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| Evidence-Based Education: Can We Get There from Here? |
| Saturday, September 6, 2008 |
| 9:00 AM–9:45 AM |
| Grand Ballroom B |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Synthesis |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| CE Instructor: Ronnie Detrich, M.A. |
| RONNIE DETRICH (Wing Institute) |
 Dr. Ronnie Detrich is a Senior Fellow at the Wing Institute, a relatively new organization with the mission of promoting the use evidence-based practices in education. Prior to joining the Wing Institute, he was Clinical Director at Spectrum Center for almost 20 years. He has been providing behavioral services for children and youth since 1967. During that time he has served as a direct service provider as well as director of programs such as a statewide autism program in South Dakota and a residential treatment program for adjudicated adolescents in West Virginia. All of his work has been characterized by implementing programs that have an evidence base and data-based decision making. |
| Abstract: Recent federal policy has placed evidence-based interventions squarely in the middle of education policy. While this is encouraging, there are many issues that have to be resolved. The purpose of this paper is to review these issues and address the implications for behavior analysts. Among the issues to be considered are: What is meant by the term evidence-based? What constitutes evidence, and what is the process for validating interventions as evidence-based? How do we move beyond the identification of evidence-based interventions implementing them in usual educational settings? What role does progress monitoring play in evidence-based education? The field of behavior analysis has many points of overlap with the evidence-based education movement, but it is distinctly different from evidence-based practice. How behavior analysis responds to some of these differences will determine how well it fares in the evidence-based education movement. |
| Target Audience: Certified behavior analysts and licensed psychologists |
| Learning Objectives: N/A |
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| Sources of Evidence-Based Education Recommendations |
| Saturday, September 6, 2008 |
| 11:00 AM–11:45 AM |
| Grand Ballroom B |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Synthesis |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| CE Instructor: Timothy A. Slocum, Ph.D. |
| TIMOTHY A. SLOCUM (Utah State University) |
 Dr. Timothy Slocum has been involved in applied behavior analysis in education since 1982. He has been a special education teacher, instructional designer, researcher, and teacher trainer. He received his Ph.D. in special education from the University of Washington in 1992. Since that time, he has been on faculty in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation at Utah State University. He was the founding co-editor of the Journal of Direct Instruction and has co-authored a textbook on Direct Instruction. He is currently President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Direct Instruction and is active in developing a consortium to support high quality research on Direct Instruction. His research interests include Direct Instruction, reading, vocabulary, and fluency. In addition, Dr. Slocum has been involved in developing and validating an alternate assessment for children with significant cognitive disabilities. He is interested in evidence-based practices (EBP) in education, especially in addressing the challenges of developing valid methods to identify such practices. |
| Abstract: In recent years a great many organizations have promulgated standards for evidence-based practices in education and have derived lists of practices that are said to be supported by stronger evidence bases. Standards vary across these organizations, and as a result recommendations vary as well. This session will describe several prominent sources of evidence-based practice recommendations with special attention to the standards that they use and how this influences practice recommendations. We will highlight: the topics and populations of interest; screening and rating of studies; systems for rating practices; and evidence regarding validity and reliability of the systems. |
| Target Audience: Licensed Psychologists and Certified Behavior Analysts |
| Learning Objectives: N/a |
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| The Role of Single Subject Research Design in Establishing Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines |
| Saturday, September 6, 2008 |
| 1:45 PM–2:30 PM |
| Grand Ballroom B |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Synthesis |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| CE Instructor: Susan Wilczynski, Ph.D. |
| SUSAN WILCZYNSKI (National Autism Center) |
 Dr. Wilczynski is the Executive Director of the National Autism Center. In her role as the Executive Director, she oversees the National Standards Project, updates public policy-makers about evidence-based practice related to educational and behavioral interventions, develops assessment clinics specializing in the evaluation of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, and establishes the parent education and professional training agenda of the National Autism Center. She authored numerous articles on the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Prior to her position at the National Autism Center, she developed and directed an intensive early intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorders at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. She has held academic appointments at the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Wilczynski holds a joint appointment with May Institute, where she serves as Vice President of Autism Services. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Wilczynski is a licensed psychologist and a board certified behavior analyst. |
| Abstract: Single subject research designs readily lend themselves to educational environments and are widely used to examine the effectiveness of educational interventions. It is unfortunate that they have been so widely ignored in the evidence-based practice movement. This presentation begins with a candid description of the advantages and disadvantages of single subject research design. In addition, the importance of including single subject research design when establishing evidence-based practice guidelines is discussed. The majority of the presentation will involve a description of the methodology used to incorporate single subject research design into the National Standards Report, an unprecedented effort to establish the strength of evidence supporting educational and behavioral interventions for school-aged individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Finally, the limitations and possible future modifications of the methods used to incorporate single subject research design in the National Standards Project will be considered. |
| Target Audience: Licensed Psychologists and Certified Behavior Analysts |
| Learning Objectives: N/a |
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| A Place at the Education Reform Table: Why Behavior Analysis Needs To Be There, Why It’s Not as Welcome as It Should Be, and Some Actions that Can Make Our Science More Relevant |
| Sunday, September 7, 2008 |
| 9:00 AM–9:45 AM |
| Grand Ballroom B |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Synthesis |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| CE Instructor: William L. Heward, Ph.D. |
| WILLIAM L. HEWARD (The Ohio State University) |
 William L. Heward, Ed.D., BCBA, is Professor Emeritus of Education at The Ohio State University (OSU) where he taught for 30 years. Dr. Heward has served as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Portugal and a Visiting Professor of Psychology at Keio University in Tokyo. His publications include more than 100 journal articles and book chapters and nine books, including the widely used texts, Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, which is in its ninth edition and has been translated into several foreign languages, and Applied Behavior Analysis (co-authored with John O. Cooper and Timothy E. Heron). Dr. Heward has received OSU’s highest honor for teaching excellence, the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and the American Psychological Association's Division 25 recognized his contributions to education by awarding him the 2006 Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education Award. Dr. Heward is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and is currently serving as that organization’s President. His current research interests include “low-tech” methods for increasing the effectiveness of group instruction and adaptations of curriculum and instruction that promote the generalization and maintenance of newly learned knowledge and skills. |
| Abstract: While applied behavior analysis's (ABA) pragmatic, natural science approach to developing a technology that takes practical advantage of discovering environmental variables that reliably influence socially significant behavior offers real hope for public education, ABA has had limited impact on classroom practice. Improving the effectiveness of education is one of society's most important problems, and for more than four decades behavior analysts have provided powerful demonstrations of how learning can be promoted in the classroom. In spite of this evidence, behavior analysis is, at best, a bit player in efforts to reform education. Dr. Heward will identify several reasons why ABA is ideally suited to help improve education, review a somewhat longer list of reasons that work against the widespread adoption of behavioral approaches in education, including several of behavior analysts' own making, and suggest some actions that educators, practitioners and researchers can take to enhance and further ABA's contributions to effective education. |
| Target Audience: Licensed Psychologists and Certified Behavior Analysts |
| Learning Objectives: N/a |
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| Teacher Stress and Collegiality: Overlooked Factors in the Effort to Promote Evidence-Based Practices |
| Sunday, September 7, 2008 |
| 9:45 AM–10:30 AM |
| Grand Ballroom B |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Synthesis |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| CE Instructor: Anthony Biglan, Ph.D. |
| ANTHONY BIGLAN (Oregon Research Institute) |
 Dr. Biglan has been conducting research on the development and prevention of child and adolescent problem behavior for the past 23 years. His work has included studies of the risk and protective factors associated with tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use (e.g., Biglan & Smolkowski, 2002; Biglan, Duncan, Ary, & Smolkowski, 1995), high-risk sexual behavior (e.g., Biglan et al., 1990; Biglan, Noell, Ochs, Smolkowski, & Metzler, 1995), and anti-social behavior (Biglan, 1995). He has conducted numerous experimental evaluations of interventions to prevent tobacco use both through school-based programs (Biglan, Severson, Ary, Faller, Gallison, Thompson, Glasgow, & Lichtenstein, 1987) and community-wide interventions (Biglan, Ary, Smolkowski, Duncan, & Black, 2000). He has also performed evaluations of interventions to prevent high-risk sexual behavior (Metzler, Biglan, Ary, & Noell, 2000), antisocial behavior (Barrera, Biglan, Ary, & Li, 2001), and reading failure (Gunn, Biglan, Smolkowski, & Ary, 2000). During the 2000-2001 school years, Dr. Biglan led a team of scholars in a review of what is known about the development and prevention of youth problem behaviors. A book summarizing the evidence and defining next steps for research and practice is forthcoming (Biglan, Brennan, Foster, & Holder, 2005). |
| Abstract: This talk will review the evidence about teachers’ psychological well being and its relationship to educational effectiveness. Teachers experiencing depression and burnout are more likely to leave the field and are less likely to deal effectively with student behavioral problems. Schools with high levels of collegiality have higher levels of teacher well being and--when collegiality is linked to goals and practices that support effective instruction--it is associated with better academic outcomes. Despite the apparent importance of these conditions, however, there are few experimental evaluations of strategies for enhancing teachers well being or schools’ collegiality. One strategy that appears promising involves acceptance-based interventions. The presentation will review existing evidence on such interventions, including evidence that acceptance-oriented interventions can increase the use of evidence-based practices and evidence of its benefit for improving psychological well being. |
| Target Audience: Licensed Psychologists and Certified Behavior Analysts |
| Learning Objectives: N/a |
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| Implementing Evidence-Based Practices at Socially Important Scales |
| Sunday, September 7, 2008 |
| 11:00 AM–12:00 PM |
| Grand Ballroom B |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Synthesis |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| CE Instructor: Robert H. Horner, Ph.D. |
| ROBERT H. HORNER (University of Oregon) |
 Rob Horner is professor of special education at the University of Oregon where he directs the Positive Behavior Research and Support research unit. He took his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Stanford University, his Master’s in Experimental Psychology from Washington State University, and received his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Oregon. Dr. Horner’s research has focused on developing evidence-based interventions that result in socially significant changes for people with and without disabilities. As co-director of the OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Dr. Horner coordinates research and technical assistance activities with multiple partners across the nation. During the past 15 years he has worked directly with schools and school administrators in the development of systems for embedding school-wide systems of positive behavior support. He has been the editor of the Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the American Journal on Mental Retardation, and currently co-edits the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Horner has received multiple awards, among them the SABA Public Service Behavior Analysis Award (2006), the AAMR Education Award (2002), the TASH Positive Approaches Award (2000), and the APA Fred Keller Educational Research Award (1996). |
| Abstract: The focus on implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) creates both opportunities and challenges for those committed to school improvement. This session will focus on the themes that cut across EBP efforts in reading, math and behavior support. Participants will leave with a model for guiding future research, future implementation efforts, and future evaluation models that target the implementation of evidence-based practices in schools. |
| Target Audience: Licensed Psychologists and Certified Behavior Analysts |
| Learning Objectives: N/a |
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