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| The First Learning Centre in Italy: Applied Behavior Analysis in the Country of Teaching as an Art |
| Tuesday, June 1, 2010 |
| 9:30 AM–10:50 AM |
| Texas Ballroom Salon B (Grand Hyatt) |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Experimental Analysis |
| Chair: Silvia Perini (Università di Parma) |
| Abstract: Precision Teaching as a scientific methodology for instructional design in e-learning: history, techniques and experimental researches of applications in the classroom and in the workplace |
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| Syllables or Words? A Comparison Between Common Words and Common Syllables Fluency-Based Trainings to Improve Early Reading Skills |
| FRANCESCA CAVALLINI (University of Parma), Federica Berardo (Tice Learning Center), Sara Andolfi (Tice Learning Center) |
| Abstract: This study describes and compares the effectiveness of two brief intervention trainings
(word recognition and syllable recognition) aimed at increasing the readings rates of four pupils referred to our facility (The Tice Learning Centre) for learning problems. The two programs used frequency-building procedures aimed at increasing reading rates for either common words (2 children) or common syllables (2 children). Both programs used precision teaching (PT) to monitor intervention effectiveness. The four children in the syllable/word treatments also received speed reading support during the same period. Results showed that the two word-recognition training participants made significant gains in overall reading skills and the two children receiving
syllable recognition treatment did not improve on any of the measures. This study suggests the importance of teaching common words recognition during the early reading teaching process and provides additional evidence for the effectiveness of PT and frequency-building procedures. |
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| Centro Tice: The First Learning Centre in Italy |
| SILVIA PERINI (Università di Parma), Francesca Cavallini (University of Parma), Fabiola Casarini (University of Parma) |
| Abstract: Tice learning centers are innovative and unique community service centers that have served the educational and social needs of children and families in Piacenza and Pavia (Italy) since 2006. As co-Directors, dr. Cavallini and dr. Casarini use Applied Behavior Analysis educational procedures to promote the implementation of a variety of individualized and social programs. By promoting scientific method and data-driven educational procedures, the social impact of the centre has recently been recognized by the local authorities and moved to a turning point: the Quartiere Roma and CABAS® schools project s. The projects are designed to address the needs of preschoolers with disability and older children with and without disability living in sub urban areas of Piacenza. We will describe the programs of the Tice learning centers and the behavioral
philosophy that guided the organization’s development. We will also present our future project in an attempt to spread and supervise the use of the science of behavior in regular and special education contexts.
Professor Silvia Perini will discuss the role that principles of behavior have had in the development of the Tice organization programs along with applications of its principles to educational and social issues in urban and suburban communities. |
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| Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling in Italy: The Pilot Project |
| FABIOLA CASARINI (University of Parma), Roberto Cattivelli (Tice Learning Center), Francesca Cavallini (University of Parma) |
| Abstract: A systematic replication of a CABAS® classroom in Italy has been, since 2007, the goal to reach for a group of Parma University’s Phd students and researchers looking for a scientific model of education to implement in their country. Historically, Italian school system is based on public schools and the public schools’ representatives have chosen full inclusion as the national “signature” mean to provide special need students with education. Unfortunately the public system is failing in providing all students with individualized education and it’s particularly ineffective in teaching children with multiple disabilities and autism diagnosis. The CABAS® model provided us with a modern, effective and research-driven opportunity to help our educational system. A Pilot Project was started in 2009 and the first data suggest the Italian classroom can successfully replicate the American outcomes. We will discuss the significance of the project in terms of how this data can affect Italian special education and re-think the full inclusion as an educational objective instead of a starting tool. |
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| The Effects of an Intensive Tact Intervention on the Emission of Spontaneous Speech in Two Students With Multiple Disabilities: A Replication of CABAS Procedures in Italy |
| FABIOLA CASARINI (University of Parma), Francesca Cavallini (University of Parma), Federica Berardo (Tice Learning Center) |
| Abstract: We tested the effects of using the CABAS® procedure for Intensive Tact instruction on the emission of vocal verbal operant’s in non-instructional settings (NIS). The Participants were two students receiving individual instruction in a learning centre in Italy. The dependent variable measured in this study was the number of vocal verbal operant’s emitted by participants during non-instructional time. A delayed multiple probe design was used to compare the number of vocal verbal operant’s emitted in NIS before and after the mastery of each set of tacts. The data showed a significant increase in the number of appropriate “spontaneous speech” intervals emitted by both participants and suggested that CABAS® practices can be effective in Italian educational contexts and successfully implemented in 1:1 instructional settings. |
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