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
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
What if in the Ellis study on the same day as the teachers began using the stop watches, another teacher began giving ten minutes of extra free time?

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
Used to test the effects of an intervention
Variability –research 5% range; theraputic 20% range, they suggest 50%
Too much variability makes it difficult to draw conclusion
Good operational definition
Naturally occurring variability

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
Advantages
Disadvantages
Simple to use
Compares student performance
Cannot make confident assumptions
Good to graph acquisition obj.
Referred to as the “Teaching design”
Consists of two phases
Data collected during intervention are compared to those collected during baseline
Show Odom and Strain
Ellis et al
Usually used to monitor progress in:
Reading instruction
How to play 42
Washing hands

14. Reversal Designs What problems does this pose? Advantages
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?
Advantages
Disadvantages
Experimental control
Must withdraw intervention
Simple
Must withdraw intervention
Reversal may seem dangerous or inaapropriate
Cannot be used with interventions that are not reversioble (learned behaviors)
unethical

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
Advantages
Disadvantages
Functional relationship without withdrawing intervention
Must be used on behaviors that require small incremental changes
Progress oriented
Starting with small change
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
Functional relationship is demonstrated by repeated shifts in the behaivor corresponding to changes in criteria
Appropriate when ultimate goals of behavior change requires a considerable length of time to reach
CALLED shaping design
IMPORTANT: the minimal criteria for reinforcement to be such that student will work and con obtain SR+

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
Use tolerance for delay graph

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
Advantages
Disadvantages
Establish a functional relationship (without reversing the intervention
Must implement across settings, people, etc. -- cumbersome
Allows the examination of one intervention on many kids
Collect baseline over extended period of time
Cannot be used with a behavior that calls for immediate action
When behaviors are not independent
Controls for learner history?
DISADVANTAGES
Behaviors must be independent
Extended baseline is problamatic

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
When is it necessary to take baseline

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
Advantages
Disadvantages
Efficient for teachers
Must implement a replication phase for functional relationship
Multiple treatment spillover
Also known as the discovery design
EXAMPLES
Comprehension with oral reading or silent reading
Run faster with fast paced music or slow paced music

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
Cumulative effects
Cannot compare any conditions other than those next to each other

26. Advantages
Disadvantages
Compare interventions
No functional relationship can be established
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