Association for Behavior Analysis International

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, schools across the world have been closed intermittently over the course of several months as an emergency measure to prevent spreading of the infection. During school closures, many students received instruction remotely either in entirety or under a hybrid model involving a mixture of on-campus and distance learning models. For some students, skill deficits may serve as a barrier to accessing instruction under these conditions. In the current study, special education teachers were surveyed to learn more about their methods for assessing and establishing preparedness for distance learning instruction with their students. A tool for assessment of technology-based prerequisite skills for distance learning was developed and administrated to special education students ranging from 1-12 grades. These data were utilized to create acquisition programs for specific skills hypothesized to impact student independence and engagement during distance learning sessions. These acquisition programs were then introduced with secondary level special education students. Results related to student assessment, acquisition of prerequisite skills, as well as social validity measures for teachers and students will be shared.

Goal setting is a well-established strategy for improving educational performance. Further, it is well documented that specific goals produce higher performance than goals that encourage a learner to “do your best.” This study examined the effectiveness of setting daily session-improvement goals across individual programs for learners diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). During the initial intervention phase, participants were provided a loose set of criteria to set goals for the learners they work with in order to compare the number of goals met to the number of programs run. Each of the participants collected daily data indicating each of these frequencies. Data were evaluated during staff meetings, where feedback was delivered and more specific criteria established for setting goals that resulted in an optimal percentage of goals met. Finally, these data were compared to the frequency of data-based decisions made that resulted in forward progress for learners in our clinic in order to evaluate optimal frequencies of data-based decisions for our staff.