SWPBS Initiative

ENCOURAGING EXPECTED BEHAVIOURS

Contingent and non-contingent attention

When it comes to SWPBS, we are interested in two types of positive adult attention; both have a positive impact on interactions in schools.

Positive consequences

When we see students demonstrate correct behaviour, we want to provide contingent positive attention to them. The goal is to reinforce the correct behaviour and increase the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated. 

In SWPBS, an acknowledgment system is in place to ensure that positive reinforcement is used to increase the likelihood of that behaviour reoccurring. 

At Ceres Primary School, we use credit points and house tokens to provide positive reinforcement, along with verbal feedback. Students can then use their credit points towards classroom rewards that are created in the classroom with students and are unique to each classroom setting.

This is an example of the reward wheel in the 2/3BR classroom.

The token is the ‘primary reinforcer’ on the acknowledgment continuum; it immediately tells the student they have done something correctly and, more importantly, it is a reminder for staff to consciously look for and ‘catch’ students doing the right thing. This is most effective when paired with explicit verbal feedback, so that student know exactly what they have done correctly.