Association for Behavior Analysis International

This symposium includes three data-based presentations focused on applying behavior-analytic procedures in higher education settings. All presentations will focus on improving student performance in the classroom through the use of active teaching strategies and creative assignments. In the first presentation, Daniel Wagner will present a comparison of a novel assignment and a traditional assignment to increase undergraduate behavior analysis students’ performance on quizzes and their dissemination skills. Next, Christopher Le will present a comparison of preprinted and write-on response cards in an undergraduate applied behavior analysis course on exam scores, learning gains, and participation. Finally, Kendra Guinness will present an evaluation of the effects of a personalized system of instruction including self-paced tutorials comprised of instructions, video models, practice, and feedback on students’ accuracy in APA formatting. Each presentation will address implications for the behavior analytic teaching strategies in the classroom.

BCBAs, Faculty, Educators

Though many have argued that behavior analysts should be trained as behavioral translators, translating our science and technology to others in a way that disseminates what our field has to offer (Foxx, 1985, 1996; Lindsley, 1991; Morris, 1985; Reed, 2014; Schlinger, 2014), little research identifying how to teach such repertoires exists. In this study, we designed the Giving ABA Away assignment to begin to teach this dissemination repertoire to undergraduate students in behavior analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of this dissemination assignment, in which students were asked to describe a behavioral concept to a layperson audience, in comparison to a more traditional assignment. This study utilized a counterbalanced within groups design with pre- and post-assignment evaluations to assess student comprehension of the concepts and dissemination skills. Results showed positive effects of the dissemination assignment on student learning outcomes as compared to the traditional assignment. Implications for educators will be discussed.

Formatting documents according the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines is an essential but difficult skill for undergraduate psychology students. Undergraduate faculty report that their students make frequent APA formatting errors in a variety of domains including citations, quotations, and headers (Mandernach, Zafonte, & Taylor, 2016). The current study evaluated the effects of a personalized system of instruction (PSI) on the accuracy of APA formatting with undergraduate students using a multiple probe design across four units (title page, abstract, body, and references). Participants completed self-paced tutorials comprised of textual instructions, a video model, multiple practice opportunities, and immediate feedback. Results thus far indicate that after low to moderate levels of accuracy in baseline, accuracy rose to high levels immediately following training. Generalization was also measured by evaluating the APA formatting accuracy of actual lab reports the participants submitted in an introductory psychology class. Interobserver agreement was recorded for 33% of sessions (M = 89%; range, 73%-100%). Social validity with students and faculty will be discussed.