBIS Network and she's an implementer partner with the Center on PBIS. As an implementer partner, Kelly helps to organize the annual National PBIS Leadership Forum. Kelly leads schools implementing the Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) by focusing specifically on the integration of mental health and educational systems. In addition to her work with schools, she researches the effects ISF has on family-school-community partnerships. Dr. Stephanie Martinez provides training and technical assistance on the Florida PBIS Project at the University of South Florida. She is also a board member for the Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS). As a tri-chair for the Training and Education Committee for APBS, Stephanie assists with planning the organization’s annual International Conference on Positive Behavior Support. She also helps coordinate the High School APBS Network. For more information about the resources shared in the episode, check out the following links: Northwest PBIS ConferenceNational PBIS Leadership ForumInternational Conference on Positive Behavior SupportSociety for Prevention Research Annual MeetingCouncil for Exceptional Children Convention and ExpoNational Center for School Mental Health Annual Conference California PBIS Conference Southeastern School Behavioral Health Conference

We’re back with the second installment of our Expert Instruction Mythbusters series. Today we’re exploring the myth: “PBIS is just about rewards and tokens.” Joining us in conversation is Dr. Kent McIntosh.Kent is the Philip H. Knight Chair of Special Education at the University of Oregon and the Director at PBISApps. He is also Co-Director of the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. His current research focuses on increasing racial equity in school discipline, and implementation and sustainability of systems for social, emotional, and behavior support in schools.During our discussion, we explored the ways rewards are intricately linked with the schoolwide expectations you set. We talked about the purpose rewards play in your PBIS implementation and how they play an important role in establishing the equitable outcomes you hope to achieve. For more information about the resources shared in the episode, check out the following links:• Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) https://www.pbisapps.org/products/tfi• Feedback and Input Survey https://www.pbisapps.org/resource/feedback-input-surveys-fis-manual• School Climate Survey (SCS) https://www.pbisapps.org/products/scs• Lesson Plan: Co-creating Classroom Expectations with Students (Elementary Schools) https://www.pbis.org/resource/lesson-plan-co-creating-classroom-expectations-with-students-elementary-schools• Be+ App https://www.pbis.org/announcements/track-positive-reinforcement-with-our-be-app