Sentence comprehension and production in children with cochlear implants: Errorless procedures and equivalence-based instruction

Research supports equivalence-based instruction (EBI) and matrix training for increased listening and speaking skills in children with cochlear implants (CI). We incorporated errorless procedures to optimize the EBI and evaluated the effects on the auditory comprehension and verbal responding at-sentences level in six CI children who were readers and showed inaccurate tacting. Subject-verb-object sentences were arranged in two matrices; diagonal combinations were trained and evaluated non-diagonal combinations. EBI included stimulus fading and exclusion to directly teach the dictated sentence-picture matching; written-sentences construction upon dictation also was taught. Probes assessed the derived stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response relations. All participants learned the auditory-visual discriminations and the exclusion resulted in fewer errors than on a stimulus fading procedure. Five participants formed equivalence classes and increased verbal responding to equivalent stimuli, especially pictures tacting. They also showed recombinative generalization for both matrices. Professionals can incorporate errorless procedures to EBI for improving sentence comprehension, tacting, and productivity in CI children.     

Translational evaluation of training structures in equivalence-based instruction

We used a laboratory preparation to evaluate the claim that equivalence-based instruction (EBI) is an efficient form of instruction due to eliminating the need for emergent relations to be taught. Three groups of college students received training to establish 3 stimulus classes with 4 members in each class. Two groups received either a linear series (EBI-LS) or a 1-to-many training structure (EBI-OTM group). A control group received complete instruction (CI) that targeted all possible relations between the members of each class. The EBI-OTM group required fewer trials to complete instruction compared to CI, whereas EBI-LS did not. The EBI-OTM and the CI groups performed equally well on a posttest that followed initial attainment of the mastery criterion, whereas the EBI-LS group performed more poorly than the other 2. The groups' performance on a function transfer test did not differ. The results support the claim that compared to CI, EBI is an efficient form of instruction when it follows an OTM structure. However, they also suggest this efficiency advantage cannot be attributed to the fewer relations that need to be taught in EBI, as the EBI-OTM and the EBI-LS groups were trained on the same number of relations.     

Using equivalence-based instruction to teach piano skills to children

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of equivalence-based instruction (EBI) on learning to play individual notes and simple songs on the piano. Participants were 4 typically developing children and 4 children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They were exposed to a series of auditory–visual matching-to-sample procedures using musical stimuli. Following training, participants were tested on the emergence of novel untrained relations and generalization in the form of playing two songs on a keyboard. Results suggest that the EBI was effective in teaching piano playing skills with both typically developing children and children with ASD. The success of this procedure is indicative of the wide-ranging applications of EBI to novel and creative domains.     

Training in Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs): What are school psychology programs teaching?

This study examined the degree to which school psychology programs provided training in Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs). Survey data were collected from 97 school psychology training directors to assess their familiarity, level of student exposure, and perceived importance of EBIs. This study also examined the contextual factors that interfere with EBI training, and whether students are taught to apply the criteria developed by Divisions 12, 16, and 53 of the APA when evaluating outcome research. Results indicated that relatively low percentages of respondents were familiar with the EBIs included on the survey, exposure to EBIs occurred more frequently in coursework than practical experiences, and EBIs were rated as either somewhat important or important. Lack of time was rated as the most serious challenge to EBI training and a high percentage of directors reported students were taught to apply the criteria developed by professional organizations in psychology and education when evaluating outcome research.     

A parametric analysis of errors of commission during discrete-trial training

We investigated the effects of systematic changes in levels of treatment integrity by altering errors of commission during error-correction procedures as part of discrete-trial training. We taught 3 students with autism receptive nonsense shapes under 3 treatment integrity conditions (0%, 50%, or 100% errors of commission). Participants exhibited higher levels of performance during perfect implementation (0% errors). For 2 of the 3 participants, performance was low and showed no differentiation in the remaining conditions. Findings suggest that 50% commission errors may be as detrimental as 100% commission errors on teaching outcomes.     

Instructive feedback embedded within group instruction for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

The present study evaluated the effects of instructive feedback embedded within a group discrete trial teaching to teach tact relations to nine children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder using a nonconcurrent multiple‐baseline design. Dependent variables included correct responses for: primary targets (directly taught), secondary targets (taught via instructive feedback), primary observational targets (directly taught to other members of the group), and secondary observational targets (taught via instructive feedback provided to other members of the group). Results showed that all nine participants reached the mastery criterion for the primary targets, as well as acquired the secondary and observational targets without direct teaching. Clinical implications and areas for future research are provided.     

Teaching self-control to reduce overt food stealing by children with autism and developmental disorders

Food stealing is often a serious behavioral problem among children with diagnoses of autism and other developmental disorders. Very few empirical studies concerning this behavioral challenge have been reported. We applied a correspondence training procedure to teach self-control as replacement behavior to four children with autism and developmental disorders who displayed food stealing in the community. A changing criterion design embedded within a nonconcurrent multiple-probe across participants design was used. The treatment succeeded for all four participants by increasing latency to eating highly preferred food to a predetermined criterion and reducing occurrences of food stealing to zero. Three participants generalized the replacement behavior to natural settings and maintained the behavior for 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, and 4 months. One participant without expressive language was taught successfully during treatment trials but failed to maintain and generalize the behavior. A functional relation between delaying food eating and Say-Do correspondence training was demonstrated.     

Teaching young children to make accurate portion size estimations using a stimulus equivalence paradigm

The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents has increased over the past four decades. Obesity can be conceptualized as a problem related to energy balance, where more energy is consumed than is expended through physical activity. One way that children may have a positive energy balance is through the overconsumption of foods (i.e., eating large portion sizes). Therefore, interventions that teach children to make accurate portion size estimations may be important to maintain overall health. In the current study, seven children between the ages of 4 and 7 years were taught to make accurate portion size estimations using a stimulus equivalence paradigm. Results suggested that the stimulus equivalence paradigm was effective in teaching five of seven participants to make more accurate portion size estimations during posttraining. Furthermore, five of seven participants estimated the target portion size of a novel food during extension sessions. These findings extend the current literature related to teaching children to make accurate portion size estimations. Although this was a translational study, results might help to inform existing nutrition education programs aimed at teaching children healthier eating habits.     

A component analysis of behavioral skills training with volunteers teaching motor skills to individuals with developmental disabilities

This study included a component analysis of behavioral skills training (BST) for teaching volunteers how to use this training method to support individuals with developmental disabilities in a physical education program. In an alternating treatment design embedded within a multiple baseline design across five participants, the number of BST steps that volunteers completed correctly while teaching four motor skills was measured. In the initial training phase, each motor skill was taught to volunteers using a specific component of BST (i.e., instructions, modeling, rehearsal, or feedback). In subsequent training phases, BST components were combined to teach the volunteers the motor skills for which they did not reach a predetermined mastery criterion (a score of four correct responses across two consecutive trials). Maintenance was assessed. Results indicated that individual components of BST alone were sufficient for volunteers to meet the mastery criterion; however, the full BST framework was necessary for skill maintenance. Strengths, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Matrix training of preliteracy skills with preschoolers with autism

Matrix training is a generative approach to instruction in which words are arranged in a matrix so that some multiword phrases are taught and others emerge without direct teaching. We taught 4 preschoolers with autism to follow instructions to perform action-picture combinations (e.g., circle the pepper, underline the deer). Each matrix contained 6 actions on 1 axis and 6 pictures on the other axis. We used most-to-least prompting to train the instructions along the diagonal of each matrix and probed the untrained combinations. For 2 participants, untrained responding emerged after the minimum amount of training. The other 2 participants required further training before untrained combinations emerged. At the end of the study, 3 of the 4 participants performed the trained actions with previously known pictures, letters, and numbers. This study demonstrated that matrix training is an efficient approach to teaching language and literacy skills to children with autism.     

The effects of a training package to teach note taking on the formation of equivalence classes

Effective note taking may enhance learning outcomes for students and serve as a directly observable form of mediation within a test context. Frampton et al. (2023) used stimulus fading to teach note taking in the form of a graphic organizer (GO) during matching-to-sample baseline relations training (MTS-BRT). Moderately high yields were observed with young adults despite the use of linear series training, abstract stimuli, and five-member classes. The present study taught the same note taking strategy using an intervention package including video illustration, voice-over instructions, and feedback to eight college students. Participants were taught to construct the GO during MTS-BRT with three three-member classes of familiar stimuli. Then the effects of MTS-BRT alone with three five-member classes of abstract stimuli was evaluated. Participants efficiently completed training with familiar stimuli and passed the posttest on the first attempt. With the abstract stimuli, participants engaged in GO construction during MTS-BRT and the six participants that demonstrated high levels of fidelity to the trained note taking strategy passed the posttest on the first attempt. These results replicate findings from Frampton et al. while using a more efficient intervention package. Benefits of teaching overt mediation responses are discussed as well as future directions for translation to applied contexts.     

Using equivalence‐based instruction to teach college students to identify logical fallacies

Although there is no consensus as to the specific skills that constitute critical thinking, there is general agreement that identifying logical fallacies is an important component skill. Clearly defined logical fallacies are suited to teaching arrangements that focus on establishing conditional discriminations, as is the case with equivalence‐based instruction (EBI) methods. EBI methods have been successfully delivered using web‐based course management software and have rapidly produced socially significant learning outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a web‐based EBI program for teaching students to recognize and identify logical fallacies by comparing the outcomes of EBI to a self‐instruction and a no‐instruction control group. EBI was more effective and more efficient when compared to both self‐instruction and no‐instruction controls. Additionally, untrained relations were evident only after EBI.     

Teaching social play skills to adults and children with autism as an approach to building rapport

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and no intellectual disabilities were taught to increase the social play skills of children with ASD as part of a vocational training program. Participants included 3 adults, aged 21 to 27 years, and 6 children with ASD. Probes conducted throughout the study evaluated whether play skills training affected a measure of rapport between the adult and child. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training for teaching the adult participants the appropriate play skills. In addition, the children's social engagement increased. Finally, rapport probes showed that play skills training increased levels of proximity, our measure of rapport, between the adults and children.     

Reactively,Proactively, Implicitly,Explicitly? Academics’ Pedagogical Conceptions of how to Promote Research Ethics and Integrity

This article focuses on academics’ conceptions of teaching research ethics and integrity. Seventeen academics from a Finnish research intensive university participated in this qualitative study. The data were collected using a qualitative multi-method approach, including think-aloud and interview data. The material was scrutinized using thematic analysis, with both deductive and inductive approaches. The results revealed variation in academics’ views on the responsibility for teaching research integrity, the methods employed to teach it and the necessity of intervening when misconduct occurs. The academics emphasized the responsibility of the individual teacher and the student to foster integrity as well as the shared responsibility of all members of the academic community. However, many academics felt that they themselves needed pedagogical training. Most shared the view that practices of responsible conduct in research can be explicitly and intentionally taught through demonstration, explanation, and practice. However, the academics also noted that learning research integrity and ethics takes place implicitly. A few questioned the need for and the utility of training in the form of courses or through an explicitly addressed topic included in, for instance, methods courses. Their views on the question of how to deal with alleged cases of misconduct varied. While many academics considered a proactive approach the best way to prevent misconduct, some trusted more in a reactive approach. The results show that, while in general academics agree on the importance of research ethics, their conceptions of teaching it vary. The teaching conception bears consequences for the teaching methods chosen, assignment of responsibility for both teaching and students learning, and for the way in which teachers believe that misconduct should be responded to.     

Assessing long‐term maintenance of staff performance following behavior skills training in a home‐based setting

We used a multiple baseline across participant design to evaluate the effects of behavior skills training on teaching three behavior therapists to implement discrete trial teaching (DTT) and evaluate the long‐term maintenance of skills acquired through behavioral skills training. For participants whose skills did not maintain, the authors evaluated an independent self‐evaluation procedure on their performance. Following DTT implementation training, maintenance probes were assessed at 2‐, 4‐, 6‐, and 8‐week follow‐ups. The results demonstrated that one participant maintained 100% procedural integrity (PI) through all follow‐ups, one participant decreased below mastery criterion at the 2‐week follow‐up, and one participant dropped below mastery criterion at the 4‐week follow‐up. Those participants that demonstrated decreased accuracy of implementation of DTT programs and were taught to implement a self‐evaluation procedure. Following self‐evaluation, PI maintained for up to 7 weeks for one participant. Our results suggest that if PI does not maintain, self‐evaluation may be a supplementary intervention to increase and maintain PI of new employees.     

Using conditional discrimination training to produce emergent relations between coins and their values in children with autism

The current study evaluated the effects of conditional discrimination (listener) training with coins on the emergence of novel stimulus relations, textual behavior, tacts, and intraverbals. Two preschoolers with autism were taught 3 relations among coins, their names, and values. After initial training, 4 relations emerged for the first participant and 7 for the second participant, suggesting that this technology can be incorporated into educational curricula for teaching prerequisite money skills to children with autism.     

Mands for information generalize across establishing operations

The current study extends the literature on teaching mands for information by assessing whether mands generalize across different establishing operations (EOs). Three children with autism were taught to perform multiple behavior chains, 3 of which included a common response (e.g., “Where is the spoon?”) used for different purposes. An interrupted-behavior-chain procedure was used to contrive the EO for each mand. After teaching a mand for information under 1 EO, the remaining chains were interrupted to determine whether the mand had generalized to different EOs. For all participants, mands for information generalized across EOs. For 2 participants, a new mand-for-information topography emerged after training.     

Effect of video self‐monitoring on procedural integrity

A video self‐monitoring treatment package was used to evaluate the procedural integrity of staff implementing behavioral guidelines for one child with autism. Staff members with low procedural integrity scores were asked to participate. The treatment package incorporated an implementation video which reviewed the relevant behavioral guidelines and a procedural integrity monitoring system. Each participant was taught to score a pre‐training video, which highlighted components of implementing behavioral guidelines, with a procedural integrity tool denoting correct implementation of the procedures. The participant then scored their own baseline video using a similar tool constructed to highlight the target student's behavior plan. Participant scores were compared to experimenter scores and verbal feedback was given by the experimenter if the scores varied. Results showed increased procedural integrity implementing the behavior guidelines from baseline to 100% implementation for two out of three participants. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An evaluation of intraverbal training to generate socially appropriate responses to novel questions

Four preschool children (with and without disabilities), who often responded inappropriately to questions, participated in the current study. Pretest results were used to create sets of questions that the children either did or did not answer correctly (i.e., known and unknown questions). We then sequentially taught two different responses to a subset of unknown questions: (a) "I don't know" (IDK), and (b) "I don't know, please tell me" (IDKPTM). Results showed that following acquisition with the target set, both responses generalized across questions and teachers for all participants. Following IDK training, some undesirable generalization of IDK to known questions occurred for 3 participants. Training of IDKPTM with the addition of a restricted reinforcement contingency was sufficient to establish correct answers to a portion of previously unknown questions. The importance of teaching generalized responses that enable the acquisition of novel intraverbals is discussed.