The trial-based functional analysis (FA) is a useful alternative to the traditional FA in contexts in which it is challenging to establish environmental control for extended periods of time. Previous researchers have demonstrated that others can be trained to conduct trial-based FAs with high procedural fidelity by providing a didactic…

Fluency-based strategies such as Say All Fast a Minute Each Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) effectively promote fluent responding (i.e., high rate and accuracy). It is possible, however, that the stimulus control developed through these activities inhibits stimulus generalization. We investigated this concern in a two-part study with college students.…

Plotting data from a second observer have been suggested as an alternative to presenting only mean agreement and ranges across sessions. One argument against this method of reporting is that plotting these data would not change analysis decisions by persons analyzing graphs. To empirically test this argument, we asked graduate students to analyze…

Although instructors may teach effective instructional behaviors in pre-service training programs, pre-service teachers frequently do not generalize those behaviors to classroom practicum settings. Feedback within the practicum setting is necessary to promote generalization, but is often limited by university supervisors' availability. Using a…

Students in six sections of a large undergraduate class were asked to record their class comments on notecards in all course units. Additionally, in some units, they received points toward their course grade based on their reported comments in class discussion. The study was conducted over a two-semester period, with slight variation in both the…

The study compared the effects of daily assessment and response cards on average weekly quiz scores in an introduction to applied behavior analysis course. An alternating treatments design (Kazdin 1982, "Single-case research designs." New York: Oxford University Press; Cooper et al. 2007, "Applied behavior analysis." Upper Saddle River:…

A clear need to teach preservice teachers to generalize newly acquired teaching skills across time and settings has been well established in the literature. Few empirical studies exist that inform teacher educators on ways to promote generalization of teaching skills with beginning teachers, however. Programming for generalization continues to be…

We compared two formats for optional study sessions offered to students in a research methods course. Study sessions alternated between a game format (e.g., Behavioral Jeopardy) and a student-directed question and answer format, presented in counterbalanced order across different sections of the same course. The results of the alternating…

Increasing student participation in college classrooms is an overlooked yet socially valid endeavor. The present study attempted to increase student participation, accuracy of responding, and weekly quiz scores, by incorporating student response-cards. Measures of social validity were also addressed. One hundred twenty university students in two…

Students (N=153) in three equivalent sections of an undergraduate human development course compared pairs of related concepts via either written or oral discussion at the beginning of most class sessions. A writing-for-random-credit section achieved significantly higher ratings on the writing activities than did a writing-for-no-credit section.…

College students operating under related cooperative contingencies (students had to earn individual credit before being considered for group credit) showed more consistent individual and group improvement on exam performance than students operating under unrelated contingencies (individual credit and group credit were independently determined). A…

On 4 of 7 days in each unit of an undergraduate human development course, students responded in writing to specific questions related to instructor notes previously made available to them. The study compared the effects of three writing contingencies on the quality of student writing and performance on major multiple-choice exams in the course. …

Over a three-semester period in a large undergraduate human development course, students were assigned to 5-7 member groups to work together in preparing for an exam in one of the five content units in the course. Their exam performance was tracked over three units: a baseline unit in which students worked only individually, a unit in which they…

Although the effectiveness of corporal punishment (CP) has received little empirical support, public support for this disciplinary method continues despite calls for its abandonment by researchers. Even among educators, favorable attitudes toward the use of CP are prevalent. We measured education majors' beliefs about CP before and after they read…

Students in four sections of an undergraduate educational course (two large and two small sections) took out-of-class practice exams prior to actual exams for each of five course units. Each course unit consisted of five class sessions focusing on a specific developmental theme. Some sections received practice-exam credit based on the number of…