EDUC181 PART 1

IEPs are developed by an IEP team:

• parents

• general education teacher

• special education teacher

• administrator/agency representative

• person who interprets evaluations

• student when appropriate

IEPs include:

• present levels of performance

• annual goals

• services/supports

• progress monitoring

• accommodations/modifications

Goals should be SMART:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Relevant

• Time-sensitive

Applied Behavior Analysis (what is it, what are its key principles)

Application of behaviorism to improving individuals’ lives

• Applied

• Behaviorial

• Analytic

• Technological

• Conceptually Systematic

• Effective

• Generality

ABA: Applied

Focuses on socially significant behaviors that improve people’s lives

ABA: Behavorial

Focuses on observable and measurab;e behavior

ABA: Analytic

Uses data/experimentation to show intervention caused behavior change

ABA: Technological

Procedures are clearly described so others can replicate them

ABA: Conceptually Systematic

Interventions are based on principles of behavior

ABA: Effective

Produces meanginful behavior change

ABA: Generality

Behavior change lasts over time and across settings/situations

Behavior

Organism’s interaction with the environment

1. Done by a living organism

2. Interaction between organism and envirnment

   1. Does something or react to environment

3. Displacement

   1. If dead person can do it, not behavior

Response

Action or Behavior

Response class

Group of responses that produce the same effect on the environment

Function

The result of the responses

Environment

everything except the moving parts of the organism

Stimuli

change in the environment sensed by the organism

Antecedent

What happens before the behavior

Consequence

What happens after the behavior

Respondent behavior

behavior that comes automatically by the environment

Reflex

Automatic response

Habituation

Lessening/eliminating responses: reflexes can go away over time.

Respondent conditioning (what is it, how does it happen)

A type of learning where a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that automatically elicits a response.

• Unconditioned stimulus (paired with a)

• Neutral stimulus (can become a)

• Conditioned stimulus (which elicits a)

• Conditioned response

• Outcome is a conditioned reflex

Unconditioned Stimulus

A stimulus that naturally elicits a response without learning.

Neutral stimulus

A stimulus that initially does not produce the response.

Conditioned Stimulus

Automatic, unlearned response to the unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Reponse

Automatic, unlearned response to the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response

Learned response to the conditioned stimulus.

Respondent Extinction

Occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, causing the conditioned response to weaken and eventually return to no response.

• Process:

  • Conditioned stimulus repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus

  • Conditioned response weakens

  • Eventually returns to no response

Operant conditioning

Learning in which the future frequency of behavior is determined by its history of consequences.

• Reinforcement increases behavior

• Punishment decreases behavior

Operant behavior

behavior’s future frequency is determined by its history of consequences

Reinforcement

If consequence increases future frequency of behavior: reinforcement occurred

Reinforcer

The consequence is the reinforcer

Punishment

If consequence decreases future frequency of behavior: punishment occurred

Punisher

Consequence is a punisher

Positive/Negative Punishment/Reinforcement

• If stimulus was presented in consequence:  “positive” reinforcement or punishment

• If stimulus was removed in consequence: “negative” reinforcement or punishment

Unconditioned reinforcers

Things that naturally feel good and increase behavior without learning. You don’t have to be taught to want them.

Unconditioned punishers

Things that naturally feel bad and decrease behavior without learning.

Conditioned reinforcers

Things that become rewarding because you learned to associate them with other rewards.

Conditioned punishers:

Things that become unpleasant because you learned to associate them with negative outcomes.

Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer

Reinforcer linked with many rewards, useful in many situations (e.g., money).

Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

A stimulus signaling that reinforcement is available.

Stimulus Delta (S-delta)

A stimulus signaling that reinforcement is not available.

Three-term contingency (ABC)

Antecedent, behavior, consequence

Process of selecting, labeling, and defining behavior

The process involves three main steps:

• Selecting the target behavior

• Labeling the behavior

• Operationally defining the behavior

How to select or prioritize a target behavior

• When selecting a target behavior:

  • List possible problem behaviors first

  • Prioritize behaviors based on social significance

  • Focus on behaviors that improve the person’s quality of life, not just convenience for others

    • Disruptive, destructive, distracted

How to label a target behavior

1. Be objective and neutral

2. Describe observable behavior

3. Avoid assumptions about emotions or motives

How to operationally define a target behavior

1. Observable → behavior can be seen or heard

2. Measurable → behavior can be counted or timed

3. Objective → based on observation, not assumptions

4. Clear → another person could identify it reliably

5. Complete → includes what counts and what does not count

Goals (what are they)

A goal is the desired long-term result for the student.

Objectives (what are they)

• Objectives are smaller steps used to reach the goal.

• Short-term

• More specific

• Often completed within a grading period

The SMART acronym

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable/Achievable

• Relevant

• Time Sensitive

The SMART acronym: Specific

Clear and observable

The SMART acronym: Measurable

Linked to data collection

The SMART acronym: Attainable/achievable

Realistic

The SMART acronym: Relevant

Socially Signficant

The SMART acronym: Time Sensitive

Completed within a set time frame

ABC forms

A: Antecedent

B: Behavior

C: Consequence

ABC Form: Antecedent

What happens before the behavior

ABC Form: Behavior

The specific observable action

ABC Form: Consequence

What happens after the behavior

The measurable components of behavior

1. Behavior must be measurable through:

   • Frequency/count

   • Duration

   • Percentage

   • Accuracy

   • Observation/data collection methods

2. Goals should include:

   • Present level of performance

   • Expected level of performance

   • Method of measurement

   • Resources/interventions use

Frequency

The number of times a behavior occurs during an observation period.

Rate

The number of behavior events per unit of time.

Percentage of opportunities

Measures how often a behavior occurs when there was a chance/opportunity for it to occur

Duration

Length of behavior

Latency

How long it takes for a behavior to start after a prompt.

Partial-interval Recording

Counts if behavior happened at least once during an interval.

Whole-interval Recording

Counts only if behavior happened for the entire duration of the interval.

Momentary Time Sampling

Counts if behavior occurs at the exact moment the interval ends.

Continuous observation methods

Record every occurrence of behavior.

Includes:

• Frequency

• Rate

• Percentage of opportunities

• Duration

• Latency

Non-continuous observation methods

Estimate behavior using intervals instead of recording every response.

Includes:

• Partial-interval recording

• Whole-interval recording

• Momentary time sampling

Systematic direct observation

Directly observing behavior using structured measurement rules.

Interrater reliability/nterobserver Agreement (IOA)

Measurement of how much two observers agree when recording the same behavior.

Percent agreement index

Measures observer agreement by percent

Kappa

Removes agreement that can be happening by chance

Functions of behavior

The purpose or reason a behavior occurs — what the person gets or avoids from the behavior.

Four Common Functions of Behavior

Attention, Escape/Avoidance, Access to Tangibles, and Automatic/Sensory.

Behavior can communicate:

• Need for help

• Need for attention

• Desire to escape difficult tasks

• Boredom/discomfort

• Desire for social interaction

Behavior is maintained by consequences that reinforce it

Desired behavior

The behavior the team wants to increase or see more often.

Alternative Behavior

A safer, respectful behavior that replaces problem behavior and serves the same function.

Maintaining consequence

The consequence that keeps the behavior happening because it reinforces it.

Natural consequence

A consequence that naturally occurs from behavior, not something artificially arranged.

The role of prevent/replace/respond in a behavior plan

1. Prevent: Change antecedents or environment before behavior occurs.

2. Replace: Teach an alternative behavior that serves the same function.

3. Respond:  How adults react after the behavior.

Premack Principle

Using a preferred activity to reinforce a less preferred activity (First/Then).

Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule

Reinforcement after a set number of responses (e.g., every 5 assignments).