Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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38th Annual Convention; Seattle, WA; 2012

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Symposium #315
CE Offered: BACB
Teaching for Generative Responding
Monday, May 28, 2012
9:00 AM–10:20 AM
LL03 (TCC)
Area: VRB/EDC; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Ruth Anne Rehfeldt (Southern Illinois University)
CE Instructor: Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Ph.D.
Abstract: In our efforts to create effective teaching strategies, behavior analysis has been criticized for failing to establish generative repertoires. The development of protocols designed to facilitate derived relational responding is one method behavior analysts have used to address this criticism. The studies presented in this symposium will discuss the use of various instructional protocols based on stimulus equivalence and Relational Frame Theory to establish derived relational repertoires. The data presented will show the effectiveness of these protocols in teaching both children and college students a variety of socially relevant topics including, reading Braille, learning numeracy in a second language, and learning calendar time with an eye to developing an instructional technology of derived stimulus relations.
Keyword(s): Derived Relations
 

A Computer-Based Instructional Program to Teach Braille Reading to Sighted Individuals: A Large Scale Replication

MINDY CHRISTINE SCHEITHAUER (Louisiana State University), Jeffrey H. Tiger (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), Sarah J. Miller (Louisiana State University)
Abstract:

There is a need for efficient braille training methods for instructors of the visually impaired. This study evaluated the use of a computer-based program intended to train the relation of braille characters to English letters using a matching-to-sample procedure with 80 sighted college students. Participants mastered matching visual depictions of the braille alphabet to their text counterparts with an average of 99% accuracy and demonstrated improvements in braille reading ability following an average of only 24 minutes of training. Follow-up sessions showed adequate maintenance of the letter matching skill at 7–14 days. In addition, the study conducted a direct comparison of multiple-choice vs. constructive responding to assess differences in skill acquisition and maintenance.

 

The Effects of Instructor Feedback on the Emergence of Derived Categorical Relations

TARA LOUGHREY (Florida Institute of Technology), Alison M. Betz (Florida Institute of Technology), Katie Nicholson (The Scott Center for Autism Treatment), Lina Majdalany (Florida Institute of Technology)
Abstract:

It was suggested that the formation of a stimulus class may emerge through indirect teaching (Stomer, MacKay, & Remington, 1996). Instructor feedback is an indirect teaching procedure involving the presentation of an additional, nontarget stimulus to the consequence event of a discrete trial. In this study, investigators evaluated the effects of instructor feedback of the category name to which a stimulus belongs on the emergence of derived categorical relations in children diagnosed with autism. Using a multiple probe design across category sets, investigators directly taught the identification of a stimulus using stimuli from various categories. In addition to direct teaching, investigators presented instructor feedback as part of the response consequence) during each discrete-trial. Following direct teaching, investigators tested the emergence of expressive and receptive identification of the category as well as category matching under baseline conditions. The data show that participants demonstrated the emergence of categorical relations, however, some relations were more susceptible to extinction effects and required the addition of direct reinforcement to maintain responding. The implications of these results will be discussed further during the presentation.

 

An Evaluation of Multiple Exemplar Instruction to Establish Comparative Relations

CLARISSA S. BARNES (Southern Illinois University), Ruth Anne Rehfeldt (Southern Illinois University), James R. Mellor (Southern Illinois University)
Abstract:

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of relational frame theory protocols in establishing repertoires of relational responding (see Barnes-Homles, Barnes-Holmes, Smeets, Strand, & Friman, 2004). A majority of the applied studies on derived stimulus relations have examined frames of coordination, or sameness; however, many educational standards require learners to respond to relations of comparison, opposition, and distinction (Rehfeldt, 2001). The current study evaluated the effects of an intensive multiple exemplar instruction intervention on establishing frames of comparison with academically-at-risk 5–7 year-olds living in a rural impoverished region of the Midwest. Specifically, a match-to-sample protocol was used to establish frames of coordination between holidays and months. Following coordination training a match-to-sample protocol was used to establish frames of comparison (before and after) using the holiday stimuli. Preliminary data indicate that multiple exemplar instruction may not be necessary for all of the participants in this target population for facilitating the emergence of derived coordination and comparison relations.

 
Using a Stimulus Equivalence Paradigm to Teach Numeracy in English, Ojibwe, and Dakota to Preschool-Aged Children
KATIE HAEGELE (University of Minnesota), Jennifer J. McComas (University of Minnesota), Mark R. Dixon (Southern Illinois University)
Abstract: There have been a number of studies showing that the stimulus equivalence paradigm can be an effective and efficient means of teaching several concepts including fraction-decimal relationships, spelling, and more. This study extends the current literature base by attempting to use stimulus equivalence to teach students numbers and words in a second language. The study also extends the literature by implementing a pre-test, post-test randomized group design. Specifically, the researcher examined whether a match-to-sample computer program could be used to teach unknown Ojibwe and Dakota words to pre-kindergarteners. Results suggested that the all of the participants who received the computer training demonstrated the development of equivalence classes that included numerals, written English words, spoken Native words, and dice representations. Generalized pre- and post-tests were also conducted. Results suggested that the equivalence class generalized beyond the computer training.
 

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