As you reviewed this week's goals and objectives you should note that we are moving beyond simply knowing about a theory and actually beginning the task of applying it to a variety of situations. As most texts on human learning do, this text most often focuses on application of behaviorism in classroom settings; however, you should glean from your reading this week as well as your own personal experiences that behaviorism, specifically operant conditioning principles, can easily applied in a variety of setting and with individuals or groups. This week you will begin your ABA Project which will ask you to apply the principles you are learning to an individual (most likely yourself).

Chapter Five this week focuses on a variety of applications of operant conditioning that you have likely either been on the receiving end of or have used on others. For most teachers and instructional designers in this class, instructional objectives are likely not a new concept. I do not really like the inclusion of instructional objectives within behaviorism simply because it leads many to think that they are somehow linked to reinforcement and punishment. In practice, most instructional objectives are assessing behaviors with a strong underlying cognitive component (one that many behaviorists would not approve of). This does not mean that objectives do not have a place in behaviorism because identifying target, observable behaviors and desired behaviors are an important element in Applied Behavior Analysis. However, inclusion of instructional objectives here, I fear, leads some to think that they do not play a role in cognition when this is clearly not the case. Rather, I would like to see objectives discussed in line with instructional theory as an application of learning theories to the design of instruction and assessment of learners. Since I did not write the text then I will have to suffice with the position it takes in our text, but I wanted you to know my position here. We will be discussing objectives again when we discuss instructional theory. If you want to learn more about Bloom's taxonomy (the description Ormrod provides is hardly adequate) then visit some of the links provided for you in the library this week.

Chapter Five also provides you with some historical and current applications of programmed instruction and mastery learning. If you have any extra time this week (does anyone have any of that?) you can see an example of Skinner's own programmed instruction/computer-assisted instruction by going to the following web site http://www.bfskinner.org/instruction.asp and downloading the analysis of behavior self-instruction program. Once you download the program you will need to install it. AFTER you install but BEFORE running the program definitely read the Guide provided. Those of you that are interested in CAI might think his take on how to provide self-instruction is interesting. As another note of interest for tech folks - this program was created with Authorware, a tool often used to create self-instruction modules. Once you have experienced the program you might want to drop a note to the listserv to share your thoughts on this application of operant conditioning (NOTE: This is not a required activity)

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA - formerly known as behavior modification or therapy) is the more current buzzword these days for application of operant conditioning principles. We will discuss this further in session three this week as you embark on your ABA Project.

Session Activities

• Complete the Chapter Five Quiz for Ormrod. You will have 90minutes for this quiz. You may go directly into the eLearning system or read the directions first.

Reading/Research

Visit these links for more information on applications of operant conditioning and other topics from chapters five and six:

• A self-instructional exercise on positive reinforcement
• More info on PSI (including paper that addresses criticisms of PSI)
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• Task Oriented Question Construction Wheel Based on Bloom's Taxonomy (very cool!) as well as other resources here
  

Writing

Last week you should have completed a written summary of operant conditioning and applied APA style to the document. This week you need to find a partner, swap papers, and complete an evaluation. The feedback sheet you will use is available (and should have been downloaded) in the training materials section on page 1. One suggestion I have is to review the feedback sheet as you give one final proofread of your summary before you swap with your partner to insure completeness of your own paper and, therefore, favorable feedback. I am sure some of you will mutter to yourself (or anyone who will listen:-) - why didn't she give us this sheet before we wrote the summary. Providing this sheet after you have written your summary is intentional. First, if I had given it to you before you wrote your summary many of you would have simply adopted the strategy of filling in blanks (covering the items listed) rather than truly processing the theory in your own mind as well as my lesson on elements of any theory and how to summarize one. Second, your personal interpretations and style of writing was more likely to come through if you were not provided some formulaic list of summarizing the theory. However, in order for everyone to be evaluated using common criteria the feedback sheet is necessary as a tool.

NOTE: This is the feedback sheet I will use to provide you with a final grade (along with points taken off for formatting, grammar, and spelling) so it is important that you use it wisely as a tool prior to turning in your paper to your partner and then to me.

You should swap with your partner no later than Friday this week. You will each then complete the feedback sheet on your partner's document. You will send me your partner's paper as well as your completed feedback sheet no later than the normal Wednesday deadline in this course (feel free to also send your feedback to your partner). Once turned in to me I will review the feedback and add my own comments. Points you receive on this assignment will be directly related to the value of the feedback you provide as well as on the completeness of your own paper.

APA Tidbits

Everyone is doing a great job on the APA tidbits. I have posted additional ones that came in last week for that assignment that might help you a great deal with your writing assignment above.

• View this tidbit table as a great review.
• Here is a sample title page

1.06 Title Page

Title. A title should summarize the main idea of the paper simply and, if possible with style. It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the actual variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the relationship between them. And example of a good title is “Effect of Transformed Letters on Reading Speed.”
A title should be fully explanatory when standing alone. Although its principal function is to inform readers about the study, a title is also used as a statement of article content for abstracting and information services, such as APA’s Psychological Abstracts and PsycINFO database. A good title easily compresses to the short title used for editorial purposes and to the running head used with the published article.

Titles are commonly indexed and compiled in numerous reference works. Therefore, avoid words that serve no useful purpose; they increase length and can mislead indexers. For example, the words method and results do not normally appear in a title, nor should such redundancies as “A Study of” or “An Experimental Investigation of” begin a title. Avoid using abbreviations in a title: Spelling out all terms will help ensure accurate, complete indexing of the article. The recommended length for a title is 10 to 12 words.

Author’s name (byline) and institutional affiliation. Every manuscript includes a byline consisting of two parts: the name of the author and the institution where the investigation was conducted (without the words by or from the).

• Author’s name (byline). The preferred form of an author’s name is first name, middle initial(s), and last name; this reduces the likelihood of mistaken identity. To assist researchers as well as librarians, use the same form for publication throughout your career; that is, do not use initials on one manuscript and the full name on a later one. Determining whether Juanita A. Smith is the same person as J.A. Smith, J. Smith, or A. Smith can be difficult, particularly when citations span several years and institutional affiliations change. Omit all titles (e.g., Dr., Professor) and degrees (e.g., PhD, PsyD, EdD).

• Institutional affiliation. The affiliation identifies the location where the author or authors conducted the investigation, which is usually an institution. Include a dual affiliation only if two institutions contributed substantial financial support to the study. Include no more than two affiliations. When an author has no institutional affiliation, list the city and state of residence below the author’s name. If the institutional affiliation has changed since the work was completed, give the current affiliation in the author identification notes.

Running head for publication. The running head is an abbreviated title that is printed at the top of the pages of a published article to identify the article for readers. The head should be a maximum of 50 characters, counting letters, punctuation, and spaces between words.

From Me:

This week is a potpourri of APA tidbits gleaned from the exercises I’ve been reviewing. Let’s begin with the elements of the title page (an addition to what Kimberly has already provided for you but 2 times won;t hurt anyone).

The title page has three parts: (a) title, (b) author’s name and institutional affiliation, and (c) running head. For this course, the title will be the name of the assignment. You will be the author and UWF the institution of affiliation. The running head is labeled and printed in capital letters and is a shortened form of the title. The first two or three words of the title are placed into a page header with your word processor’s page numbering function. The title page is page 1 of the assignment. Check the fine print on pages 10-12 and the example on page 306 of the APA manual.

The second tidbit is a reminder that all lines in your manuscript should be double-spaced and you should use the preferred typefaces and font size listed on page 285 of the APA manual. I prefer you use a 12-point Times Roman (or Times New Roman) typeface.

The third tidbit is not actually an APA guideline, but closely related to the directions for reference entries. Use the hanging indent feature of your word processor to construct references. If you force the format with line breaks and the space bar, you will have the reference format fall apart every time you change the view, margins, typeface, or typeface size.

Last, use headings that follow the APA directions on pages 113-115 of the APA manual. The easiest way to select your headings is to refer to page 114 and decide if you need one, two, or three levels and then follow the examples. You will need more than three levels very infrequently. Note the headings that are italicized and the rules given for capitalization.

According to the APA manual, one should use the active voice rather than the
passive voice. Verbs are an important part of any writing and one should
choose them carefully.

The project was completed in a timely manner. -poor
The students completed the project in a timely manner. -better

The first Ford was designed in 1895. -poor
Ford designed its first automobile in 1895. -better


One of the key writing factors that affect smoothness of expression is verb tense agreement. The desired goals are consistency and precision of language. Most technical writing should use the past tense (e.g., "Skinner observed") or the present perfect tense (e.g., "qualitative studies have shown") especially when describing ideas that have already been published, such as in the literature review. Describe the study results using the past tense (e.g., "the wide variance of the data suggested"). Use the present tense to discuss the results and offer conclusions (e.g., "these observations clearly demonstrate the validity of behavioral approaches"). From this brief discussion, it's clear that the past tense is the default for most writing.

I've found that a good proofreading technique is to use the word processor's find/replace function to deal with the most common verbs (e.g, is-was, are-were, etc.) and make global changes.

Subordinate conjunctions

Restrict the use of while and since to the meaning of time. Bragg (1965) found that participants performed well while listening to music. Several of the test have been developed since the test was first introduced.


My APA tidbit focusses on misplaced modifiers. Misplaced modifiers illogically or ambiguously modify a word because of their placement in a sentence. (see pg 50 of APA manual)

An adverb or adjective must clearly refer to the word it modifies. This rule applies to both single words and phrases.

An example of a misplaced modifier is:

The professor copied the notes for the students covered in class. (The students were not covered in class.)

Corrected:

The professor copied the notes covered in class for the students.

By carefully placing modifiers in sentences, we can avoid unclear and/or incorrect writing.

Session Activities

• Find a partner and swap your summaries of Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory that you comlpeted last week. Use the feedback sheet to provide them with feedback. In an email, send me your partner's paper and your feedback sheet as attachments. In the body of the email be sure to tell me who your partner is.
  
  

As you should now know from reading the chapter, Applied Behavior Analysis is a new term for an old concept - behavior modification, and is, essentially, the practice of applying behaviorist principles to change behavior although cognitive aspects of the individual are also often considered.

This week you will begin activities related to your Applied Behavior Analysis Project. A link to a more complete description of this project and helpful hints was provided in week 2 and can be found here while activities focused towards this week are explained below. This project is an opportunity for you to identify a specific behavior you would like to change in yourself. I am not going to be particular about what the behavior is - it can be very simple or very complicated but remember that this project is only set to last about 6 weeks. Therefore, the behavior you choose to focus on should occur frequently enough within each week for there to be data to collect and for possible change to occur. An outline of the activities related to this project is as follows:

Week 4: Complete Form 1: Analyzing a behavior you want to change

Week 5: Complete Form 2: Developing a behavior modification plan

Week 6 - 11: Collect data and monitor behavior change

Week 12: Summarize data and write up final report

Links for both of the forms you will need for this week and next are below. This week you need to complete Form 1 and identify what behavior your ABA project will focus on. I would prefer that you focus on a self behavior you would like to change (for ease of collecting data) but you could also focus on the behavior of another individual (e.g., your own child, a student) but you need to be sure to have the ability to observe and reinforce/punish the individual whose behavior you are targeting. (if anyone needs to borrow a kid I'll loan you one of mine - they have plenty of behaviors that need changing :-).

Completion of Form 1 will help you clearly identify what behavior your ABA project will focus on. I would prefer that you focus on a self behavior you would like to change (for ease of collecting data) but you could also focus on the behavior of another individual (e.g., your own child, a student) but you need to be sure to have the ability to observe and reinforce/punish the individual whose behavior you are targeting.

In Form 1 it states that you should fill out the form on page 3 each time you exhibit the behavior you are targeting for change. Some have found this difficult because of the locks placed on the form (and the expectation that you will print it out and use it in hard copy and not need to send it via email). The easiest solution is to simply use the same table and label each instance of the behavior in sequence (1,2,3,4,..) and put a line break (hit return) between each instance. This will likely make your table run onto another page but that is fine. It might also be easier to analyze your behavior for the other questions to be able to look at it all in a single table. You will need to continue to work on Form 1 so that you have recorded enough instances of your target behavior (at least 4 or 5 should be sufficient) that you can make good generalizations that are requested later in the form.

Once you have both forms completed (you will complete Form 2 next week) you will have a plan for modifying the target behavior and tables ready for data collection. For 5 weeks you will collect and record data and monitor your progress toward your behavior change goal. In addition to recording the data within the tables you will nned to make notes to yourself on what worked and did not work each week and what modifications were made to the plan.

Your final report will include: a description of the behavior you target for change (results of form 1), a summary of your plan (results of form 2), your data tables from your 4 week implementation and a written summary of the data, and a conclusion of the results of your project (successes and failures) and the utility of ABA.

Session Activities

• Complete Form 1 (WORD or PDF format) and turn it in to me via email.
• If you want to work ahead then go ahead and download and complete Form 2 (WORD or PDF format)
• Ask me any questions you have about the project via email.

NOTE: These forms are being downloaded for free from http://www.freemindware.net from the Tools for Stress Management and Self-Help page.

• Email your Director;
• Email the Mentor;
• Email other interns.
• Refer to the Course FAQ.

Review Your Training Checklist
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