In this episode of Expert Instruction: The Teach by Design Podcast, we’re kicking off a two-part series about de-escalating the behaviors you see in your school. Today, we’re exploring the school-wide, classroom-wide systems and practices you can leverage to prevent problem behaviors from escalating in the first place.

Joining us today are two of the authors of a recently published practice brief from The Center on PBIS, Dr. Kathleen Strickland-Cohen and Alex Newson.

Kathleen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Utah and a Doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has extensive experience conducting research and training both preservice teachers and in-service district and school personnel in behavior support implementation at Tiers 2 and 3. Her research interests include: designing inclusive educational environments, using efficient methods to train school professionals how to design individualized student behavior plans, and enhancing family-professional partnership within PBIS.

Alex Newson is a doctoral student in Special Education at the University of Oregon. She is a recipient of Project COLEAD, which is a leadership grant focusing on autism, evidence-based practices, diversity, and collaboration across universities. Her current research interests include equitable neuroinclusive research methodologies, collaborative trauma-informed teacher education programs for neurodivergent educators and service providers, and the promotion of autistic mental health in schools for students and staff. She has taught throughout in the Pacific Northwest as a certified Special Educator and educational assistant.

Oh, and we’re also welcoming our new co-host, Nadia Sampson! Nad is a veteran in the PBIS game and she’s ready to share her experience and her humor as we all learn more about the topics in each podcast episode.

For more information about some of the resources mentioned in this today, please check out these links:

• Practice Brief: Strategies for De-Escalating Student Behavior in the Classroom
• Expert Instruction Ep. 14: Relieving Staff Stress with System-level Solutions – Staff stress is a systemic issue best addressed with system-level solutions. We talked to two experts about how to do that in your school.
• 10 Strategies to Combat Stress in the Classroom – Check out this article for more information about the affects of chronic stress and the fight, flight, or freeze responses you might see in your classroom.