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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49th Annual Convention; Denver, CO; 2023

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Symposium #240
CE Offered: BACB
Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling Graduate Research Developments
Sunday, May 28, 2023
4:00 PM–5:50 PM
Hyatt Regency, Capitol Ballroom 4
Area: DEV; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Lin Du (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Discussant: R. Douglas Greer (Columbia University Teachers College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
CE Instructor: R. Douglas Greer, Ph.D.
Abstract:

The Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS), a program based out of Teachers College, Columbia University, focuses on research devoted to increasing verbal behavior developmental cusps that increase student's academic achievement. In this symposium, four doctoral candidates will present the most recent research coming from the CABAS program. The first study researchers evaluate the effects of varying performance criteria level frequency values on response maintenance of listener responses of four preschool students with disabilities. The second study measures the effects of teaching relational responding across frames on language development for three preschoolers with disabilities. The third study evaluates the acquisition and maintenance of sight words with lower elementary students with disabilities. The final study measures the effects of a collaborative independent reading protocol on vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and the reinforcement value for reading narrative and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) texts with third graders with and without disabilities. Studies were run in either pre-school classrooms with children with and without disabilities, lower elementary classrooms with children with disabilities, or inclusion, upper-elementary classrooms.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): conditioned reinforcement, derived relations, mastery criterion, sight words
Target Audience:

Participants should have a basic understanding of derived relational responding, mastery criterion, multiple exemplar instruction, and conditioned reinforcement.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Apply the knowledge of mastery criteria to consider individualizing the performance criteria str for student instructional programs; (2) Identify how to teach basic concepts to increase student derived arbitrary relational responding and acquisition of language; (3) Identify the most effective instructional method for increasing acquisition and maintenance of sight words; (4)Tact the relationship between reinforcement value for narrative and STEM texts and apply it to educational practice.
 
The Effects of Varying Performance Criteria Level Frequency Values on Response Maintenance of Listener Responses of Preschoolers
MANINDER VIRK (Teachers College Columbia University), Daniel Mark Fienup (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract: Students with disabilities commonly receive instruction using Discrete Trial Training in which they respond to a predetermined level of performance criteria. There are three different levels within performance criteria: criterion level, criterion level with frequency value and supplementary variables. In this study, the researchers use an alternating treatment design embedded in a non-concurrent multiple probe design to evaluate the effects of varying performance criteria level frequency values on response maintenance of listener responses of four preschool students with disabilities. The researchers taught three conditions using learn units to a criterion level with varying frequency of 100% accuracy across one, two and three sessions and included a control condition and conducted response maintenance probes 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 7 weeks following mastery.
 

Effects of Teaching Relational Responding Across Different Levels, Frames on the Language Development for Three Preschoolers With Disabilities

WENHUI ZHANG (Teacher College, Columbia University), Daniel Mark Fienup (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract:

The current article studied the effects of teaching relational responding across different levels, frames on language development for three preschoolers with developmental disabilities using a multiple probes design. Experimenters selected three preschoolers with developmental disabilities with incidental acquisition of the listener component of naming (UniN) at the onset of the study. The independent variable was the relational responding teaching procedure, which included two stages: Stage 1 taught the nonarbitrary relational responding across five frames and Stage 2 provided direct instruction on relative arbitrary relational responding and tested the untaught arbitrary relational responding following the mastering of the trained relational responding across same frames. The dependent variables were: 1) the degree of the incidental acquisition of listener and speaker component of naming (Inc-BiN), 2) the number of the correct responses on taught and novel nonarbitrary relations during the pre-or post-Stage 1-intervention probes and the number of the correct responses on taught and derived arbitrary relations during pre-or post-Stage 2-intervention probes, and 3) the number of correct mutual entailment (ME) and combinatorial entailment (CE) relational responses during the testing phases at the Stage 2. All three participants acquired the contextual cues as discriminative stimuli through the Stage 1 teaching, demonstrated higher level of responding on arbitrary relations after the Stage 2 teaching, and demonstrated criterion level on the derived arbitrary coordinative and comparative relations. However, there was no improvement on the degree of BiN for the three participants.

 
An Evaluation of the Acquisition and Maintenance of Sight Words
TANYA BAJWA (Teachers College, Columbia), Daniel Mark Fienup (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract: In 2 experiments, researchers investigated the acquisition and maintenance of sight words and related behavioral cusps and capabilities. In experiment 1, researchers evaluated the effects of 3 interventions on sight word acquisition and maintenance; single exemplar instruction (SEI) across textual responses, multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) across point-to, textual and intraverbal responses, and MEI across textual, point-to, and dictation responses (MEI+). Researchers measured sight word acquisition and maintenance through 5 response topographies; textual, intraverbal, point-to, sentence generalization, and dictation responses and measured maintenance 1 and 4 weeks post-set mastery per condition. The results demonstrated all participants acquired all responses and demonstrated the highest level of maintenance for sight words learned in the MEI+ condition. Participants did not maintain dictation responses for SEI and MEI conditions. This indicates that reading and writing behaviors are acquired separately but may join as a function of the transformation of stimulus function (TSF) across reading and writing, as in MEI+. In experiment 2, researchers will evaluate the effects of MEI+ on the TSF across reading and writing for sight words. The researchers will also evaluate the effects of the establishment of TSF across reading and writing on participants rate of learning in academic areas.
 

Narrative Versus Stem Texts

Mary-Genevieve White (Teachers College, Columbia University), R. Douglas Greer (Columbia University Teachers College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
Abstract:

Research has demonstrated the positive effects on reading achievement measures when print stimuli and content are conditioned as reinforcers (Bly, 2019; Gentillini; 2019; Cumisky-Moore, 2017; Tsai & Greer, 2006). Previous research has focused on conditioning narrative texts on the relation to increased comprehension, with no current research on the effects of conditioning science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) texts. The current study examined whether the effects of conditioning narrative texts as a reinforcer extends to STEM texts for both typically developing and delayed third graders. Researchers replicated successful conditioning procedures used with elementary-aged participants in previous studies where narrative texts were conditioned. Using a four-step, peer-collaborative procedure, peers were used as the conditioned reinforcer to condition narrative texts. Participants engaged in independent reading, word activities, and conditioned seeing tasks within the intervention. Results indicated that reinforcement value of conditioned narrative texts does not transfer to STEM texts. The second study is underway and measuring the inverse relation. Researchers are conditioning STEM texts and measuring whether the reinforcement value transfers to literature texts. Researchers are adding additional academic achievement and vocabulary acquisition measures.

 

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