A crayon is a pencil, a magic marker is a pencil, a pen is a pencil, and yes, even a pencil is a pencil! We’ve all known this child—they tact a broad class of items all the same. We call this over generalization or an abstract tact. The child doesn’t know the concept of a pencil; or more precisely, the child is failing to make the proper stimulus discrimination between stimulus classes. The unenlightened teacher will willy-nilly pick out various examples and non-examples and attempt to teach them using a combination of differential reinforcement and punishment, often with disappointing results.
In Tutorial: Understanding Concepts: Implications for Behavior Analysts and Educators, Layng (2018) provides a conceptual foundation and pedagogical strategy for understanding and teaching concepts. The systematic approach he describes covers interdimensional and intradimensional concept teaching, coordinate concepts, and conceptual hierarchies. The course presented here begins with a reading of this article. The learner then completes modules that consist of penetrating questions, with hints and feedback, that help to ensure that the learner masters the material—that is…learns the concepts.
If you are a member of ABAI, you could access it for free through your portal at www.abaiinternational.org
Alternative link for article via pubmed.gov / PMC (PubMed Central® (PMC) is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM).) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6701481/
How it Works
Here's how it works:
- Purchase this course.
- Read the article (see above).
- Complete the Pre-Test.
- Complete the acquisition modules to 100% correct.
- Complete the fluency modules to 100% correct.
- Complete the Post-Test.
- Complete the survey.
- Once all modules have been completed to criterion you can print your certificate for BACB Learning CEUs.
- To manage your CEUs on the BACB web site, please use our ACE Provider # 0P-02-0017.
About This Course
About this course:
This course uses a fluency model. The model involves answering a series of questions, first during acquisition modules (one hour per module), and then again during fluency modules (which have a shorter time criterion). The fluency model provides many opportunities for practice. Each question is accompanied by a hint, to be used unless you are absolutely certain you know the answer. When hints are used properly, fluency-based courses can be errorless or near-errorless. Keep in mind that fluency-based courses employ a practice (active student responding) model that involves completing learning exercises that are similar to tests, but include hints and feedback. Concepts are learned when users consistently make correct discriminations on questions designed to teach concepts and promote generalization. This course is recommended for BCBAs and BCaBAs.
Learning Objectives
Objectives:
- Given sets of concepts to teach, identify the set that should be taught as a coordinate concept.
- Given the critical attributes of a concept analysis for "free operant," identify elements of a rational set for the concept "free operant."
- Given the critical attributes of a concept analysis for free operant behavior and an example, select the best critique of the example.
- Given the critical attributes of a concept analysis for free operant behavior and an example, select the best critique of the example.
- Discriminate instances from non-instances of close-in nonexamples.
- Given an example of a concept, identify how concept inheritance could be used to teach the concept.
- Select examples of interdimensional and intradimensional concepts.
- Identify options that describe a rational set and how it differs from teaching via multiple exemplars.
Mandatory Disclaimer
Please click here to read the mandatory ACE provider disclaimer.
System Requirements
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