Association for Behavior Analysis International

The present study investigated the relative effectiveness and efficiency of three different training sequences in teaching undergraduate students in psychology and/or special education to identify the function of undesirable behaviors in video examples. The study also evaluated whether the procedures were effective in promoting the generalization from videos of role-played practitioner-child interactions to videos of children displaying undesirable behaviors similar to those depicted in the training videos, but in naturalistic environments. Behavior skills training (BST) and multiple exemplar training were utilized in all three training sequences. The data were analyzed through a multiple baseline across participants embedded within a stacked AB or ABC design with comparison across participants. The data, data analysis, and discussion on the poster reflect just one participant. Replication is currently in progress and data from at least five other participants will be available by the time of the ABAI conference. At that time, a brief summary of the results will be included in the abstract.

Gamification in education describes the process of enhancing motivational affordances by using technology to invoke appetitive experiences and achieve stronger behavioral outcomes (Hamari et al., 2014). Discrete trial training is pervasive within behavior analytic instruction due to the potential for a high rate of trials allowing for direct targeting of language skills. The format of discrete trial training is uniquely well situated for gamification by presenting clear discriminative stimuli, requiring a specific response, and rewarding the correct response through points, tokens, or more direct forms of reinforcement. We developed two algorithms for developing discrete trial training programming on Microsoft PowerPoint, a tool that is familiar and available to most practicing behavior analysts, allowing for delivery on a touchscreen device. The first presents a sample and array, where the sample is randomized along with the array stimuli and locations. The second presents a randomized sample stimulus followed by a customizable time delay and the randomized array. Both algorithms were pilot tested across three individuals with autism attending a specialized program. Pilot testing was successful in refining the algorithm and the participants acquired the target skills quickly following instruction delivered on the touchscreen device.

Antecedent-based supports (i.e., prompts, reminders) are proactive strategies that set the occasion for a specific behavior to occur (e.g., implementation, treatment integrity). Consequence-based supports (e.g., performance feedback) are summative, yet reactive supports that occur after a behavior (e.g., low levels of treatment adherence, low levels of Behavior Specific Praise, BSP). Previous research has examined these strategies on student and educator behaviors. However, little is known on trainee behaviors. The current study was conducted in academic clinic at a university-based academic health center in an urban Midwestern city with four, second-year female graduate-level School Psychology students. A concurrent multiple baseline across participants was utilized to examine the effectiveness of tiered consultation on students’ rate of BSP, the dependent variable. BSP was recorded using a 10-sec interval and converted to rate. Students received group didactic instruction as Tier 1. Students were randomly staggered in Tier 2 (Antecedent Strategy = Emailed Prompts) and Tier 3 (Consequential Strategy = DPF) based on low rates of BSP (i.e., BSP once per 2 minutes). Data collection is ongoing. Initial results indicate an increase in BSP during Tier 2 for two students. Results suggest that tiered consultation supports are an effective strategy to promote BSP.

The evaluation of teaching practice in universities and its impact on the quality of the teaching-learning process is one of the most difficult skills to measure. In general terms, skills in methodology, evaluation and attitudes towards students define a good teacher. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the psychology students' opinions about the practice of their teachers. A descriptive non-experimental study was performed. The data were collected from a digital scale that evaluates the opinion of the teaching practice. This scale was applied to students who enrolled in the 2018-1 semester in a public university. The overall results of 900 tests show: a) high marks in the teaching practice that are related to behaviors based on the teaching methodology and the aspects of attitude. In other words, those skills that are related to the teaching-learning process, with didactic strategies, with the experience of knowledge and with the set of sources of attitude that promote students' motivation towards the class; b) low grades in the monitoring and fulfillment of the school program, this means the interaction between the activities carried out in the classroom by the teacher and those demanded by the institution in terms of delivering and following the program of studies of the specific subject; maintaining congruence with its content. This ability also refers to the establishment, maintenance and adjustment of the evaluation criteria and their congruence with the purposes of the subject. Specific teaching programs are proposed.