Webinar Series
Counting Thoughts and Movements: Applying Precision Teaching to Inner Behavior and Motor Skills
Jared Van (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology)
Date: September 29, 2025
Time: 12:00 PM Eastern
Abstract: This session explores how Precision Teaching can be applied to both inner behavior (thoughts and feelings) and motor skills to improve learning and well-being. Participants will learn how to measure and change the frequency of private events such as anxious or confident thoughts, as well as how to build fluency in motor movements using frameworks like the Big 6 + 6 and oral motor fluency. The presentation also addresses common pitfalls in behavioral measurement, including reliance on percent correct and nonstandard graphs, and emphasizes the use of the Standard Celeration Chart (SCC) for making data-based decisions. Case studies, demonstrations, and recent research will illustrate how Precision Teaching supports both mental health and skill development in schools and allied health contexts.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Learning Objectives:
- Describe how Precision Teaching can be applied to both inner behavior (thoughts and feelings) and motor skills to support learner outcomes.
- Analyze common measurement errors in applied behavior analysis (e.g., reliance on percent correct, nonstandard line graphs) and explain how to avoid them using frequency and the Standard Celeration Chart.
- Apply frameworks such as the Big 6 + 6, oral motor fluency, and Pinpoint+ to design or adapt interventions in schools and allied health contexts.
Target Audience: Behavior analysts, special educators, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, and allied health professionals interested in frequency-based measurement and Precision Teaching applications.
Biography: Jared Van, PhD, BCBA, is a Research Faculty member at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a behavior scientist specializing in Precision Teaching and applied behavior analysis. He earned his doctorate in Special Education at The Pennsylvania State University under the supervision of Dr. Richard M. Kubina Jr. and his M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Before pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Van worked for over half a decade as a behavior interventionist in the California Bay Area and greater Los Angeles, serving a diverse population of learners with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Dr. Van’s research focuses on Precision Teaching, instructional design, and the measurement of private events (such as thoughts and feelings) to better support learners’ academic and social-emotional outcomes. His broader interests include educational equity, social justice, and education policy, particularly how behavior science can be applied to dismantle systemic barriers and expand access to effective, evidence-based instruction for all students.
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