How do you know it worked

1. How do you know it worked Single Subject Designs in Teaching

2. How do we know if our teaching is successful or change is due to chance? • Functional Relationship – a cause and effect. The target behavior changes as a result of the intervention • Functional Relationship exists between the two variables when the interventions have been systematically replicated on or more times

3. Variable: any number of factors involved in research. (factors related to participants, conditions, interventions) • GOAL: to control for the presence of absence of variables that may effect the outcomes

4. Variables • Independent: intervention being used • Dependent: behavior targeted for change • Confounding: Those variables in the environment that are not controlled but may influence the dependent variable

5. Components of a SSD Baseline Measures • A measure of the behavior under the conditions that currently exist. • Provide a measure of the behavior if no intervention occurs.

6. Components of a SSD Baseline Measures • Why do we want a baseline to be as stable as possible? • What are two measures of stability? • Variability • Trend

7. What to consider when trying to intervene? • Too much variability makes it difficult to draw conclusions • Good operational definition of the dependent variable • Naturally occurring variability

8. Trends in the data points • No trend • Ascending trend • Descending trend

9. Components of a SSD Intervention Measures • Repeated measures of the behavior under treatment conditions • Experimental Control insures that changes in the behavior are in fact due to the intervention and not other confounding variables…a functional relationship exists

10. Teaching designs • A functional relationship is not established (lack of experimental control) • Less confident assumptions can be drawn • Provide sufficient indication of behavior change

11. Research Designs • Allows for experimental control and the existence of a functional relationship

12. AB Designs • Referred to as the “Teaching design” • Consists of two phases • Data collected during intervention are compared to those collected during baseline

14. Reversal Designs • Used to study the effectiveness of a single intervention (independent variable) • Consists of 4 phases • Should not be used: • When dependent variable is dangerous • When dependent variable is not reversible What problems does this pose?

15. Reversal Designs • Repeatedly compares baseline data to intervention data • Dependent on the replication of baseline and intervention effects • Confounding variables?

16. Changing Criterion Design • Evaluates the one independent variable on one dependent variable • Experimental control is demonstrated by incrementally increasing or decreasing the dependent variable • Consists of two phases

17. Changing Criterion Design Implementation • Collect baseline data • Determine interim criterion for performance • Mean of the stable portion of baseline • Half the mean of the baseline • Highest or lowest baseline • Professional estimate

18. Changing Criterion Design Demonstrating Functional Relationship • Alter the number of sessions • Continue with a sub-phase until a stable rate • Vary the increase • Require a change in the opposite direction

19. Multiple Baseline Designs • Analysis of 1 independent variable on more than 1 dependent variables • Across behaviors • Across settings • Across individuals • Consists of 2 phases

20. Multiple Baseline Designs • Cannot be used with a behavior that calls for immediate action • When behaviors are not independent

21. Multiple Baseline Designs • Implementation • Baseline is collected on all conditions at the same time • Begin intervention in first condition when stable baseline is reached • Begin intervention in second condition when change has occurred in the first condition

22. Multiple Baseline Designs • Extended Baselines • Not appropriate for some behaviors • Kids may learn error response • Kids may become frustrated • No instruction being delivered

23. Alternating Treatments Designs • Allows the comparison of the effectiveness of more than one intervention on a single dependent variable

24. Alternating Treatments Designs • Implementation • Each condition equal number of times • Schedule of interventions should be counterbalanced (to avoid order effects) • Distinctive discriminative stimulus should immediately precede the condition

25. Changing Condition Design Implementation • Interventions are introduced sequentially. • Functional relationship only if a return to baseline occurs before C condition

26. Used to study the effectiveness of two or more treatments on the behavior of a student. ABC design Cummulative effects

27. Analysis of Results • Visual Inspection • Mean of data points • Levels of performance • Trend in performance