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The ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program is committed to providing the highest quality coursework. Our faculty are continuously seeking to improve their teaching practices. Check out the innovative research that our faculty has conducted recently to support the learning and advancement of our ABA students.

Interteaching

Dr. Scott Spaulding: I am interested in ways to evaluate and improve my teaching methods, both online and in traditional face-to-face settings. My recent evaluation and research has explored the use of interteaching, a behavioral approach shown to lead to improved student outcomes in higher-education settings when compared to more traditional methods of teaching. Within a synchronous, online format, I worked with a doctoral student in Special Education, Michael Gutierrez, to compare the effects of interteaching and traditional lecture on test scores and student satisfaction across eight, weekly classes using an alternating treatments design. Results showed that interteaching produced higher quiz scores across all sessions. This difference maintained in a final exam, where more questions targeting interteach classes were answered correctly by students than those from lecture classes. Students also reported a preference for interteaching over lecture-based classes.

More recently, I have begun to evaluate the influence of different interteaching components and the methods used for instructional delivery on student engagement in class and performance on tests. I also am examining ways to modify and adapt how interteaching is delivered. This work has led to exciting discussion and collaboration with my colleagues in the UW ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ, and it’s also led to collaboration with colleagues at other universities at the annual Association for Behavior Analysis International conference.

Spaulding, S. A., Gutierrez, M. A., Rosenberg, N. (2017). Interteaching or lecture in synchronous online learning? Differences in student preference and performance. Manuscript in preparation.

Bug-in-ear coaching

Dr. Nancy Rosenberg: I am very interested in researching methods to improve our ability to coach and supervise practicum students, particularly those who are distant from the University.  In the last couple of years, I have collaborated with a colleague, Kathleen Meeker, to investigate the use of "Bug-in-Ear" coaching to help teach behavior analytic intervention strategies.Photo: Jillian Reddish

In our first study, we coached students in the ABA program on how to correctly implement Functional Communication Training using bug-in-ear technology.  Students working at their practicum site wore a Bluetooth earpiece and had a video camera focused on their work.  The coaches then watched the students from their office at the UW, and gave the students in the moment coaching on the practice.

In our second study, we distantly coached paraeducators on how to correctly implement incidental teaching to teach self-advocacy skills in a school environment.  In this study, the video camera was on a swivel platform and the paraeducators wore a marker, so that the video camera could follow them if they moved around the classroom.

In both studies, the coaching was highly successful at teaching the target practices and the students gained confidence in their use of the skills.  We are very excited about the promise of this technology and are working to incorporate it as a regular part of our UW practicum program.

The Bug in the Ear project was produced by the Office of the Provost. One of the goals of the report is to help broaden the conversation about trends and issues in higher education.

Artman-Meeker, K., Rosenberg, N., Badgett, N., Yang, X., & Penney, A. (2017). The Effects of Bug-in-Ear Coaching on Pre-Service Behavior Analysts’ Use of Functional Communication Training. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 10(3), 228–241.