Annual Conference and Workshop

Translational Research and Stimulus Equivalence: A Case Study in the Benefits of Integrated Basic, Applied, and Conceptual Behavior Analysis

Carol Pilgrim, Ph.D.

University of North Carolina Wilmington

There can be little doubt that Sidman’s original definition of stimulus equivalence (Sidman & Tailby, 1982), based on the mathematical properties of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity, provided a critical starting point for a behavior-analytic examination of complex human repertoires often described in cognitive terms. As important as this starting point has proved to be, recent findings in equivalence research indicate that the original definition may not capture well the full range of emergent behavior patterns that are possible. Restricting ourselves to only those mathematical properties may underestimate the power and the promise of equivalence approaches for understanding and establishing necessary functional skills. This talk will review the basic equivalence approach, and then provide examples of emergent patterns that go far beyond the properties of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity. In doing so, the talk will highlight the benefits of lessons learned in applying equivalence approaches for basic science, and the potential that lies in the application of new laboratory findings for furthering the impact of equivalence approaches.

Learning Objectives

Audience members will be able to:

• Describe the basic stimulus-equivalence paradigm;
• Describe examples of emergent performances that result from equivalence approaches in addition to reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity.
• Describe the potential applied implications of an expanded definition of equivalence

Dr. Carol Pilgrim received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1987 with a specialization in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. She is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she has been honored with a Distinguished Teaching Professorship (1994-1997), the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award (2003), the Faculty Scholarship Award (2000), and the Graduate Mentor Award (2008). She received the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award and the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award in 1992, the ABAI Student Committee Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006, and the ABAI Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis award in 2017. Her research contributions include both basic and applied behavior analysis, with an emphasis in human operant behavior, relational stimulus control, and the early detection of breast cancer. Dr. Pilgrim has served as editor of The Behavior Analyst, associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and The Behavior Analyst, co-editor of the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, and as a member of the editorial boards of those and several other journals. She is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and of Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. She has served as President of the Association for Behavior Analysis, the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, Division 25 of the American Psychological Association, and the Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis. Additionally, she has been Member-at-large of the Executive Council of ABA and Division 25, and member of the Boards of Directors of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

Soaring Beyond the Nest: Preparing Individuals with Autism for Life after High School

Dorothea C. Lerman, Ph.D., BCBA-D

University of Houston Clear Lake

An increasing number of individuals with autism are entering adulthood without adequate preparation for successful transitions to work or college. Behavior analysts have much to offer these individuals as they prepare for life after high school. This presentation will provide an overview of skills critical to success in maintaining employment and for successfully navigating post-secondary education environments. The presentation will focus on how to assess and teach effective social skills in work and college settings. Outcomes of research and practice for teaching job-related social skills and for providing support to college students with autism will be described.

Learning objectives: After attending this presentation, listeners should be able to:

Describe skills critical to success at work and college

• Identify gaps in the literature on preparing individuals with autism for employment and post-secondary education
• Describe a general methodology for assessing conversation and job-related social skills
• Describe the components of behavioral skills training
• Identify essential elements of support for college students with autism

Dorothea Lerman is currently a Professor of Psychology at the University of Houston – Clear Lake, where she directs a master’s program in behavior analysis and serves as Director of the UHCL Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. She received her doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of Florida in 1995, specializing in behavior analysis. Her areas of expertise include autism, developmental disabilities, early intervention, functional analysis, teacher and parent training, and treatment of severe behavior disorders (e.g., aggression, self-injury. Dr. Lerman has published more than 80 research articles and chapters, served as Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice and has secured more than $2 million in grants and contracts to support her work. She was the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Contribution to Applied Behavioral Research Award and the 2001 B.F. Skinner Award for New Researchers, awarded by Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. She also was named a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis-International in 2008. Dr. Lerman is a Licensed Psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Physical Activity in Children: Measure, Assessment, and Intervention

Carole Van Camp, Ph.D., BCBA-D

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Physical activity is linked to better health outcomes for all individuals; as such, the Center for Disease Control has recommended that children engage in 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. In this presentation I will describe research focusing on a) identifying objective, reliable, and practical measures of physical activity including (direct observation, pedometers, accelerometers, and heart rate monitors), b) determining individualized criteria MVPA, and c) evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity.

Learning objectives:

• Participants will identify objective behavioral measures of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children.
• Participants will describe individualized assessment designed to determine heart rate ranges indicative of MVPA in children.
• Participants will describe interventions designed to increase MVPA in children.

Dr. Van Camp received her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University under the direction of Dorothea Lerman, Ph.D. She completed her Internship with the University of Florida and The Department of Children and Families, Behavior Analysis Services Program, where she later became Director of Research. She is currently an associate professor at UNCW and Director of the Severe Behavior Program and Director of Clinical Research at the Center for Pediatric Behavioral Health. Dr. Van Camp has published research on the topics of functional assessment and function-based treatments, caregiver training in child welfare, and physical activity in typically developing children. She has served on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, where she has also served as a guest Associate Editor.

Supporting Teachers as Behavioral Engineers: Creating High-Quality Trainings
for School Contexts

Claire St. Peter, Ph.D., BCBA-D

West Virginia University

American teachers are increasingly asked to manage difficult behavior in the classroom, and consistently report feeling unprepared to do so. To have the greatest positive impact on child behavior, teachers must be able to implement high-quality, empirically based interventions. Behavior analysts can assist teachers by determining teachers’ skill sets and the fidelity with which teachers implement procedures. These fidelity data can serve as quality indicators as teachers receive additional training. Data from our research group suggests that teachers need frequent training and supports to become successful implementers. To sustain behavior-analytic practice in schools, our trainings must meet both our quality standards and be “do-able” for school districts. I will describe three ways that behavior analysts can adapt well-established behavioral skills training to increase our impact in educational contexts.

Learning objectives

Participants will:

• Describe why measuring implementation fidelity is important
• Name at least two ways to measure implementation fidelity
• Assess generalization of skills across various forms of behavioral intervention
• Describe three ways to adapt behavioral skills training for educational contexts

Dr. Claire St. Peter received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2006. She is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology and the Coordinator of the Behavior Analysis program area at West Virginia University. Dr. St. Peter’s research focuses on the development of assessments and interventions for challenging behavior, including the challenging behavior displayed in school contexts. She is interested in evaluating naturalistic conditions of intervention implementation, including effects of degraded integrity on intervention efficacy and conditions that result in a relapse of previously treated behavior. She has also conducted research on the dissemination of behavioral approaches. She is a former Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. She currently serves the editorial boards of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and Perspectives on Behavioral Science, and is a Senior Editor for Education and Treatment of Children.

The Teaching Machine in the Digital Age: The Convergence of Education, Technology, and Behavior Analysis

Janet Twyman, Ph.D.

University of Massachusetts Medical School/Center on Innovations in Learning

Behavior analysis has had a role in effective, efficient education “technology” since Skinner’s development of the teaching machine in the 1950’s. Major contributions in behavioral education—such as Skinner’s technology of teaching, Keller’s personalized systems of instruction, Markle’s instructional design and concept formation, Lindsley’s precision teaching, Heward’s active student responding, Johnson & Layng’s generative instruction—have provided a foundation for meaningful, system-wide change in teaching and learning. Recent substantial changes in education policy and practice, such as personalized learning and competency-based education, share critical features with behavior analysis. The explosion of digital technologies, an increased understanding of their capabilities, and a newfound emphasis on measurement and analytics enhance our ability to improve student learning and enhance teacher expertise. Behavior analysts can leverage advances in learning science and digital tools to make teaching and learning more efficient, more effective, more enjoyable, and applicable to a larger set of learning areas. We will examine various instructional technology tools while discussing the congruence between behavior analysis and enhanced opportunities in education for greater learning and better outcomes for all.

Learning objectives

Participants will:

• Given a description of the current context, participants will describe a current educational trend (e.g., personalized learning, competency-based education, embedded assessment, intelligent instruction & adaptation) and how it relates to behavior analysis.
• Given a demonstration of various instructional technology tools, participants will identify at least 3 technology tools containing behavioral features that they can use in their current teaching or learning environments.
• Given a discussion of the changing digital world, participants will identify current and future opportunities for behavior analysts outside of traditional settings.

Throughout her career a preschool and elementary teacher, school principal and administrator, university professor, instructional designer, and educational consultant, Dr. Twyman has been a proponent of learning technologies that produce individual and system change. A sought-after speaker nationally and internationally, Dr. Twyman has presented on leveraging new technologies for diverse learners and settings at the United Nations. She has served on the boards of numerous organizations including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (chairing the Education Group) and PEER International (assisting township schools in Port Elizabeth, South Africa). In 2007-08 she served as President of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and in 2014 was named an ABAI Fellow. Formerly the Vice President of Instructional Development, Research, & Implementation at Headsprout, currently Dr. Twyman serves as the Director of Innovation & Technology for the U.S. Dept. of Education funded Center on Innovations in Learning and is the founder and Chief Learning Scientist at blast: A Learning Sciences Company. She holds faculty appointments as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a Full Professor of Behavior Analysis at the Florida Institute of Technology. She has published and presented widely on instructional design, evidence-based innovations in education, and systems that produce meaningful differences in learners’ lives. For her distinguished contributions to educational research and practice, she has received the 2015 Wing Award for Evidence-based Education and the 2017 American Psychological Association Division 25 Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education Award.