Saturday, May 22, 2010

Presentations by Oregon researchers at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention

Some of the presentations by Oregon researchers at the Association for Behavior Analysis International Annual Convention, May 28-June 1, 2010, Henry Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas


# 355 Invited Symposium
05/31/2010, 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM
103AB (CC), CSE; Theory, BACB CE Offered. CE Instructor: Anthony Biglan, Ph.D.
Chair: Michael Weinberg (Orlando Behavior Health Services, LLC)
Discussant: Michael Weinberg (Orlando Behavior Health Services, LLC)

A Range of Disciplines, a Range of Evidence, and Can We Nurture Our Environment Through Behavioral Science

Nurturing Environments: A Framework for Comprehensive Cultural Change 
ANTHONY BIGLAN (Oregon Research Institute)

Dr. Biglan has conducted numerous experimental evaluations of interventions to prevent tobacco use both through school-based programs and community-wide interventions. He has also done experimental evaluations of school- and family-focused interventions to prevent aggressive social behavior and reading failure, as well as clinical interventions to prevent high-risk sexual behavior. During the 2000-2001 school year, Dr. Biglan led a team of scholars in a review of current knowledge about the development and prevention of multiple problem behaviors of adolescence (Biglan, Brennan, Foster, & Holder, 2004). He is the author of the 1995 book, Changing Cultural Practices: A contextualist framework for intervention research, published by Context Press. His current work focuses on fostering the beneficial evolution of societal practices using behavioral science knowledge.

Abstract: Epidemiological and prevention research has helped to pinpoint a small number of basic conditions that are essential in ensuring young people’s successful development and preventing diverse psychological and behavioral problems. It is useful to label these conditions "nurturing environments," both for the purpose of further research and in enhancing efforts to improve human wellbeing. Nurturing environments (a) minimize toxic biological and psychological conditions, (b) richly reinforce prosocial behavior, (c) teach and promote prosocial skills and values, (d) limit prompts and opportunities for problem behavior, and (e) promote psychological flexibility. I will briefly review the prevention and epidemiological research that supports these assertions. The analysis will provide a framework for focusing further behavioral science research on increasing the prevalence of nurturing family, school, workplace, and neighborhood environments. I will describe how a concerted public health effort can achieve this type of cultural evolution. I will use the Promise Neighborhood Consortium as an example. The goal of this recently funded consortium is to assist the nation’s high-poverty communities in establishing effective prevention practices.

# 457 Symposium
05/31/2010, 3:00 PM - 4:20 PM
Texas Ballroom Salon A (Grand Hyatt)
EDC; Applied Behavior Analysis, BACB CE Offered. CE Instructor: Cynthia Anderson, Ph.D.
Chair: Cynthia M. Anderson (University of Oregon)

Behavior Analysis in the Classroom: Interventions to Decrease Problem Behavior and Enhance Learning

Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Secondary Interventions for Students Whose With Escape-Maintained Problem Behavior 
JESSICA TURTURA (University of Oregon), Cynthia M. Anderson (University of Oregon), Justin Boyd (University of Oregon)

Abstract: Schools increasingly are moving to three-tiered models of behavior support consisting of primary interventions for all students, secondary interventions for students at risk, and tertiary supports for students with significant need. Primary prevention is implemented for all students and is similar across students whereas tertiary supports typically are based on results of a functional assessment and consist of individualized interventions. In the middle lie secondary supports, small group interventions for students emitting similar, low-intensity behavior problems. A commonly used secondary intervention that is evidence-based is Check-in/Check-out (CICO; Hawken & Horner, 2003), CICO builds off of home-school notes and is effective for students whose problem behaviors are attention-maintained. Importantly, CICO offers little in terms of altering the environmental contingencies which maintain problem behaviors for students who engage in escape-maintained problem behavior (March & Horner, 2002). This presentation will focus on two modifications of CICO for students whose problem behaviors are maintained by escape from or avoidance of academic tasks and activities. Specifically, two modified versions of CICO were designed and evaluated; one for elementary-aged students and the other for middle school-aged students. Each intervention was implemented as a secondary intervention in a school, by typical school staff. We used appropriate single subject designs to assess effects of each intervention on problem behavior and academic skills. 

Enhancing Pre-Literacy Instruction With the Good Behavior Game 
BILLIE JO RODRIGUEZ (University of Oregon), Cynthia M. Anderson (University of Oregon)

Abstract: Deficits in pre-reading skills at the end of kindergarten have been shown to predict future behavior problems and lack of responsiveness to school-wide interventions over time. This suggests early intervention is important not only to prevent later reading problems but also to prevent future behavioral challenges. Small-group reading instruction often is provided for young children at risk for reading failure. Group instructors often are instructional assistants with little or no experience managing social behavior of groups. In this experiment we assessed effects of training instructors to use TGBG [The Good Behavior Game] during reading groups. A concurrent multiple baseline across groups design was used to assess effects. For all groups, a significant reduction in problem behavior was observed. Further, all instructors implemented TGBG with fidelity and indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the intervention. This experiment demonstrates how TGBG can be used to incorporate behavior analytic techniques in school settings for students who are at-risk for academic difficulties

References: 
Biglan, A. (2004). Helping adolescents at risk: Prevention of multiple problem behaviors.. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Hawken, L. & Horner, R. (2003). Evaluation of a targeted group intervention within a school-wide system of behavior support, Journal of Behavioral Education, 12, 225-240.

March, R. E., & Horner, R. H. (2002). Feasibility and contributions of functional behavioral assessment in schools. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10, 158-170.

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