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| Clinical Behavior Analysis for Educators and Behavioral Educational Technology for Clinicians |
| Sunday, May 28, 2006 |
| 10:30 AM–11:50 AM |
| Kennesaw |
| Area: CBM; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Jonathan Weinstein (University of Mississippi) |
| Discussant: Amy Murrell (University of North Texas) |
| Abstract: As “No Child Left Behind” has required schools to demonstrate the academic progress of students, one effect has been to increase the focus on under performing students. One current barrier to the successful remediation of academic difficulties seems to lie in a clear discrimination of skills deficits from motivational problems. While accurate assessment of each may be essential in the development of a comprehensive treatment plan, combined efforts to improve academic and social skills, as well as motivational deficits may provide for the most efficient use of school resources. Further, as one of the defining features of Clinical Behavior Analysis concerns an effort to influence behavior when control over direct contingencies belongs to a third party, the purpose of this symposium will be to describe and discuss efforts to meet the needs of children both within and outside the classroom. |
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| When Tutor meets Therapist: A Case Presentation of Academic Skills Training in Concert with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. |
| JONATHAN WEINSTEIN (University of Mississippi), Kelly G. Wilson (University of Mississippi) |
| Abstract: Some barriers to academic performance may not be different in kind from barriers to valued-living. A case will be presented where the application of Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy were utilized to leverage change across a variety of domains. |
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| Adding a Clinical Component to a Middle School Curriculum: Problem-Solving Planning System. |
| ADAM G. STRETZ (Morningside Academy), Marianne Delgado (Morningside Academy), Kent Johnson (Morningside Academy) |
| Abstract: One of the goals of Morningside Academy is to equip their students with a problem-solving model through behavioral analysis. This will be shown using data gathered through a PSP form and student generated tracking plans. Transactional Analysis is introduced to the students as a Psychology class and this instruction teaches the students the language and background they will need to take part in PSPS sessions. The sessions focus on student participation and planning in solving their own problems. These ‘problems’ are varied and can include: issues at home, issues at school, interpersonal issues, repeated areas of difficulty, etc. Students explore what is going well and what their concerns are. Eventually, a particular concern is isolated and a goal to change or improve that concern is stated. The advocate helps the student consolidate and summarize until a specific plan of action is in affect that both the student and the advocate believe will potentially accomplish the student’s stated goal. |
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| Psychological Flexibility: A Behavioral Framework for Studying and Teaching Critical Thinking. |
| ERIC J. FOX (Western Michigan University), Thorhallur O. Flosason (Western Michigan University), Bismarck J. Manes (Western Michigan University) |
| Abstract: Educators and psychologists have long stressed the need for teaching sound critical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving skills to our students and citizens, but there has been little agreement on exactly what these skills are, how they should be taught, or how they should be measured. Much of the literature in this area has been dominated by cognitive approaches, and behavior analysts have offered few technical analyses or instructional solutions for this complex but important domain. Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a modern behavior-analytic approach to verbal behavior and its applied extension, may offer guidance. In particular, the construct of psychological flexibility emphasized in ACT may provide a useful framework for both studying and teaching critical thinking. Psychological flexibility refers to contacting the present moment and, based on what the situation affords, acting in accordance with one’s chosen values. It shall be argued that psychological flexibility can be usefully extended to encompass what is traditionally meant by “critical thinking,” and that the strategies of ACT and other behavioral approaches to problem solving may lead to important new methods and measures in this area. |
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