Emergent completion of multistep instructions via joint control

Teaching procedures that facilitate the emergence of novel responses allow for increased efficiency, which is critical when providing early-intervention services to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three 5- and 6-year-old children diagnosed with ASD participated. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated functional control over the effects of teaching echoic rehearsals on the emergence of completing novel two-step instructions via joint control and obtained generalization and maintenance of the effects in an applied, nontraining context. In Experiment 2, we conducted an experimental analysis of joint control by disrupting rehearsal of the instruction and tacts of the objects in the instruction, which served as the sources of joint control. Our results support the efficacy of the procedures for establishing first-trial performance with novel instructions and indicate that joint control is responsible for the emergent performance produced by our teaching procedures.     

Instructive feedback: Review of parameters and effects

We present a review of the existing research on instructive feedback. Instructive feedback is a method of presenting extra, non-target stimuli in the consequent events of instructional trials (e.g., during praise statements). Students are not required to respond to those additional stimuli and are not reinforced if they do. The research is reviewed in terms of the characteristics of participants involved, the settings and instructional variables used, and the findings that emerged. The findings indicate that a wide range of students by age and disability were included and that most studies occurred in special education contexts. When used with response prompting procedures in a variety of direct instructional arrangements, students acquire and maintain some of the instructive feedback stimuli. Thus, teachers are encouraged to use instructive feedback in their direct instructional activities. Areas of future research include using instructive feedback in new contexts and examining methods for presenting instructive feedback. In addition, the use of instructive feedback to influence future learning and stimulus class formation should be investigated.     

Isolating the effects of active responding in computer-based instruction

This experiment evaluated the effects of requiring overt answer construction in computer-based programmed instruction using an alternating treatments design. Four college students worked through an instructional program that alternated between presenting frames with blanks requiring overt responses and complete frames without blanks. All students produced a higher percentage of correct posttest answers corresponding to program segments that required overt answer construction.     

Live training versus e‐learning to teach implementation of listener response programs

Discrete‐trial teaching is an effective teaching procedure that must be implemented with high integrity to produce optimal learning. Behavioral Skills Training (BST) has proven effective for staff training; however, BST is time and labor intensive. Computer‐based instruction (CBI) programs may provide a more efficient and cost‐effective alternative to live training if the CBI program is as effective as BST in producing accurate implementation. The current study compared CBI to BST to train novice undergraduate students to conduct discrete‐trial teaching. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions and assessed prior to and after the completion of training. Results indicated that although both BST and CBI were effective at training participants to implement discrete‐trial teaching, BST was slightly but significantly more effective whereas CBI quickly created a return on the investment of product development.     

Equivalence‐based instruction of academic skills: Application to adolescents with autism

This study evaluated the efficacy of three equivalence‐based instruction procedures on the acquisition of novel academic skills by 3 adolescents diagnosed with autism in a school setting. The skills targeted for instruction were related to topics in history, science, and mathematics, and were taught using different training structures from the PEAK‐E curriculum. All participants demonstrated mastery of the trained relations and the tested derived relations following all variants of equivalence‐based instruction.     

Equivalence‐based instruction to establish a textual activity schedule in an adult with Down syndrome

Transfer of control from picture to text‐based activity schedules has been shown to occur following conditional discrimination training in children with autism. This study extended this research by evaluating if conditional discrimination training could promote transfer of control in an adult with Down syndrome. The participant was taught to select photographs and pictures of kitchen tools when provided with dictated names. Then, he completed a text‐based activity schedule, matched printed words to photographs, and orally named printed words without direct training.     

Take-over requests in highly automated driving: A crowdsourcing survey on auditory,vibrotactile, and visual displays

An important research question in the domain of highly automated driving is how to aid drivers in transitions between manual and automated control. Until highly automated cars are available, knowledge on this topic has to be obtained via simulators and self-report questionnaires. Using crowdsourcing, we surveyed 1692 people on auditory, visual, and vibrotactile take-over requests (TORs) in highly automated driving. The survey presented recordings of auditory messages and illustrations of visual and vibrational messages in traffic scenarios of various urgency levels. Multimodal TORs were the most preferred option in high-urgency scenarios. Auditory TORs were the most preferred option in low-urgency scenarios and as a confirmation message that the system is ready to switch from manual to automated mode. For low-urgency scenarios, visual-only TORs were more preferred than vibration-only TORs. Beeps with shorter interpulse intervals were perceived as more urgent, with Stevens’ power law yielding an accurate fit to the data. Spoken messages were more accepted than abstract sounds, and the female voice was more preferred than the male voice. Preferences and perceived urgency ratings were similar in middle- and high-income countries. In summary, this international survey showed that people’s preferences for TOR types in highly automated driving depend on the urgency of the situation.     

Auditory joint attention skills: Development and diagnostic differences during infancy

To date, joint attention skill assessments have focused on children’s responses to multimodal bids (RJA) and their initiation of bids (IJA) to multimodal spectacles. Here we gain a systematic view of auditory joint attention skills using a novel assessment that measures both auditory and multimodal RJA and IJA. In Study 1, 47 typically developing (TD) children were tested 5 times from 12 to 30 months to document auditory joint attention skill development. In Study 2, 113 toddlers (39 TD, 33 autism spectrum disorder [ASD], and 41 non-ASD developmental disorders [DD]; average age 22.4 months) were tested to discern the effects of ASD. Our findings fit well within the established depiction of joint attention skills with one important caveat: auditory items were far more difficult to execute than multimodal ones. By 24 months, TD children passed multimodal RJA items at the near-ceiling level, an accomplishment not reached even by 30 months for auditory RJA items. Intentional communicative IJA bids also emerged more slowly to auditory spectacles than to multimodal spectacles. Toddlers with DD outperformed toddlers with ASD on multimodal RJA items but toddlers in both groups rarely passed any auditory RJA items. Toddlers with ASD often monitored their partner’s attention during IJA items, albeit less often than toddlers with DD and TD toddlers, but they essentially never produced higher-level IJA bids, regardless of modality. Future studies should investigate further how variations in bids and targets affect auditory joint attention skills and probe the relation between these skills and language development.     

Multimodal traffic safety concerns in a university population

Travelers have different concerns about traffic safety, which may affect their transportation choices and risk-taking behaviors as well as the overall safety performance of multimodal transportation systems. The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with stated concerns surrounding traffic safety among travelers using multiple transport modes. The analysis used data from an online questionnaire survey completed by over 2,000 students and employees at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, US. Four latent variables—concerns about pedestrians and cyclists, auto drivers, modal interactions, and roadway conditions—were confirmed using factor analysis from 16 questions about traffic safety concerns. These four types of safety concerns were then analyzed to understand their associations with mode choice, commuting behavior, and socio-demographics using a structural equation model. Results showed that safety concern varied systematically among different mode users and demographic groups. Auto drivers perceived interactions with pedestrians and cyclists as concerning, while non-auto users felt more concerned by automobile traffic. Commuters who were recently involved in a crash were especially concerned with non-motorized modes. Women, lower-income, and non-white road users were more concerned with traffic safety overall. Findings about multimodal traffic safety concerns provide insights into people’s perceptions, which can be useful in developing designs, plans, and policies for making a safer transportation system for all road users.     

Higher order training supporting competence,autonomy, relatedness (HOT-CAR): A model to improve learner drivers' higher order skills

Approaches to teaching young Learners to drive on-road often lack a strong, overarching theoretical framework. This paper proposes a transtheoretical model to guide instruction of higher-order skills – that are associated with reduced crash risk in young drivers – including established teaching techniques for effective instruction. Learnings from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the Goals for Driver Education framework (widely identified as best-practice but not effectively translated into practice) were integrated into the Higher Order Training supporting Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness (HOT-CAR) model. The model was empirically informed from naturalistic observation of professional in-vehicle lessons (n = 110) and a survey of young adolescent drivers (n = 1627). The HOT-CAR model is presented as a three-component framework that recognises learning to drive occurs within a broader system beyond the Learner and the instructor. The foundation of the model identifies the nature of the relationship between the Learner and the instructor that underlies the success of all other elements. The core of the model is the higher-order driving instruction approach including teaching strategies informed by SDT’s needs-supportive model. The context for the model incorporates some of the immediate considerations relevant to instruction; for example, the graduated driver licensing system, automated vehicle features, and peer influence. An example of the application of the model is provided to reflect the immediate practicality of the HOT-CAR model to driver training. This contributes to the limited road safety literature providing a practical solution to Learner driver training that has potential to reduce the crash risk of young novice drivers. Importantly, the model has potential to be applied and adapted to education and other training environments where higher-order skills are a safety–critical component.