Competencies

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1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “behavioral principles”

Content

  1. Three term contingency
  2. Operant
  3. Motivating operations and setting events
  4. Stimulus control
  5. Contingency
  6. Positive/negative reinforcement and punishment
  7. Schedules of reinforcement and extinction
  8. Learning
  9. Teaching strategies (i.e., shaping, chaining, prompting)

Outcomes

  • Students will define terms
  • Students will identify and describe principles in applied examples

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

 

2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “behavior in context”

Content

  1. Operational definitions
  2. Descriptions of context
  3. Dimensions of behavior
  4. Response class
  5. Contingency
  6. Function
  7. Stimulus control

Outcomes

  • Students will write an operational definitions using dimensions of behavior
  • Students will write testable hypotheses based on context

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

 

3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “measurement” of behavior

Content

  1. Measuring dimensions of behavior
  2. Summarizing and presenting data
  3. Making decisions using data

Outcomes

  • Students will develop a data collection system based behavior and context
  • Students will summarize and present collected data
  • Students will describe and justify data-based decisions in applied examples

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

 

4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “School Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS)”

Content

  1. Critical features
    1. Outcomes
    2. Practices
    3. Data
    4. Systems
  2. Theoretical, conceptual, empirical, & legal basis
  3. Implementation features, steps, and procedures
  4. Evidence-based practices
  5. Three-tiered prevention model
  6. Data-based decision making

Outcomes

  • Students will identify critical features
  • Students will apply legal and theoretical principles of SWPBS to applied examples
  • Students will describe the logic, features, and applications of the three tiered approach to SWPBS
  • Students will describe special education foundations

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

 

5. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “Tier 1 (Primary) Systems”

Content

  1. Definition and rationale
  2. School-wide discipline elements
  3. Establishing and maintaining a primary system
  4. Data-based decision making
  5. Continuum of behavior support
  6. Supporting fidelity of implementation
  7. Response to intervention

Outcomes

  • Students will describe the features of a school-wide implementation of PBS
  • Students will develop a rules-within-routines matrix
  • Students will develop lesson plan to teach 1 rule within 1 routine based on applied example
  • Students will develop a continuum of consequences for encouraging and maintaining school-wide behavioral expectations
  • Students will develop a continuum of procedures for responding to rule violations
  • Students will develop procedures for monitoring and evaluating implementation of SWPBS
  • Students will describe adjustments in primary systems based on data

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

 

6. Students will demonstrate an understanding of effective “behavior and classroom management” practices in the context of Tier 1 Systems

Content

  1. Five critical features of evidence-based classroom management:
    1. Maximize structure
    2. Establish, post, teach, monitor, and reinforce a small number of positively stated expectations
    3. Actively engage students in observable ways
    4. Employ a continuum of strategies to acknowledge appropriate behavior
    5. Employ a continuum of strategies to respond to inappropriate behavior
  2. Non-classroom management:
    1. Active supervision
    2. Reinforcement
    3. Teaching routines and rules
  3. Role of behavior management in academic instruction
  4. Response to intervention

Outcomes

  • Students will describe features and implementation procedures of evidence based classroom management.
  • Students will describe features and implementation procedures of effective non-classroom management practices

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

 

7. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “Tier 2 (Secondary) Systems”

Content

  1. Definition and rationale
  2. Conceptual, theoretical, empirical, and legal foundations
  3. Evidence-based practices
  4. Assessment and screening
  5. Data-based decision making
  6. Function-based support

Outcomes

  • Students will describe the necessary features of a secondary intervention system
  • Students will describe procedures for screening and identifying students who might benefit from a secondary intervention system
  • Students will describe procedures for teachings students how to participate in a secondary intervention system
  • Students will describe procedures for assisting teachers in the implementation of a secondary intervention system
  • Students will develop and describe data collection and decision making procedures

Demonstrated in EPSY 5142

 

8. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “Tier 3 (Tertiary) Systems”

Content

  1. Definition and rationale
  2. Conceptual, theoretical, empirical, and legal foundations
  3. Evidence-based practices
  4. Assessment and screening
  5. Data-based decision making
  6. Function-based support
  7. Behavior intervention teaming
  8. Wraparound and school-based systems of care
  9. Family supports

Outcomes

  • Students will describe characteristics and necessary features of a function based tertiary systems approach
  • Students will describe features of school-based mental health approaches (e.g., wraparound, person-centered planning, systems of care)

Demonstrated in EPSY 5142

 

9. Students will demonstrate the application of “functional behavioral assessment” and “behavior support planning” in the context of Tertiary Systems

Content

  1. Routine analysis
  2. Testable hypothesis
  3. Competing path analysis
  4. Behavior intervention plan
  5. Data collection, analysis, and data-based decision making

Outcomes

  • Students will participate in at least 2 functional based team meetings
  • Students will conduct 2 FBAs in clinic or educational setting:
    • collect FBA data (baseline/intervention)
    • generate testable hypothesis and competing path analysis
  • Students will develop and implement (with 5 days of data) behavior intervention plan
  • Students will evaluate and write-up process and outcomes

Demonstrated in EPSY 5092

 

10. Students will demonstrate the application of “team based implementation” in the context of Tertiary Systems

Content

  1. School-wide leadership
  2. Individual student behavior intervention planning
  3. Special education
  4. Family and community members

Outcomes

  • Students will describe basic meeting operation structures procedures, and guidelines
  • Students will engage in efficient problem solving and action planning
  • Students will apply skills aimed at preventing and managing conflicts and roadblocks
  • Students will lead teams through implementing 2 function based support plans (same plans as developed for competency #9)

Demonstrated in EPSY 5092

 

11. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “theoretical and empirical foundations” of PBS

Content

  1. Landmark studies and papers
  2. Theoretical/conceptual descriptive papers
  3. Empirical supports

Outcomes

  • Students will critically evaluate articles in the area of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and write article reviews
  • Students will demonstrate an advanced understanding of the theoretical and empirical foundations through course assessments

Demonstrated in EPSY 5405

 

12. Students will demonstrate an understanding of “single subject research”

Content

  1. Defining features
  2. Research questions
  3. Designs or analytic tactics
    1. Reversal/withdrawal
    2. Multiple baseline
    3. Alternating treatments
    4. Changing criterion
  4. Graphing and visual analysis
  5. Functional relationship
  6. Replication (direct and systematic)
  7. Effect size

Outcomes

  • All students will demonstrate skills in basic applications. That is, they will suggest a single subject design to solve an applied problem

Demonstrated in EPSY 3125/5141

  • Interested students will also demonstrate skills in advanced applications. That is, they will (a) write article reviews focused on research methodology, (b) write a literature review, and (c) develop a research proposal based on identified research questions

Demonstrated in EPSY 6194 (an optional course for advanced Master’s Level and Doctoral Students)