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A Strategic Science of General Education: The CABAS(R) Accelerated Independent Learner Model of Instruction |
Saturday, May 25, 2019 |
3:00 PM–3:50 PM |
Swissôtel, Event Center Second Floor, Montreux 1-3 |
Area: DEV/EDC; Domain: Applied Research |
Chair: JoAnn Pereira Delgado (Teachers College, Columbia University) |
CE Instructor: JoAnn Pereira Delgado, Ph.D. |
Abstract: In this symposium, we will present three papers on the scientific procedures and tactics utilized in the CABAS® Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) Model of Instruction. Our program includes students with and without disabilities from preschool through middle school age and implements teaching procedures rooted in applied behavior analysis, the strategic science of teaching and the Verbal Behavior Development Theory. In the first paper, we will discuss the key pre-requisite developmental cusps for early learners including Bi-directional Naming, Observational Learning, Transformation of Stimulus Function across saying and writing, and Social Listener Reinforcement. In the second paper, we will describe the extension of the developmental cusps for reader-writers in the general education elementary school setting. The final paper will provide an overview of the later reader/writer and self-editing cusps. Collectively these papers will emphasize the importance of designing instruction based on the verbal behavior development theory and introduce teaching procedures that address both structure and function that ultimately result in the development of independent learners. |
Instruction Level: Intermediate |
Keyword(s): AIL, CABAS, VBDT |
Target Audience: Teachers and students in graduate programs in applied behavior analysis. Also supervisors and professors with interest in verbal behavior development theory and the strategic science of teaching |
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this symposium, learners will be able to,
1. Define verbal behavior development theory related to general education.
2. List the prerequisite cusps for early learners
3. List the reader and writer cusps
4. Describe how to arrange instruction once critical cusps are induced. |
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How Students Become an Accelerated Independent Learner: Pre-Requisite Verbal Behavior Cusps |
FRANCIS JIHYE HWANG (Teacher College, Columbia University), JoAnn Pereira Delgado (Teachers College, Columbia University), R. Douglas Greer (Columbia University Teachers College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) |
Abstract: A key element of a successful student is the ability to be an independent learner. Over the past three decades of research, Verbal Behavior Development Theory (VBDT) identified the pre-requisite cusps and capabilities (i.e., Bi-directional Naming, Observational Learning, Transformation of Stimulus Function across saying and writing, and Social Listener Reinforcement) that a student needs to acquire prior to becoming an accelerated independent learner (AIL). As an AIL, the student requires minimal direct instruction from the teacher, leading to acquisition of academic materials at their own pace. For over a decade, AIL classrooms demonstrated the effectiveness in student performance across Pre-K to middle school grade classrooms in a public-school district general education and self-contained special education classrooms. In this presentation, I will discuss the development of the pre-requisite cusps and capabilities necessary for an AIL along with the effects of the presence of these cusps on how lessons are designed and taught to these individuals. |
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The Development of Elementary Reader and Writer Stages in an Accelerated Independent Learner Classroom |
LAUREN BALDONADO (Morris School District), JoAnn Pereira Delgado (Teachers College, Columbia University), R. Douglas Greer (Columbia University Teachers College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) |
Abstract: We will provide a description of the elementary reader and writer stages in an Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) classroom for grades K-2. The verbal behavior development theory is an essential component and has an impact on methods of instruction and curriculum design. Reader and writer stages in these early grades build on one another such that the student becomes more independent as he or she acquires more skills. Verbal behavior developmental cusps and capabilities demonstrated in these stages include: responding to own textual responding as a listener, Naming accrues from listening to a story, textually responding at 80 words per minute (wpm), print transcription, print dictation, transformation of stimulus function across vocal and written responses, and reading governs responding. Interventions to induce reader/writer cusps/capabilities are built into the district-mandated curriculum so that students acquire objectives at a faster rate and learn things they could not before. Functional writing objectives are taught across reading, math, and social studies objectives to build skills for technical writing that affects reader behavior. |
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Learner Independence: Instructional Tactics and Protocols Employed in a Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling Middle School Classroom |
YIFEI SUN (Teachers College, Columbia University), JoAnn Pereira Delgado (Teachers College, Columbia University) |
Abstract: Teaching reading and learning skills that allow students to become independent learners is a critical component of higher-grade level Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) classrooms. Independent learning skills allow students to acquire essential reading repertoires and to receive maximized instruction. Students received systematically sequenced learning objectives through personalized system of instruction (PSI) and peer tutoring. They monitor the amount of instruction received, measured by the number of learn units received, as well as the rate of acquisition through graphing their own learn units. Students’ acquisition of independent learning skills also allows teachers to focus on designing instructions that optimize students’ learning. Teachers scripted behaviorally defined objectives with criteria that suit students’ individual levels of verbal behavior and sequenced objectives to ensure that students mastered all necessary prerequisite skills before tackling more advanced objectives. Teachers also implemented research-based protocols rooted in the verbal behavior development theory to induce early or advanced reader/writer skills and cusps including self-editing and writing governs complex operations of others. All of the components work together to foster independence of students in a middle-school CABAS® classroom. |
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