Verbal Behavior: Skinner's Operants

• Week 4 covers teaching reading and verbal behavior

Skinner Verbal Behavior

• Language is a learned behavior maintained by environmental factors
• Verbal behavior involves reinforcement through another person's actions (Skinner, 1957)
• These individuals reinforce the speaker's behavior through their conditioned responses

Verbal Episode

• Speaker emits any type of verbal response, such as speech, sign language, or eye contact
• The Listener serves as an audience for the speaker, provides reinforcement, and responds to the speaker

Elementary Verbal Operants

• Include: Mand, Tact, Duplic (Echoic, Motor Imitation, Copying Text) & Codic (Textual, Taking Dictation)

Mand

• The form of a response is controlled by a motivating operation (MO) and reinforcement history
• Reinforcement is specific to the MO

Tact

• The form of a response is controlled by a nonverbal discriminative stimulus (SD) and a history of conditioned reinforcement (Sr)

Duplic

• A vocal response is under the functional control of an auditory verbal SD
• The SD has formal similarity to the response and a history of generalized Sr

Motor Imitation

• A motor response controlled by a visual verbal SD
• The SD possesses formal similarity and a history of generalized Sr

Copying Text

• A transcription response is controlled by a textual verbal SD
• The SD has formal similarity and a history of generalized Sr

Codic

• The form of a response is under the functional control of a verbal SD and a history of generalized Sr
• There is no formal similarity between the stimulus and the response

Textual (Codic)

• A broader match exists between verbal stimulus and response involving point-to-point correspondence
• Parts of a verbal stimulus correspond, but do not physically match

Taking Dictation (Codic)

• A verbal SD with point-to-point correspondence controls the response
• A history of generalized Sr exists; but, no formal similarity is present

Intraverbal

• The response is controlled by a verbal SD with no point-to-point correspondence
• A history of generalized reinforcement exists

Nonverbal Stimulus and Tact

• Nonverbal environmental properties evoke a response that is followed by generalized SR
• Stimulus control develops when immediately followed by reinforcement

“Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons”

• The book consists of 100 lessons, building up in complexity
• Lessons focus on phonics to teach children to recognize sounds, blend them together, and read words
• The book provides a script for the teacher or parent to follow, making it easy to implement the lessons
• Lessons are short but effective, usually taking about 20-30 minutes each day
• Frequent reinforcement builds confidence and introduces new strategies
• The book aims to make learning frustration-free

Siegfried Engelmann (1931–2019)

• A prominent educator and psychologist known for developing Direct Instruction (DI)
• Engelmann's approach to education was based on the idea that every student can learn effectively through systematic, explicit, and efficient teaching

Engelmann's teaching method emphasizes:

• Clear, explicit instruction with step-by-step guidance
• Scripted lessons to ensure consistent instruction
• Frequent student responses to reinforce learning
• Positive reinforcement

Direct Instruction (DI)

• A structured, teacher-led approach used in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• Involves clear, step-by-step teaching with explicit cues and feedback
• The goal is to promote skill acquisition
• This is achieved through consistent, repeated practice in a controlled setting

Key Characteristics of Direct Instruction in ABA

• Clear, Specific Instructions are provided by instruction
• Small, manageable steps ensure mastery before moving on
• Teachers use prompts to guide the learner that are gradually faded to encourage independence
• Positive reinforcement is given for correct attempts
• The learner actively participates with frequent opportunities for responding and practicing skills

Project Follow Through (1967-1977)

• Compared nine models of teaching K-3, grouped into areas of focus: Academic, problem-solving, or self-esteems
• Measured basic academic skills, problem-solving skills, and changes in self-esteem
• Direct Instruction produced the best results in all areas, but most other models were less effective than original schooling

PISA 2022

• The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) measured the 15-year-old students’ mathematic, science and reading scores
• Singapore ranked 1st with 559.7 points
• Macao (China) ranked 2nd, with 535.0 points
• Chinese Taipei ranked 3rd, with 533.0 points
• Japan ranked 4th, with 533.0 points
• Korea ranked 5th, with 523.3 points

Project #1 Submission Requirements

• Step-by-step information and instructions on the relevant material
• Details on how to collect data including data sheets
• Mastery and generalization criteria
• Materials required
• Additional teaching steps for clarity
• Should conform to the Seven Dimensions of ABA*
• A reference article