Gary Pace

Examination of the selection, evaluation, implementation, and management of effective behavioral intervention strategies. The emphasis will be on interventions based on the results of a functional assessment. Both antecedent- and consequence-based behavioral interventions to decrease undesired behavior, and increase adaptive behavior, will be discussed.

Basic concepts and principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Students will acquire the ability to demonstrate knowledge of basic ABA terminology and concepts. This course lays the foundation for the development of the student as a behavior analyst and the application of behavior analytically based practices to the evaluation and treatment of a broad range of behavioral and learning challenges. The course will provide credit hours towards eligibility for the behavior analysis certification examination.

Measurement, data display, and data interpretation in applied behavior analysis. The course reviews the development of operational definitions, measurement of target behavior, data display and interpretation, and single subject designs.

Study of the underlying assumptions of conducting behavioral assessments. The components of an effective behavioral assessment that will be presented are indirect or anecdotal methods (checklists, rating scales, and questionnaires), descriptive analysis (scatter plot, ABC analysis, interval and time sampling methods), and functional analysis (experimental methods, brief functional analyses).

Ethical and professional standards for behavior analysts. This course is based on the BACB fifth edition task list and the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.