Making good student behavior a game

Over the last three years, the Monroe Community Coalition has worked to identify evidence-based prevention strategies that could be used in Monroe schools to help improve outcomes for kids.

Now, it has added the PAX Good Behavior Game to its prevention repertoire.-á

The coalition is a volunteer-driven nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the Monroe community by reducing underage drinking and substance use. The goal of the coalition is to identify risk factors conducive to alcohol and substance use and work preemptively to diminish those risks. Led by Monroe School District prevention specialist Joe Neigel, the coalition meets on the second Thursday of each month at the district administration building.

The coalition is funded through the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI), a grant-funded initiative administered through a contract with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.

Each year, the coalition plans how to use its funding through careful analysis of available prevention techniques, basing its decision on what will make the best use of limited resources. Last year, a classroom management tool called the PAX Good Behavior Game was selected and added to the volunteer group's strategic plan.

This year, it is actually being implemented.

During May's coalition meeting on Thursday, May 12, Maltby Elementary School Principal Bonnie McKerney and first-grade teacher Mary Reule gave the coalition an overview of the PAX Good Behavior Game and how it's been working in Reule's class.-á -á

The PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG) is an environmental strategy that combines the use of five evidence-based prevention kernels, which are small actions or remedies that have been proven effective at influencing behavior in a positive way. Prevention kernels can be used to minimize the trauma response in trauma-impacted children, and can be combined to create a "behavioral vaccine,GÇ¥ Neigel said.

The National Institute of Medicine has referred to the PAX Good Behavior Game as one of the most effective classroom-based prevention strategies a teacher can use, as it is associated with across-the-board reductions in occurrences of drug and alcohol addiction, smoking and antisocial personality disorder. Studies have revealed long-term positive outcomes, Neigel said.

"We're seeing positive outcomes from a September to June first-grade implementation up to 35 years after that one year of implementation,GÇ¥ he said.-á

The PAX GBG system uses a game model to enforce positive behaviors in children. Kids earn prizes when they win the game, which helps them master self-control and self-regulation. Classrooms using PAX GBG have reported a 50-90 percent reduction in disruptive behaviors, a 25 percent increase in teaching time, a 20-50 percent increase in engaged children and a 10-30 percent reduction in the need for special education services.

So far, PAX GBG is being used at Maltby Elementary and Chain Lake Elementary schools, with Fryelands coming online soon. In addition to coalition funds allocated to PAX GBG in its budget, supplementary grant funding was secured by Neigel to help pay for the teacher and staff training and the PAX GBG materials.

McKerney and Reule said they were motivated to try PAX GBG after noticing several students in Reule's class lacked the ability to self-regulate, which was preventing them from being successful in the classroom.-á -á

"I had some really challenging students this year that I just couldn't get to, and I wanted to try something different,GÇ¥ Reule said. "And I wanted it to be a positive ' I wanted to go from a positive angle rather than a negative one.GÇ¥

One of the strategies behind prevention kernels is to highlight and reward good behaviors rather than focusing on negative behaviors. PAX GBG refers to disruptive behaviors as "spleems,GÇ¥ which are counted and tracked in 15-minute increments, so educators have a way to gauge the success of the game. McKerney helped Reule track her spleems to develop a baseline, which were tallied at 120-150 spleems going on in any given 15-minute period. Reule said there is no question the number of spleems goes down while she's doing the game.-á -á

"Every teacher that's implementing should see a pretty decent change in their classroom,GÇ¥ Neigel said.

PAX GBG rewards good behaviors through activity-based prizes rather than a piece of candy or some other treat. The games can be played at various times throughout the school day and at the teacher's discretion. The prize system, which is a prevention kernel referred to as "Granny's Wacky Prizes,GÇ¥ includes things like tapping pencils on the desk for 10 seconds, having a brief "giggle fest,GÇ¥ making funny faces or being a wiggle worm on the floor.

"They're just wonderful things that they love to do anyway and they don't cost any extra money,GÇ¥ Reule said. "And there's a really neat component called "tootles.' GÇ¥

Tootles are another prevention kernel called "Peer to Peer Notes,GÇ¥ which are notes of praise written from one student to another. Students in Reule's class write tootles about each other every Friday, which are displayed on the wall for a week. At the end of the week, they go home with the students and the next round of tootles begins. The game is strategized so the kids know whom they are going to be writing tootles about, so they can watch for positive behaviors like being kind or helpful.-á

The game has built-in mechanisms to ensure all kids are included in the process. Secret PAX games can be used by teachers to reward a particular student for not engaging in any spleems. The game was designed with flexibility, so every student can be engaged.

When she first started out, Reule said she was playing the game for about two minutes at a time. She is now up to seven minutes. PAX Good Behavior Game guidelines recommend teachers play the game three or four times a day.

"As a teacher, when I'm up there and I'm doing the PAX game, it centers me and gives me hope. It makes me feel good about what I'm doing, reaching out to the students and connecting with them,GÇ¥ Reule said. "It's not just an impact for them it's really been wonderful for me as well.GÇ¥

For more information about prevention kernels, the PAX Good Behavior Game or the Monroe Community Coalition, visit monroecommunitycoalition.com.