Department of Educational Psychology

 

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

Published in Behavior Modification (2014), doi:10.1177/0145445514559928, 23 pp.

Comments

Copyright © 2014 Kristi L. Hofstadter-Duke and Edward J. Daly III. Published by Sage Publications. Used by permission.

Abstract

This study investigated a method for conducting experimental analyses of academic responding. In the experimental analyses, academic responding (math computation), rather than problem behavior, was reinforced across conditions. Two separate experimental analyses (one with fluent math computation problems and one with non-fluent math computation problems) were conducted with three elementary school children using identical contingencies while math computation rate was measured. Results indicate that the experimental analysis with non-fluent problems produced undifferentiated responding across participants; however, differentiated responding was achieved for all participants in the experimental analysis with fluent problems. A subsequent comparison of the single-most effective condition from the experimental analyses replicated the findings with novel computation problems. Results are discussed in terms of the critical role of stimulus control in identifying controlling consequences for academic deficits, and recommendations for future research refining and extending experimental analysis to academic responding are made.

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