Executive Summary

How Does Applied Behavior Analysis Support Evidence-Based Education

Distinct from many other educational approaches, Applied Behavior Analysis is a natural science approach to understanding student academic and social behavior.

Applied Behavior Analysis is interested in identifying those variables that educators can control that have an impact on student performance. It is particularly well suited to address the concerns of educators because:

• it starts from the assumption that by arranging for effective consequences to follow important educational behaviors -either academic or social -- educators can influence the frequency of these behaviors.
  
  
• it emphasizes clear specification of both the goals for intervention and a precise description of the intervention procedures so that others may replicate effective interventions.
  
  
• it emphasizes the use of frequent measurement of student performance to evaluate the effects of the intervention, often focusing on the individual student as the unit of analysis.
  
  
• its focus on frequent samplings of individual student performance makes it possible to quickly evaluate the effects of an intervention and make adjustments if student progress is insufficient (data-based decision making).
  
  
• it assumes that the learning outcomes are the responsibility of the educational system rather than the student. The reliance on assessing individual student performance rather group aggregate methods allows for more precise feedback for educators about the effects of their instruction on any particular student, which is the ultimate concern for educators.
  
  
• procedures for addressing student behavior emphasize positive, proactive methods for improving student behavior.
  
  
• Applied Behavior Analysis has made significant contributions to education in both clear, systematic instructional methods and methods for improving student behavior across levels ranging from individual students, classrooms settings, and school-wide systems.
  
  
• Instructional methods such as Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching, and discrete trial teaching procedures are contributions from Applied Behavior Analysis.
  
  
• Applied Behavior Analysis Contributions have been made to the understanding of how students learn adaptive, pro-social behavior; once those behaviors have been learned, how the gains can be sustained across time; and finally, how to promote generalization of those new behaviors to settings other than school.

Distinct from many other educational approaches, Applied Behavior Analysis is a natural science approach to understanding student academic and social behavior. Applied Behavior Analysis is interested in identifying those variables that educators can control that have an impact on student performance. Variables that cannot be controlled are of little value to educators who are charged with influencing student learning. As a discipline, Applied Behavior Analysis starts from the assumption that by arranging for effective consequences to follow important educational behaviors -- either academic or social -- educators can influence the frequency of these behaviors. Generally, these consequences are social consequences. Applied Behavior Analysis arranges for these consequences to occur more systematically and frequently than typically occurs in unplanned, unsystematic instructional settings. The ultimate goal is for these behaviors to be supported by the typical environments where the student is working without additional intervention by educators. The process to getting to this point is the fundamental process of education.

Consider the example of reading; initially students do not learn to read unless there is explicit instruction and support for reading. As a student progresses the reading increases a students independence and allows the student to explore in greater depth topics and activities that are personally interesting. To the extent that reading allows the student to interact more effectively with the physical and social environment, it is likely that the student will continue to read without explicit instruction by educational institutions.

Applied Behavior Analysis is particularly well suited to address the concerns of educators. It is a discipline that emphasizes clear specification of both the goals for intervention and a precise description of the intervention procedures so that others may replicate effective interventions. Perhaps the most significant feature of Applied Behavior Analysis is the use of frequent measurement of student performance to evaluate the effects of the intervention. Closely related to this dimension is the individual student as the unit of analysis. A consequence of frequent sampling of individual student performance is that it is possible to quickly evaluate the effects of an intervention and make adjustments if student progress is insufficient.

The reliance on data-based decision making is fundamental to Applied Behavior Analysis. Starting with instructional methods that have strong empirical support, student performance is frequently assessed. If a student is not making progress with a particular instructional method, regardless of the empirical support for the method or the strength of the theory behind the instructional method, an alternative method must be used. The assumption is that the learning outcomes are the responsibility of the educational system rather than the student. The reliance on assessing individual student performance rather group aggregate methods allows for more precise feedback for educators about the effects of their instruction on any particular student which is the ultimate concern for educators.

Applied Behavior Analysis has made significant contributions to education in both clear, systematic instructional methods and methods for improving student behavior across levels ranging from individual students, classrooms settings, and school-wide systems. The appeal of both the instructional approaches and the behavioral strategies is that they are well validated as effective procedures through rigorous evaluation of procedures across settings and a diverse range of students. Instructional methods such as Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching, and discrete trial teaching procedures are contributions from Applied Behavior Analysis.

Applied Behavior Analysis procedures for addressing student behavior are also noteworthy for emphasizing positive, proactive methods for improving student behavior. Contributions have been made to the understanding of how students learn adaptive, pro-social behavior; once those behaviors have been learned, how the gains can be sustained across time; and finally, how to promote generalization of those new behaviors to settings other than school. The practices are positive behavior supports greatly influenced by research in Applied Behavior Analysis. In addition to understanding the processes that account for the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of pro-social behavior, assessment methods have been developed that allow educators to understand the functions of behavior of concern and how the educational context can influence the occurrence of these behaviors. Once the motivation for the behaviors of concern is understood, positive, pro-active interventions are available to constructively address the concerns.

Key to the educational approach of Applied Behavior Analysis is the concept of starting instruction at the level of the students current level, which is determined by direct assessment of student academic performance. Once the current level has been determined, performance is routinely assessed so that the level of instruction can keep pace with the students progress. Instruction is arranged in a structured, hierarchal sequence so that the skills a student masters at one level are the pre-requisite skills for the next level of instruction.

Related to this is the notion that student's progress at his/her own pace. A student moves to the next level of instruction once a level is mastered, rather than the instructional level being determined by age, grade level, or pace of the entire class. The emphasis is on mastery rather than externally imposed pacing to meet arbitrary accountability standards. Moving students through instructional sequences before a student has mastered a particular level will ultimately result in student failure because the skills necessary for higher levels have not been well established and consequently the student will not be able to function at the higher level. Similarly, failing to move a student who has mastered a particular level of instruction can also result in problems for the student. In this instance the student is likely to lose interest in the instruction and begin acting out as a consequence.

Source: International Association for Behavior Analysis: The Right to Effective Education

http://www.abainternational.org/sub/membersvcs/journals-
pubs/pssree/index.asp