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Mastering Precision Teaching through Applied Behavior Analysis Techniques

By centralreach, february 25, 2019.

By CentralReach “Celeration Ninja” Amy L. Evans, M.Ed., BCBA

In the same way that many people in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are committed to becoming behavior analysts after their first “big win” with a learner, most Precision Teaching (PT) practitioners have a “never going back” moment after achieving an outcome with a learner they previously thought was not possible.

For me, my “hooked on ABA” moment was when a young learner with autism started speaking in complete sentences. The same day he mastered that program, he took his mom’s hand, led her around pointing out family photos, and explained why he had been crying in each of them. My “hooked on Precision Teaching” moment was after I was able to elevate a 3rd grade math student up to grade level in less than 30 instructional hours. The client later told me that math was her new favorite subject, and that I was the “only tutor that actually helped.” After witnessing firsthand the breakthroughs that occurred as a result of behavior analytic intervention, I was hooked on the science. Once I produced measurable outcomes with a small stack of Standard Celeration Charts, I found myself fascinated with the effectiveness of precision measurement within ABA. Now, I teach behavior analysts about Precision Teaching and get to hear stories of how it makes a huge difference in the lives of their clients. But as you may know, it takes time before these pivotal moments can occur — where everything comes together. The first step to getting there is to understand what Precision Teaching is, what it is not, and how it can transform your work with clients.

Defining Precision Teaching

Here’s the definition of Precision Teaching:

A system for precisely defining and continuously measuring dimensional features of behavior, and graphing and analyzing behavioral data on the Standard Celeration Chart (SCC) to make timely and effective data-based decisions to improve behavior (Evans, 2018).

PT is a System

Precision Teaching is not a program, a curriculum, or even a way of teaching; it is a system. This is why it can be used with any behavior change initiative, from teaching a learner diagnosed with autism to communicate, to training athletes and surgeons. This is also why it may be misunderstood, as those who have seen it in action do not always differentiate between the curriculum or activities they observe and the systematic process behind it.

The easiest-to-remember description of Precision Teaching is the cycle of Pinpoint , Record, Change, and Try Again (PRCTA) from The Precision Teaching Book (Kubina & Yurich, 2012) .

The Precision Teaching team at CentralReach has recently tested representing PT as a “behavioral data science”, a term coined by Dr. Rick Kubina, BCBA-D. In this in-depth framework, the cycle includes six steps that create this process, showcased below:

The most important thing to understand here is that, like other systems, there are interconnected steps, and all of these must be deployed in order to consider what you do “Precision Teaching.”

Critical Elements

The critical elements represent those aspects of the Precision Teaching system that must be in place in order to confirm Precision Teaching implementation.

• Pinpointing Precision Teaching defines behavior in a very specific way, using metrics called “pinpoints.” While behavioral objectives and operational definitions were created to help us clarify what a behavior looks like, how it will be measured, and under what conditions we might observe it, taking the extra step to create pinpoints can improve reliability in measurement, fidelity in treatment, and efficiency in learning.
• Continuous Observation Precision Teaching takes measurement seriously and puts a great deal of time and thought into optimizing a measurement system to produce accurate, actionable data. To do this well, striking a balance between completeness (capturing all behavior) and accuracy is key. Continuous observation of behavior, even in short observation periods, produces more accurate data than discontinuous methods. That said, a Precision Teacher should prioritize continuous observation methods that strive for completeness when feasible, but narrow observation periods if necessary.
• Dimensional Measurement Measurable dimensions of behavior include count and/or time. A Precision Teaching practitioner counts and times behavior, often selecting frequency/rate (count per time) as a measure but sometimes choosing count, latency, or duration. To ensure that these are true measures of learner behavior and not simply an artifact of the behavior of the interventionist, a Precision Teacher opts for free-operant arrangements for teaching and observing behavior whenever possible.
• Standard Celeration Chart A Precision Teaching practitioner uses the Standard Celeration Chart (keyword: uses). The Standard Celeration Chart is a standardized visual display, with a ratio scale on the vertical axes and a calendar-based horizontal axis, that includes all elements necessary for effective analysis. Behavior analysts use this tool to display behavioral data, document environmental changes, and analyze progress toward meaningful outcomes. This magnificent tool provides both visual and quantitative analyses of behavioral phenomena and their relationship to environmental manipulations. Empowered with this tool, Precision Teachers make decisions quickly and often, which in turn produces efficient behavior change.

Guiding Principles

Implementing this system involves immense focus on measurement and data, but it is important to reflect on the purpose of Precision Teaching. If you dig a little deeper into the literature on PT or spend some time with Precision Teaching practitioners, you will find that the “why” behind our obsession with measurement and data-based decision making is 100% about producing superior learning outcomes for our clients. There are a few principles in Precision Teaching that guide programming considerations, interactions with learners, and decision making. The biggest one that I think supersedes the rest is that “The Learner Knows Best” (Lindsley, 1990b). By collecting precise data as often as possible, we are allowed the flexibility to individualize teaching tactics quickly and effectively. Even when implementing the most evidence-based interventions, each learner is unique, and the Standard Celeration Chart helps us follow the learner to find what works for them.

A happy learner is one who is always challenged to improve but never coerced, never given more than they can handle, and never blamed. Striving to find that “sweet spot” to produce happy learners stems from a combination of applied science and caring for our clients. The Precision Teaching system allows for strong adherence to the core values of ethical, effective behavior analysts and is a strong driver of superior outcomes.

Hungry for more Precision Teaching content?

Watch the CentralReach webinar recording: Debunking the Myths of Precision Teaching . Dr. Rick Kubina and Amy Evans, with special guest host Kerri Milyko, as they discuss some of the intricacies of Precision Teaching as well as debunk common myths!

About the Author

Amy L. Evans, M.Ed., BCBA is the Lead Celeration Ninja at CentralReach LLC. Amy has been a practitioner of Precision Teaching and Applied Behavior Analysis since 2008, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2014. Amy earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and a Masters in Special Education from the Pennsylvania State University. Amy has worked in private learning centers, public school classrooms, home-based intervention and homeschool settings, combining the principles of Behavior Analysis, Precision Measurement, and Direct Instruction to solve educational and behavioral challenges for students from 4 to 18 years old, with and without learning or developmental disabilities. Amy’s current work at CentralReach includes designing and implementing training programs for autism providers who are looking to accelerate behavior change and learning outcomes with precise measurement, fluency-based instruction, and data-based decision making.

Evans, A. (2018, July). A case for embracing data science. Invited presentation given at The Convergence of Human Training, Animal Training, and Technology, Seattle, WA.

Evans, A. (2018, November). A Precise Description of Precision Teaching. Paper presented in Gist, C. & Evans, A. Why PT is an evidence-based practice, and other answers for your boss and colleagues. Symposium at the 31st Annual Conference of the Standard Celeration Society, Seattle, WA.

Kubina, R. M. (2014). The big heart: using science + caring to improve education (and the world) . Blog available at https://www.chartlytics.com/blog/the-big-heart.

Kubina, R. M., Yurich, K. K. L. (2012). The precision teaching book. Lemont, PA: Greatness Achieved Publishing Company.

Lindsley, O. R. (1996). The four free-operant freedoms. The Behavior analyst, 19(2), 199-210.

Patterson, K., & McDowell, C. (2009). Using precision teaching strategies to promote selfmanagement of inner behaviours and measuring effects on the symptoms of depression. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 10, 283-295.

Lindsley, O. R. (1990b). Precision teaching: By teachers for children. Teaching Exceptional Children, 22(3), 10-15

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Precision Teaching In Aba

Uncover the personalized approach to learning, celebrating individual progress and tailoring teaching methods to unique rhythms. This guide invites students, practitioners, and the curious to delve into the heart of Precision Teaching, where data meets the human experience.

Understanding Precision Teaching

Precision Teaching is a highly effective teaching method that has gained recognition and popularity in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). This section provides an introduction to Precision Teaching and highlights its importance in ABA.

Introduction to Precision Teaching

Precision Teaching is an instructional approach that focuses on individualized and data-driven instruction. It involves breaking down complex skills into smaller, measurable components and using continuous progress monitoring to assess and improve learning outcomes. The goal of Precision Teaching is to promote rapid skill acquisition and fluency in targeted areas.

One of the fundamental principles of Precision Teaching is the emphasis on the frequency and accuracy of responses. By measuring and charting the learner's performance, educators and caregivers can identify areas of strength and areas that require further attention. This data-driven approach allows for precise analysis and adjustment of instruction to ensure optimal learning outcomes.

The Importance of Precision Teaching in ABA

Precision Teaching plays a vital role in the field of ABA, particularly in working with individuals with autism. It provides a structured and systematic framework for teaching skills and promoting meaningful progress. Here are some reasons why Precision Teaching is highly valued in ABA:

• ‍ Individualized Instruction: Precision Teaching recognizes that each learner has unique strengths, needs, and learning styles. By tailoring instruction to the individual, educators and therapists can provide personalized interventions that address specific skill deficits. This individualized approach maximizes the potential for skill development and overall progress.
• ‍ Data-Driven Decision Making: Precision Teaching relies on frequent data collection and analysis to guide instructional decisions. By continuously monitoring the learner's performance, educators can make informed adjustments to teaching strategies and interventions. This data-driven approach ensures that instructional methods are evidence-based and tailored to the learner's specific needs.
• ‍ Rapid Skill Acquisition: The precise measurement and tracking of learner performance in Precision Teaching facilitate rapid skill acquisition. By breaking down skills into small, manageable components, learners can progress at their own pace and build fluency in targeted areas. This approach promotes efficient learning and helps individuals acquire skills more quickly.
• ‍ Generalization of Skills: Precision Teaching aims to promote the generalization of skills beyond the teaching environment. By systematically teaching and reinforcing skills in various contexts, learners are more likely to apply those skills in real-life situations. This generalization of skills is crucial for ensuring that the acquired abilities have practical and functional value.

Precision Teaching is a powerful tool that revolutionizes the way skills are taught and acquired. By focusing on individualized instruction, data-driven decision making, rapid skill acquisition, and generalization of skills, Precision Teaching has the potential to make a significant impact on individuals with autism and their caregivers.

In the next section, we will explore effective Precision Teaching methods that can be employed to enhance learning outcomes.

Effective Precision Teaching Methods

Precision teaching employs various methods to ensure effective skill acquisition and learning. These methods are designed to provide structured and systematic instruction for individuals with autism. In this section, we will explore some of the most effective precision teaching methods: discrete trial training (DTT), task analysis, errorless teaching, shaping, and chaining.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is a widely used precision teaching method that breaks down skills into smaller, manageable components. It involves presenting a specific stimulus or instruction, prompting the learner to respond, and providing immediate feedback or reinforcement. DTT is particularly effective for teaching new skills and promoting skill generalization.

During DTT sessions, a trained instructor presents a series of trials, each consisting of a discriminative stimulus, a correct response, and positive reinforcement. The use of prompts and reinforcement helps individuals with autism learn new skills in a structured and controlled environment. DTT allows for repeated practice and reinforcement, leading to skill acquisition and fluency.

Task Analysis

Task analysis is a precision teaching method that involves breaking down complex skills or tasks into smaller, sequential steps. By deconstructing a task, individuals with autism can better understand and learn each step, leading to successful completion of the overall task. Task analysis is particularly useful for teaching skills that involve multiple components or require a specific sequence of actions.

Using task analysis, instructors identify the individual steps required to complete a task and teach each step separately. This method allows for systematic instruction, ensuring that individuals with autism can master each step before progressing to the next. By following a step-by-step approach, individuals can build their skills gradually and achieve overall task proficiency.

Errorless Teaching

Errorless teaching is a precision teaching method that focuses on minimizing errors during the learning process. This approach aims to prevent individuals with autism from making mistakes by providing clear instructions, prompts, and cues. By reducing errors, errorless teaching promotes successful learning experiences and builds confidence.

In errorless teaching, instructors provide explicit instructions and prompts to guide individuals through each step of a task. By doing so, they minimize the chance of errors and ensure that learners experience success from the beginning. This positive reinforcement encourages individuals to engage in the learning process and promotes skill acquisition.

Shaping is a precision teaching method that involves reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior. This method is particularly effective when teaching complex skills that cannot be easily captured in discrete steps. Shaping allows individuals to build upon existing skills and gradually move towards the desired behavior or outcome.

In shaping, instructors reinforce behaviors that are closer to the target behavior and gradually fade reinforcement for less desirable behaviors. By reinforcing small steps towards the target behavior, individuals with autism can make progress and achieve the ultimate goal. Shaping promotes incremental learning and encourages individuals to reach their full potential.

Chaining is a precision teaching method that involves teaching individuals to perform a sequence of behaviors or steps in a specific order. This method is useful for teaching skills that require a series of actions to be performed in a particular sequence. Chaining helps individuals with autism learn and master complex tasks by breaking them down into manageable steps.

There are two types of chaining: forward chaining and backward chaining. In forward chaining, individuals are taught to complete the first step of the task, and subsequent steps are added gradually. In backward chaining, individuals are taught to complete the last step of the task, and preceding steps are added incrementally. Chaining allows individuals to develop a sense of task completion and achieve independence in performing complex skills.

By utilizing these effective precision teaching methods, individuals with autism can experience successful learning outcomes and skill acquisition. The structured and systematic approach of DTT, task analysis, errorless teaching, shaping, and chaining ensures that individuals receive individualized instruction and targeted support to reach their full potential.

Benefits of Precision Teaching Methods

Precision Teaching methods offer a range of benefits that can greatly impact individuals with autism and their caregivers. These methods provide individualized instruction, data-driven decision making, rapid skill acquisition, and generalization of skills.

Individualized Instruction

One of the key benefits of precision teaching methods is the ability to provide individualized instruction. Each individual with autism has unique strengths, challenges, and learning styles.

Precision teaching allows educators and therapists to tailor instruction to the specific needs of the individual, focusing on their strengths and targeting areas that require additional support. This personalized approach enhances the effectiveness of the teaching process and promotes better engagement and learning outcomes.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Precision teaching methods rely on collecting and analyzing data to make informed decisions about the effectiveness of instruction and the progress of the individual. By continuously monitoring and tracking data, educators and therapists can identify patterns, trends, and areas of improvement. This data-driven approach enables timely adjustments to teaching strategies, ensuring that interventions are tailored to the individual's specific needs.

Rapid Skill Acquisition

Another significant benefit of precision teaching methods is the potential for rapid skill acquisition. By breaking down skills into smaller, manageable components, precision teaching allows for focused and intensive instruction.

This targeted approach, combined with frequent measurement and reinforcement, promotes the acquisition of skills at an accelerated pace. The emphasis on fluency, as seen in precision teaching fluency, ensures that individuals not only acquire skills but also demonstrate mastery and consistency.

Generalization of Skills

Precision teaching methods also promote the generalization of skills, allowing individuals to apply what they have learned in various settings and situations. The systematic and structured nature of precision teaching helps individuals understand the broader concepts underlying the skills they are learning.

This facilitates the transfer of skills to real-life scenarios, making the acquired skills more meaningful and practical. The use of a precision teaching curriculum helps ensure a comprehensive and well-rounded approach to skill development.

The benefits of precision teaching methods extend beyond the individual with autism. Caregivers and educators also benefit from the structured approach, as it provides them with clear guidelines and strategies to support the individual's learning journey. By leveraging individualized instruction, data-driven decision making, rapid skill acquisition, and generalization of skills, precision teaching methods empower individuals with autism to reach their full potential.

Implementing Precision Teaching Methods

To effectively implement precision teaching methods, certain strategies and practices need to be followed. This section will explore key aspects of implementing precision teaching, including setting clear goals and objectives, collecting and analyzing data, reinforcement and motivation, and collaboration with professionals.

Setting Clear Goals and Objectives

Setting clear and measurable goals and objectives is a fundamental step in precision teaching. By defining specific learning targets, educators and caregivers can track progress and determine the effectiveness of the teaching methods being employed. It is important to establish goals that are observable and quantifiable, allowing for easy measurement and assessment. These goals should be tailored to the individual needs and abilities of the learner.

Collecting and Analyzing Data

Data collection and analysis play a crucial role in precision teaching. By systematically recording and analyzing performance data, educators and caregivers can monitor progress, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. This data can be collected using precision teaching charting methods, such as frequency charts or timing charts. Regular data analysis helps to identify areas of improvement, adjust teaching strategies, and ensure that learners are making progress towards their goals.

Reinforcement and Motivation

Reinforcement and motivation are essential components of precision teaching. Positive reinforcement, such as praise, rewards, or preferred activities, can be used to reinforce correct responses and encourage desired behaviors. It is important to identify effective reinforcers that are meaningful to the learner and to deliver reinforcement consistently and immediately following successful performance.

Motivation can also be enhanced by incorporating learner interests and preferences into the learning activities. By creating a positive and engaging learning environment, learners are more likely to be motivated and actively participate in the teaching process.

Collaboration with Professionals

Collaboration with professionals, such as behavior analysts or special education teachers, is invaluable in implementing precision teaching methods. These professionals can provide guidance, support, and expertise in designing and implementing precision teaching interventions.

They can offer insights into effective teaching strategies, data analysis techniques, and individualized instruction. Collaborating with professionals also allows for a more comprehensive and holistic approach to learner support and ensures that precision teaching methods are implemented in a manner that aligns with best practices in the field.

By setting clear goals, collecting and analyzing data, using reinforcement and motivation strategies, and collaborating with professionals, precision teaching methods can be effectively implemented to promote skill acquisition and progress. These implementation strategies help create a structured and individualized learning environment that maximizes learner success.

Impact on Individuals with Autism and their Caregivers

Precision teaching methods have a profound impact on individuals with autism and their caregivers. Here are some key benefits and outcomes observed:

• Increased Skill Acquisition : Precision teaching methods focus on breaking down skills into smaller, manageable components, allowing individuals with autism to learn at their own pace. This approach promotes rapid skill acquisition and fluency development in various domains, including academics, communication, social skills, and daily living tasks.
• Enhanced Independence and Quality of Life : By targeting specific skills, precision teaching empowers individuals with autism to become more independent and self-reliant. Mastering essential skills leads to increased self-confidence, better social integration, and improved overall quality of life.
• Improved Data-Driven Decision Making : Precision teaching relies on data collection and analysis to identify progress and areas that require further attention. Caregivers and professionals can use this data to make informed decisions about the effectiveness of interventions and make necessary adjustments to maximize outcomes.
• Collaboration and Support : Precision teaching encourages collaboration between caregivers, professionals, and individuals with autism. By working together, sharing insights, and implementing consistent strategies, a supportive environment is created, fostering continued growth and success.

Precision teaching methods have revolutionized the way individuals with autism are taught and supported, providing a structured and evidence-based approach to skill development. By tailoring interventions to individual needs and tracking progress through data analysis, precision teaching empowers individuals with autism to thrive and reach their full potential.

As we wrap up our journey through the world of Precision Teaching in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), let's bring it down to the human level. Precision Teaching isn't just about charts, graphs, and pinpointing behaviors; it's a dynamic approach that values the individuality of each learner.

In the realm of ABA, Precision Teaching is like crafting a personalized roadmap for learning. It's about understanding that each person has their unique pace and rhythm. By paying attention to the details, celebrating small victories, and adjusting our teaching methods accordingly, we foster a learning environment that is truly tailored to the needs of the individual.

So, let's carry the spirit of Precision Teaching beyond the data points and into the realm of human connection. It's about recognizing that learning is a personal journey, and the methods we employ should reflect the rich diversity of experiences that make us who we are. As we embrace Precision Teaching, we not only refine skills but also nurture a love for learning that goes beyond the numbers.

• https://thinkpsych.com/blog/what-is-precision-teaching-aba
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7781427
• https://www.studynotesaba.com/glossary/precision-teaching

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The Pros and Cons of AI in Special Education

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Special education teachers fill out mountains of paperwork, customize lessons for students with a wide range of learning differences, and attend hours of bureaucratic meetings.

It’s easy to see why it would be tempting to outsource parts of that job to a robot.

While there may never be a special educator version of “Star Wars”’ protocol droid C-3PO, generative artificial tools—including ChatGPT and others developed with the large language models created by its founder, Open AI—can help special education teachers perform parts of their job more efficiently, allowing them to spend more time with their students, experts and educators say.

But those shortcuts come with plenty of cautions, they add.

Teachers need to review artificial intelligence’s suggestions carefully to ensure that they are right for specific students. Student data—including diagnoses of learning differences or cognitive disorders—need to be kept private.

Even special educators who have embraced the technology urge to proceed with care.

“I’m concerned about how AI is being presented right now to educators, that it’s this magical tool,” said Julie Tarasi, who teaches special education at Lakeview Middle School in the Park Hill school district near Kansas City, Mo. She recently completed a course in AI sponsored by the International Society for Technology in Education. “And I don’t think that the AI literacy aspect of it is necessarily being [shared] to the magnitude that it should be with teachers.”

Park Hill is cautiously experimenting with AI’s potential as a paperwork partner for educators and an assistive technology for some students in special education.

The district is on the vanguard. Only about 1 in 6 principals and district leaders—16 percent—said their schools or districts were piloting AI tools or using them in a limited manner with students in special education, according to a nationally representative EdWeek Research Center survey conducted in March and April.

AI tools may work best for teachers who already have a deep understanding of what works for students in special education, and of the tech itself, said Amanda Morin, a member of the advisory board for the learner-variability project at Digital Promise, a nonprofit organization that works on equity and technology issues in schools.

“If you feel really confident in your special education knowledge and experience and you have explored AI [in depth], I think those two can combine in a way that can really accelerate the way you serve students,” Morin said.

But “if you are a novice at either, it’s not going to serve your students well because you don’t know what you don’t know yet,” she added. “You may not even know if the tool is giving you a good answer.”

Here are some of the areas where Park Hill educators and other school and district leaders see AI’s promise for special education—and what caveats to look out for:

Promise: Reducing the paperwork burden.

Some special education teachers spend as many as eight hours a week writing student-behavior plans, progress reports, and other documentation.

“Inevitably, we’re gonna get stuck, we’re gonna struggle to word things,” Tarasi said. AI can be great for busting through writer’s block or finding a clearer, more objective way to describe a student’s behavior, she said.

What’s more, tools such as Magic School—an AI platform created for K-12 education—can help special education teachers craft the student learning goals that must be included in an individualized education program, or IEP.

“I can say ‘I need a reading goal to teach vowels and consonants to a student,’ and it will generate a goal,” said Tara Bachmann, Park Hill’s assistive-technology facilitator. “You can put the criteria you want in, but it makes it measurable, then my teachers can go in and insert the specifics about the student” without involving AI, Bachmann said.

These workarounds can cut the process of writing an IEP by up to 30 minutes, Bachmann said—giving teachers more time with students.

AI can also come to the rescue when a teacher needs to craft a polite, professional email to a parent after a stress-inducing encounter with their child.

Some Park Hill special education teachers use “Goblin,” a free tool aimed at helping neurodivergent people organize tasks, to take the “spice” out of those messages, Tarasi said.

A teacher could write “the most emotionally charged email. Then you hit a button called ‘formalize.’ And it makes it like incredibly professional,” Bachmann said. “Our teachers like it because they have a way to release the emotion but still communicate the message to the families.”

Caveat: Don’t share personally identifiable student information. Don’t blindly embrace AI’s suggestions.

Teachers must be extremely careful about privacy issues when using AI tools to write documents—from IEPs to emails—that contain sensitive student information, Tarasi said.

“If you wouldn’t put it on a billboard outside of the school, you should not be putting it into any sort of AI,” Tarasi said. “There’s no sense of guaranteed privacy.”

Tarasi advises her colleagues to “absolutely not put in names” when using generative AI to craft documents, she said. While including students’ approximate grade level may be OK in certain circumstances, inputting their exact age or mentioning a unique diagnosis is a no-no.

To be sure, if the information teachers put into AI is too vague, educators might not get accurate suggestions for their reports. That requires a balance.

“You need to be specific without being, without being pinpoint,” Tarasi said.

Caveat: AI works best for teachers who already understand special education

Another caution: Although AI tools can help teachers craft a report or customize a general education lesson for students in special education, teachers need to already have a deep understanding of their students to know whether to adopt its recommendations.

Relying solely on AI tools for lesson planning or writing reports “takes the individualized out of individualized education,” Morin said. “Because what [the technology] is doing is spitting out things that come up a lot” as opposed to carefully considering what’s best for a specific student, like a good teacher can.

Educators can tweak their prompts—the questions they ask AI—to get better, more specific advice, she added.

“A seasoned special educator would be able to say ‘So I have a student with ADHD, and they’re fidgety’ and get more individualized recommendations,” Morin said.

Promise: Making lessons more accessible.

Ensuring students in special education master the same course content as their peers can require teachers to spend hours simplifying the language of a text to an appropriate reading level.

Generative AI tools can accomplish that same task—often called “leveling a text"—in just minutes, said Josh Clark, the leader of the Landmark School , a private school in Massachusetts serving children with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.

“If you have a class of 30 kids in 9th grade, and they’re all reading about photosynthesis, then for one particular child, you can customize [the] reading level without calling them out and without anybody else knowing and without you, the teacher, spending hours,” Clark said. “I think that’s a super powerful way of allowing kids to access information they may not be able to otherwise.”

Similarly, in Park Hill, Bachmann has used Canva—a design tool with a version specifically geared toward K-12 schools and therefore age-appropriate for many students—to help a student with cerebral palsy create the same kind of black-and-white art his classmates were making.

Kristen Ponce, the district’s speech and language pathologist, has used Canva to provide visuals for students in special education as they work to be more specific in their communication.

Case-in-point: One of Ponce’s students loves to learn about animals, but he has a very clear idea of what he’s looking for, she said. If the student just says “bear,” Canva will pull up a picture of, for instance, a brown grizzly. But the student may have been thinking of a polar bear.

That gives Ponce the opportunity to tell him, “We need to use more words to explain what you’re trying to say here,” she said. “We were able to move from ‘bear’ to ‘white bear on ice.’”

Caveat: It’s not always appropriate to use AI as an accessibility tool.

Not every AI tool can be used with every student. For instance, there are age restrictions for tools like ChatGPT, which isn’t for children under 13 or those under 18 without parent permission, Bachmann said. (ChatGPT does not independently verify a user’s age.)

“I caution my staff about introducing it to children who are too young and remembering that and that we try to focus on what therapists and teachers can do collectively to make life easier for [students],” she said.

“Accessibility is great,” she said. But when a teacher is thinking about “unleashing a child freely on AI, there is caution to it.”

Promise: Using AI tools to help students in special education communicate.

Park Hill is just beginning to use AI tools to help students in special education express their ideas.

One recent example: A student with a traumatic brain injury that affected her language abilities made thank you cards for several of her teachers using Canva.

“She was able to generate personal messages to people like the school nurses,” Bachmann said. “To her physical therapist who has taken her to all kinds of events outside in the community. She said, ‘You are my favorite therapist.’ She got very personal.”

There may be similar opportunities for AI to help students in special education write more effectively.

Some students with learning and thinking differences have trouble organizing their thoughts or getting their point across.

“When we ask a child to write, we’re actually asking them to do a whole lot of tasks at once,” Clark said. Aspects of writing that might seem relatively simple to a traditional learner—word retrieval, grammar, punctuation, spelling—can be a real roadblock for some students in special education, he said.

“It’s a huge distraction,” Clark said. The student may “have great ideas, but they have difficulty coming through.”

Caveat: Students may miss out on the critical-thinking skills writing builds.

Having students with language-processing differences use AI tools to better express themselves holds potential, but if it is not done carefully, students may miss developing key skills, said Digital Promise’s Morin.

AI “can be a really positive adaptive tool, but I think you have to be really structured about how you’re doing it,” she said.

ChatGPT or a similar tool may be able to help a student with dyslexia or a similar learning difference “create better writing, which I think is different than writing better,” Morin said.

Since it’s likely that students will be able to use those tools in the professional world, it makes sense that they begin using them in school, she said.

But the tools available now may not adequately explain the rationale behind the changes they make to a student’s work or help students express themselves more clearly in the future.

“The process is just as important as the outcome, especially with kids who learn differently, right?” Morin said. “Your process matters.”

Clark agreed on the need for moving cautiously. His own school is trying what he described as “isolated experiments” in using AI to help students with language-processing differences express themselves better.

The school is concentrating, for now, on older students preparing to enter college. Presumably, many will be able to use AI to complete some postsecondary assignments. “How do we make sure it’s an equal playing field?” Clark said.

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Why there's a special education and STEM teacher shortage and what can be done

Experts say obstacles include recruitment, funding and institutional support.

Jahsha Tabron, the 2022 Delaware teacher of the year, taught special education for more than two decades and cherished what she called the "winning moments" of growth in her students.

"[Where] you have a nonverbal student who is now able to speak in simple sentences … that's why you stay," she recently told ABC News.

But Tabron, now Brandywine High School's dean of students in Wilmington, Delaware, said her field can be a tough sell for future candidates.

"When we're talking about why we don't have a lot of people joining the profession, we're looking at the immense workload that comes along with being a special education teacher," she said.

MORE: Most of the US is dealing with a teaching shortage, but the data isn't so simple

Tabron's concern about a staffing shortage is widely shared. A nationwide survey conducted by ABC News this school year found that much of the country doesn't have enough educators -- and that in many cases, districts suffer from a lack of subject matter experts, too.

Two parts of the subject matter pool are particularly strained, according to local education officials: special education and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.

Teachers and experts who spoke with ABC News cited the need for more money for students with disabilities and those who educate them; inadequate diversity in STEM; and underwhelming pipeline and recruiting efforts, particularly in more rural districts and for teachers of color, as major obstacles.

Special education has always been one of the most underfunded yet vital teaching positions in public schools, the experts said -- pointing to a perpetual desire for more financial support, either at the local or federal level, to help instructors doing such specialized work.

The experts said that STEM teachers are overwhelmingly white -- according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 79% are non-Hispanic or white -- even in public schools that are majority non-white, so they do not adequately reflect the students they teach, which creates an added pressure on bringing in more candidates. There's also a focus on increasing diversity in special education instruction.

By the numbers

For a recent report on teacher staffing across the country, ABC News reached out by phone and email to the overarching education departments in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

At least 40 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- 42 out of 53 surveyed -- reported ongoing teaching shortages.

According to an updated analysis, conducted this spring, the most acute shortages are in special education and STEM teachers.

Those findings are reinforced by research from NCES' School Pulse Panel, which started collecting information during the summer of 2021 to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and educators.

The monthly NCES survey found 78% of K-12 public school principals reported that it was somewhat or very "difficult" to fill a position with a fully certified teacher for special education at the beginning of the current school year. About three-fourths of public schools also reported it was somewhat or very difficult to staff physical science (78%) and mathematics (75%) teachers.

ABC News' reporting found that 31 state education associations, agencies and departments identified special education challenges as one of their greatest needs during the 2022-2023 school year.

MORE: How schools are trying to address the national teacher shortage

What's more, over the course of the school year, almost a third of the country -- or 17 state education agencies -- also told ABC News one of their greatest challenges has been filling teaching positions in STEM.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a speech last year that collaboration is the key to raising the bar for education across America. He also spoke of teacher shortages in bilingual education, special education and STEM -- saying they impact low-income and students of color the most.

'We have a real problem'

The federal government's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recognizes that many states are facing staffing challenges and is committed to trying to fix the system as a whole, according to OSEP Director Valerie Williams.

"There's data to support that we have a real problem," Williams told ABC News. "Going forward, we're going to aim to focus not just on increasing the numbers but also on diversification of the profession and finding ways for how we can get people from minority backgrounds interested in becoming teachers and get them into the pipeline."

President Joe Biden's 2024 budget proposal -- which has been criticized by conservatives for, they say, reducing economic growth by bloating the government -- is touted by supporters as addressing the gap in special education teachers, "investing $304 million to train and retain [them], specialized instructional support personnel, and paraprofessionals," according to a Department of Education spokesperson.

A recent House Republican proposal to reduce federal government spending has been criticized, too, though conservatives have pushed back on claims it would cut school funding -- calling that made up.

Tabron, in Delaware, said special education is one of the most challenging positions in a school as it not only has general instruction responsibilities but also juggles needs and disciplines that most teachers don't face.

"It's not regular teaching," she said. "You have special ed teachers who are doing the regular part of teaching, which is the planning instruction, the differentiation, the accommodations and modifications. But in addition to just that part of your job as a special education teacher, you are also responsible for creating individualized education plans (IEP) for all of your students."

She described special education teachers as akin to scientists, because they're required to know how their students' brains work.

During the onset of COVID-19, many teachers' workloads were exacerbated by school closures and remote teaching, Tabron said. Now, she said, those who have stayed are working with the same amount of pre-pandemic resources -- but their role has expanded to account for a recent increase in students who see the value of IEPs and special services.

"There was a need for special education teachers before the pandemic," Tabron said. "The need just increased afterwards."

'Our country really needs to step it up'

Connecticut science teacher Carolyn Kielma is raising awareness around the challenges in STEM staffing, too. The self-described "STEMinist" said all it takes is for people to have a drive and passion for teaching.

"Our country really needs to step it up in those careers if we're going to have productive citizens in the future," the 2023 National Teacher of the Year finalist said. "All students are gifted and all students have special needs. It's our job to figure out what those gifts are and what those needs are and marry them into the best lesson plan."

Experts, though, have told ABC News the STEM shortage is a "crisis." They said not only is the field missing teachers but there's also a dearth of aspiring applicants.

"We don't have enough people [in general] going into STEM careers, and so the downstream effect of that is we don't have enough STEM teachers," said Arthur Mitchell, executive director of the STEM Equity Alliance.

Education advocates told ABC News that college graduates with education degrees have been declining for years. The University of California at Los Angeles' Cooperative Institutional Research Program found only 4.3% of U.S. college freshmen intended to major in education in 2018, compared to 11% in 2000.

Mitchell said the absence of young teachers is hurting STEM teaching categories. However, he believes there's a "neglect" problem in higher education and that institutions have to fully commit to recruitment and outreach.

"We're looking for those who have an interest in STEM education and nurturing that," said Mitchell, whose STEM Equity Alliance serves as a pipeline for teacher education. "And, by and large, there have been no concerted efforts -- national concerted efforts -- and very few statewide or local efforts to really put more STEM teachers in classrooms."

Another problem? Rural areas are underserved

Upon graduation many teachers are hesitant to explore rural parts of the U.S., according to education officials around the country.

Colorado's state education talent unit said that geographical barriers are straining their most rural, and already struggling, districts.

"Math and special education shortages can affect rural areas more acutely," Colorado's Associate Commissioner of Educator Talent Colleen O'Neil told ABC News in a statement. "[Rural parts] sometimes have no candidates at all that apply for a position," she added.

Along the Pacific coast, Siskiyou County's Allan Carver said his district also faces these roadblocks because it is in the "sticks" of Northern California.

"There's not a lot of people who want to live way out here where there's no Walmart and those sorts of things," said Carver, the Siskiyou Office of Education superintendent.

Working with a limited pool is something Southeast Arkansas Education Service Cooperative Director Karen Eoff understands as well as Carver.

According to the state's department of education, Arkansas faces its worst staffing shortages in secondary math and secondary science. But from elementary education on up, Eoff said all subjects in the rural parts of her state are impacted.

"Keeping and attracting young people to this area is a problem -- we have the largest teacher shortage in Arkansas," Eoff, who oversees 15 school districts, told ABC News.

More -- and more diverse -- pipeline programs needed

Experts interviewed for this story suggested pipeline programs could be the key to preparing teachers to enter the field in the years to come.

Reach University, a job-embedded teacher apprenticeship program, has been one solution for places like rural Arkansas and California, which are far from their state's largest institutions for training future educators.

In both Southeast Arkansas and in Siskiyou County in California, Reach University said it did an extensive analysis to define current vacancies by grade level and subject, across all open positions. In Siskiyou, they found slightly elevated vacancies in elementary education and math. Special education is "always" a constant need in his district, according to Carver.

"We've got to figure out how to take people who are already happy being in schools and help them become our teachers," Carver said. "The Reach model, with the apprenticeship, was just a home run for us."

Eoff's office has used Reach since the beginning of the current school year to stem its shortages. Now, she said, it has 20 paraprofessional staffers in an apprenticeship.

"Reach has been one of our best tools because of the support, affordability, the 'come alongside and we will help you' approach," Eoff said.

In response to former President Barack Obama's 2011 call to increase the STEM teacher pool by 100,000 in a decade, education nonprofit Beyond100K used "radical collaboration" with more than 300 organizations to exceed that benchmark. The group said it helped prepare 108,000 STEM teachers -- and counting -- with a new target of 150,000 by 2032.

Part of Beyond100K's focus, according to its 2022 trends report, is to add more teachers of color to reflect the students in their classrooms, especially Black, Latino and Native American teachers.

​"The work that we are doing now is very focused on racial equity and on creating belonging for teachers and for students," Amber Hamilton, Beyond100K's chief external officer, said.

Eoff, in Arkansas, stressed how instilling that sense of belonging into students of all ages and backgrounds will hopefully guide more candidates to the field.

"I think that the earlier we encourage kids to believe they can, in STEM programs, the better," she said.

Meanwhile, as responsibilities from the pandemic grow, STEM and special education professionals agree the shortages will persist if more isn't done to help them win.

"I think that would be awesome to ask teachers what they really need," Tabron said. "Imagine someone asking you: What would make you happier here? What can I do to support you? Just you listening to that -- I think would change my performance."

ABC News' Gabe Ferris contributed to this report.

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How to Apply: Inclusive Education Master's Degree, Special Education, PreK-8

This inclusive education track leads to a master's degree and Massachusetts initial licensure in special education, PreK-8.

Upcoming Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester: August 1, 2024
• Spring Semester: January 1, 2025
• Summer Semester: May 1, 2025
• Stonehill Teacher Residency: May 1, 2025
• Stonehill in Boston: May 15, 2024
• Stonehill on Cape Cod: March 1, 2024

Program Prerequisite(s)

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Licensure subject matter knowledge verification
• Completed course in child development with a grade of B or better, or Massachusetts initial licensure in another area

Please note that, in some cases, students may be accepted into the program without having completed the prerequisites stated above. These students will be required to develop an advisor-approved plan for completion of equivalent courses.

Application Components

Use our online application to apply for admission. Once you have completed and submitted your application, you will be provided access to an online Application Status Portal where you will be able to monitor your application checklist, provide required supplemental documentation, and ultimately receive your admission decision.

Written Teaching Statement

The purpose of the teaching statement is to provide the admission committee with a reflective account of your personal beliefs, skills and experiences in relation to teaching. You will be required to submit a written statement that addresses the prompts below in a narrative statement. For more information, please see the Written Teaching Statement tab of your application. 

• your beliefs/values about learning and education
• skills and attributes you possess that would make you a successful educator
• the role of social justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity in educational environments
• your goals and how graduate study at Stonehill will help you to achieve them

Recommendations (2)

We require two (2) recommendations from academic and/or professional references, such as former or current college/university faculty members with deep familiarity with your academic work or your current or former employers/supervisors. These references will be provided access to an online recommendation form. A letter of recommendation will be optional. For more information, please see the Recommendations tab of your application.

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We require that you include an updated resume and/or Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) as part of your application for admission. For more information and to upload your document, please see the Resume/Curriculum Vitae tab of your application.

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In order to complete our review of your application for admission, we must have access to official transcripts for any and all degrees you have earned, both undergraduate and graduate. For more information, please see the Academic History tab of your application.

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If you earned a degree from an institution located outside of the United States, we will require a foreign credential evaluation. Please request an official, course-by-course transcript evaluation report from a NACES-accredited education evaluation service , and have that evaluation sent to Stonehill College. Unofficial transcripts cannot be accepted .

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We do not require standardized test scores for admission into our graduate programs but strongly encourage applicants to licensure programs to upload completed MTEL score reports.  Applicants may also submit official scores for GRE, GMAT or other standardized tests via the testing agency in support of your application for admission if you feel the scores would provide positive context for your candidacy.

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If English is not your native language, we may require proof of English proficiency via the  Test of English as a Foreign Language  (TOEFL) or  International English Language Testing System  (IELTS). In order to ensure sufficient preparation for the academic challenge of our graduate programs, Stonehill will seek to admit candidates with a TOEFL score of 90 or greater or an IELTS of 6.5. Additionally, the College will consider candidates sub-scores to assure sufficient preparation among all measures of English proficiency.

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• Applicants who have received or will receive a degree from an accredited university abroad where English is the sole language of instruction will not be required to provide proof of English proficiency. Applicants in this category must provide an official letter of verification from the university that English is the sole language of instruction, along with the applicant's date of graduation (or anticipated date of graduation for those who are still working on their bachelor's degree). Failure to provide an official letter of verification will mean that proof of English proficiency will be required for admission. 
• Applicants from countries where English is the sole official language of instruction (Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada-except Quebec, Ghana, Ireland, India, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Tobago, Uganda, and United Kingdom - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) will not be required to provide proof of English proficiency.

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Understanding the Importance of Education for Individuals with Autism

Article 13 May 2024 87 0

It doesn't matter whether we're talking about the children that are on the spectrum, or not, the truth is that the school plays an integral role in the development of every kid. That's an institution that positively influences their growth and socialization and provides them with skills that they will later use in life.

One of the biggest concerns, and most frequent questions in parents who have an autistic child is if they should send them to school, and if so, what is the best option when it comes to this? Although there’s no doubt that children on the spectrum should go to school, there are still some factors that must be considered.

That’s because there are certain obstacles and hurdles that they may potentially stumble upon along the day. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, then stay tuned because today, we’re going to provide you with more information in regard to this.

Why Is Education So Crucial? 

As stated in the beginning, education in general is essential for all kids due to a variety of different reasons. That’s because what they’ll learn in the school environment goes beyond the “basics” such as writing, and reading.

That's the place where kids have the opportunity to interact with their peers, hone their communication skills, and deal with various situations and challenges. Some of these challenges may be difficult for children on the spectrum since most of them still haven't developed the proper skills to cope with them.

At least not yet. Some of them may find it hard to apply the necessary skills that they've gained in real-life events, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible. That's particularly doable if their parents select the right school for them.

When that's the case, they'll improve various aspects of their personality and will get the chance to practice their skill in an environment that fully accepts them. Now, we know that a lot of parents who have autistic kids struggle to decide what's the right school for them, that's why they sometimes turn to their autism magazine because out there, they can get the right information (and any other information concerning autism) as far as this is concerned. The point is to select an institution that will make their kids feel safe, loved, and cared for.

Traditional School VS Special Education

When we say traditional school , we refer to the one that represents a conventional educational institution that's intended for a variety of different students. Out there, you stumble upon kids of different personalities, abilities, talents, preferences, etc.

The main purpose of that school is to, of course, provide children with a certain level of education. On the other hand, we have a model that's a little bit different than the regular school and it's known as a special school.

It is designed to accommodate pupils with special disabilities. The learning environment isn’t the same as the one that’s in conventional schools, due to the fact that their curriculum is customized to meet the demands and needs of the children who attend this institution.

In most instances, parents who have kids who are on the spectrum choose special schools, because they are scared that their little ones are going to be treated negatively by their peers, and may not get the support and care they deserve.

This is also an option for parents who have previously selected the regular school, but sadly, didn’t have the most positive experience with it. That’s because a lot of conventional schools aren’t properly prepared for the children on the spectrum.

Despite dealing with numerous challenges and obstacles in traditional schools, a lot of parents with children on the spectrum still decide to enroll them in regular schools because they are aware of the various benefits that come with it.

If their kid successfully adapts to this environment, they are going to reap many benefits from this type of school, which includes the following:

• Their kiddo will enhance their communication and social skills
• They’ll become a lot more independent and will improve self-regulation
• They’ll gain a lot of new skills which will positively affect their development

The truth is that both of these options come with certain drawbacks and flaws. The special school may disrupt their development because they’ll only interact with kids who are similar to them.

On the flip side, if they enroll in a regular school that isn't prepared in any way for them, then they will most likely deal not only with prejudice of different types but with God forbid harassment and bullying as well.

That’s why it’s extremely important to carefully think things through before you opt for any of these alternatives if you want to ensure your child thrives in every way.

Parents, Educators, And Therapists Should Work Together

In order to provide kids who are on the spectrum with the best possible support, education, and overall care, parents, educators, and therapists must join forces and opt for different practices that are going to help them accomplish that.

For starters, they must communicate on a regular basis to see whether they are on the same page. What does it mean? It means that both therapists and teachers must update the parents on anything that’s related to their child’s progress, errors, or modifications in the treatment plan.

The same goes for the parents. Aside from that, it’s of huge importance for all parties involved to define a specific goal regarding the kid and to do whatever is in their power to work toward the same (positive) outcome.

These goals are supposed to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. In other words, SMART. By establishing them, they can work effectively to accomplish anything that they planned which will only positively impact the kid that’s on the spectrum.

Additionally, during this process, it’s pivotal for all the parties involved to be consistent if they want to be successful.

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Introduction to the Special Section: Precision Teaching: Discoveries and Applications.

Author information, affiliations.

Behavior Analysis in Practice , 17 Aug 2021 , 14(3): 555-558 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00624-1   PMID: 34422239  PMCID: PMC8369867

Abstract 

Free full text , introduction to the special section: precision teaching: discoveries and applications, andrew j. bulla.

1 Georgia Southern University-Armstrong, Savannah, GA USA

Abigail Calkin

2 Calkin Consulting Center, Gustavus, AK USA

Mary Sawyer

3 Fit Learning, Atlanta, GA USA

The current article provides an introduction to the special section in Behavior Analysis in Practice focusing on precision teaching and standard celeration charting. This particular section highlights recent advancements and discoveries made using the standard celeration chart. Drs. Andrew Bulla, Mary Sawyer, and Abigail Calkin served as guest editors for the special section. This section includes articles focusing on applications to general and education settings, working with individuals with disabilities, tutorial pieces giving practitioners a step-by-step guide for implementing procedure, as well as unique applications of the standard celeration chart.

Behavior Analysis in Practice has a long history of special issues and special sections devoted to a specific area within the field of behavior analysis. We are pleased to continue this tradition and offer a special section devoted to precision teaching and the standard celeration chart (SCC). We hope to bring the readers of the journal up-to-date research and information about the current state of precision teaching and the SCC. In addition, we hope to further clarify concepts and terms within the field to distinguish precision teaching from any application of the SCC.

The concepts for the standard celeration chart began with B. F. Skinner’s cumulative recorder and his work with rats and pigeons. In addition, Ogden Lindsley, a graduate student of Skinner’s, and his work with dogs contributed to the development of the standard celebration chart. Lindsley began using frequency to monitor human behavior, in particular, the free-operant behavior of one of his daughters, in 1952. At that time, a Newsweek article, “Babe in a Box,” described Lindsley’s work with his daughter. The article stated that although about 250 infants had grown up in Air Cribs, “Kathy [Lindsley] is the first of the crowd to undertake a precise scientific experiment” (“Babe in a Box,” 1952 , p. 98). The article included a photo of Kathy in her Air Crib with two rows of five lights, which were buttons his daughter could press. Lindsley monitored the button pressing of his daughter. Lindsley’s daughter noted:

As [my mother, Mary Lindsley Kenny, Ogden’s first wife] recalls, there was a big red button, my hand is on it in the Newsweek photo. Initially there was a two tone [sic] door chime and according to the article he later installed and substituted lights (panel of two rows of lights) would flash [sic]. So I had to press the red button. (K. L. Fandetti, personal communication email to A. B. Calkin, January 15, 2018)

Lindsley had just conducted the first behavior analytic, free operant experiment with a human.

While a graduate student, Lindsley continued this work with adults with psychotic and schizophrenic disorders, as well as children with autism when he ran the Behavior Research Laboratory at Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts, for 12 years (Lindsley, 2001 ). During this time, he conducted applied research helping to change, for example, the residents’ hallucinatory, vocalizing, and pacing behaviors to more socially appropriate behaviors. Using a manual plunger for reinforcement, patients could earn a penny, cigarette, M&M, or a slice of apple, as a reinforcer. The lab closed in 1965 when Lindsley left to take a professorship in special education at the University of Kansas.

As early as May 1955, while still working with patients at the Metropolitan State Hospital, Lindsley began to use adaptations of semi-logarithmic graphs (Ogden R. Lindsley Archive). Realizing that the cumulative recorder would be far too cumbersome for the classroom, he began to develop the standard behavior chart with the aid of three of his graduate students—Eric Haughton, Ann Dell Duncan, and Carl Koenig—when he moved to Kansas.

It was typical fluid Ogden where he would run up the stairs with the latest version, one of us (Eric [sic], Carl [sic], myself) would put some data on it and run back down the stairs to see what he thought about the visualization. We went through several versions (3 cycle for example) until the six cycle emerged because it had to be something that could handle high frequency as well as low frequency behaviors. (A. D. Duncan, personal communication email to A. B. Calkin, January 26, 2020)

The chart developed rapidly, moving from Daily Graph 1 in March 1967 to Daily Chart 8 in December 1967.

When Eric Haughton graduated and then arrived at the University of Oregon for his first teaching position with his new PhD, he brought the then-called daily graph, or DG-6, with him and he used it in his instruction. Behavior Research Company printed these graphs in September 1967. Haughton’s first class included Calkin plus eight others, none of whom continued to chart after the class, with the exception of Calkin. Because of the rapid development of the daily chart (Daily Graph 1 to Daily Chart 8), no one kept data on the dates of development between the DG-1 and DC-8. The name for the initial chart was daily graph (DG), which became the standard behavior chart (SBC) used from December 1967 until at least 1972 (Pennypacker et al., 1972 ).

The chart, now referred to as the standard celeration chart (SCC), allows observers to look at any chart without having to pay special attention to the ordinate or abscissa axes, or as Lindsley referred to them, the “up (or down) and across” to know what the scale is. The “up and down” on the left is always the logarithmic scale, and the across is always a linear scale of time. This is why the standard exists. If the viewers know they are looking at a daily chart, there are always 140 days (or 20 weeks) on the “across.” The weekly chart has 20 weeks. The monthly chart displays 1 decade, and the yearly chart 1 century. In each, the celeration line is x2 corner to corner (Caldwell, 1966 ; Calkin, 2005 ). Just as in medicine with the standard blood pressure, EKG, EEG, MRI, and C-T scan measures, looking at behavior needs to be standard also. Thus, the family of SCCs has standard measurement at its core.

The techniques for using the SCC are well-described in The Handbook of the Standard Celeration Chart (Pennypacker et al., 2003 ). What are the benefits of the SCC? The benefits include its use of frequency, which is the basis for calculating and displaying both celeration and bounce, and its standard display. This enables the charter to view multiplicative change, including celeration, or proportional growth, and the variability of behavior. If one looks at a linear graph, which is additive in its display, the option of viewing the growth and natural variability of behavior and any outliers is not readily apparent. Further, behavior—whether cell division, fetal growth, disease, etc.—changes by multiplying in any living organism. Even death shows a deceleration in the frequency of behavior. It is far easier to see and interpret the frequency of behaviors and graphically than using a table of numbers. One cannot look at growth or change additively any more than a shuttle can land on the moon or another planet when scientists view miles and time separately. All behavior change needs to be viewed and measured with the same precision as landing on the Moon or Mars. If its trajectory is a portion off, a space shuttle misses its target at great cost. Likewise, not tracking the trajectory of behavior and behavior change can cost an individual or any society a great deal of time, money, and effort in because we miss the target when attempting to create high quality education, health, learning, and standard of living. Just as someone steeped in physical science needs to look at the speed per unit of time of travel in space, those stepped in behavioral science need to look at the trajectory and patterns of frequency, celeration, and bounce of behavior across an individual’s life. Those who use the SCC know they can predict a behavior’s future with fine and detailed accuracy.

The behaviors pinpointed in the first charts created in the mid-1960s included inner behavior (Duncan, 1971 ; Sokolove, 1973 ), personal management behaviors (Green and Morrow, 1974 ), and learning in special education classes for emotionally disturbed students (Koenig, 1967 ). Because the field of education grew faster than the other two areas, the entire SCC measurement field using the SCC took on the name of precision teaching. Precision teaching, however, is but one application of the chart. Lindsley and others had originally hoped for precision inners, precision management, precision teaching, precision nursing, precision social work, etc. Unfortunately, however, the name “precision teaching” has stuck for all forms of the SCC. “Precision teaching” has been applied to many other areas since 1970, including business, medicine—including the tracking of international AIDS cases, and COVID-19 (Corso et al., 2021 )—the military (Corso et al., 2017 ), law enforcement, sports, health fitness and wellness, and, again nonhuman animals, with the occasional training of dogs, chickens, wolves, and turtles. Although people (and nonhuman animals) are always learning and this learning is measured and can be charted on the SCC, it is problematic to continue to call the entire field “precision teaching.” As Amy Evans and her colleagues state in their article in this issue, precision teaching is “a system for precisely defining and continuously measuring dimensional features of behavior and analyzing behavioral data . . . to make timely and effective data-based decisions to accelerate behavioral repertoires”. But the science is not limited to precision teaching, and standard celeration charting encompasses all fields of human behavior, from fetal movement to reading to government to COVID-19 infections to the dying process.

This special section of Behavior Analysis in Practice focused on precision teaching offers readers a wide range of applications of the SCC, including reviews of the literature, conceptual articles, technical/tutorial articles, and empirical investigations. Amy Evans, Andrew Bulla, and Andrew Kieta provide an overview of the history of precision teaching and offers an updated definition of precision teaching in an effort to further differentiate precision teaching from other applications of standard celeration charting. The authors sought to address the misnomer that precision teaching functions as a type of instruction that makes learners do things quickly. Rather, the authors suggest precision teaching is a measurement system that allows teachers to make better and more timely decisions. Richard Kubina furthers this commentary on precision teaching, and highlights precision teaching’s unique inductive research methods and analysis. Kubina provides some context for what readers can expect in the special section.

Kerri Milyko and Staheli Meyer and colleauges provide two technical articles offering step-by-step tutorials for advancements that precision teachers have made over the past few years. Milyko discusses how to apply k-schedule, a percentile schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is based on the current repertoire of the learner, to timings so one can shape behavioral frequencies within timed-practice sessions. This provides clinicians a practical way to train staff to deliver reinforcers for successive increases in behaviors targeted for increase. Meyer and colleagues provides an overview of the concept of agility and how one can use this conceptualization to analyze learning across time. They provide specific measures of agility and examples of what each measure demonstrates.

James Stocker and Richard Kubina, Mary Sawyer and colleagues, and Loraine Zanatta and Jesus Rosales-Ruiz provide readers some current investigations of precision teaching with general education populations. Stocker and Kubina contribute to the self-study literature, demonstrating an effective application of precision teaching and the SCC to build behavioral fluency in complex computation. This work extends the precision teaching math research to skills beyond more commonly targeted simple computation component skills. Sawyer and colleagues detail their implementation of the Fit Lite TM model, an instructional program derived from Fit Learning TM , in a public school and demonstrates the associated effects of the program to their learners. In particular, the authors targeted specific components skills with fluency-based instruction and assessed the effects on a variety of curriculum-based measures. Lastly, Zanatta and Rosales-Ruiz presents an empirical investigation of the effects of different learning channel sets for the same skill area and the associated effects on acquisition, generalization, and retention. This article may provide precision teachers some additional considerations when selecting learning channel sets for their pinpoints for a wide array of academic skills.

The special section also offers some guidance on precision teaching applied to instructional strategies with individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. Sridhar Aravamudhan and Smita Awasthi and Luca Vascelli and colleagues used component-composite analyses to improve functional skills. Aravamudhan and Awasthi targeted component syllable sounds using frequency-building techniques and found improvements on composite-level words without direct intervention on those words. Likewise, Vascelli and colleagues targeted tool motor skills using frequency-building techniques and assessed their interaction with a variety of daily living skills. It should be noted that Vascelli and colleagues was erroneously published in a previous volume of Behavior Analysis in Practice, but was meant to be included in the special section. We encourage readers to go back and read the authors’ work, because it contributes greatly to the precision teaching literature base. Both articles present a nice overview of such analyses, the utility of such analyses, and the power of building the frequencies of component-level skills. Lee Mason and Alonzo Andrews provide a pragmatic description of how to use precision-teaching methods within language-based interventions. The authors describe methods to probe the frequencies of verbal operants in a free-operant paradigm immediately after instruction. Lastly, Christina Barosky and colleagues focused on applying techniques derived from precision teaching to increase staff members’ frequency of trials presented during teaching sessions. This article gives clinicians a practical approach to increase the pace in which their staff members deliver instructions during a teaching session.

One technique commonly used in behavior analysis that is derived from precision teaching is Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS). The current special section presents two articles that further our empirical understanding of this technique. Shawn Quigley and colleagues assessed the effects of different procedural variations of SAFMEDS in an attempt to identify variables responsible for the greatest learning outcomes. Elizabeth Lovitz and colleagues present readers with a much-needed extension of SAFMEDS procedures for the digital age. The authors assessed a preliminary application of digital SAFMEDS in which they required learners to type in their responses rather than vocally state them. These articles present additional resources to individuals who use SAFMEDS as part of their training and/or teaching toolbox. In addition, Lovitz and colleagues provides guidance for professors instructing in an online format, which is particularly timely given the large shift to online instruction as a result of the global pandemic.

Finally, the special section includes three unique applications of precision teaching and standard celeration charting. First, Richard Kubina, Salvador Ruiz, and Douglas Kostewicz present a method for using the standard celeration chart to assist with experimental functional analyses as part of the functional behavior assessment (FBA) process. They propose a new version of the chart, the functional analysis celeration chart (FACC) and present archival data using the new chart to demonstrate its utility within the FBA process. Hafsa Junaid and colleagues targeted the physical activity of sedentary college students and used the SCC as part of a self-management package. Although not an instance of precision teaching, it shows how one can use the chart to promote physical activity and make decisions about the effectiveness of physical activity interventions. Lastly, Marisela Pallares and colleagues used precision teaching to teach tap dance movements to individuals. This highlights an interesting extension of precision teaching beyond general and special education settings and focuses on training nonacademic skills.

Taken together, these articles demonstrate that the field of precision teaching continues to grow and expand and that the SCC has a wide range of utility within the field of behavior analysis. We hope that these articles will spark new ideas and discoveries within the field.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

• Babe in a Box. (1952, May 2). Newsweek , 97–98. https://celeration.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/05/2006_JPTC_V22.01_04.pdf
• Caldwell, T. E. (1966). Comparison of classroom measures: Percent, number, and rate. [Unpublished manuscript] Department of Special Education, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas.
• Calkin AB. Precision teaching: The standard celeration charts. Behavior Analyst Today. 2005; 6 :207–215. 10.1037/h0100073. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Corso, K. A., Meador, J., Kondis, M., & Calkin, A. B. (2017). Evaluating system-level variables using applied behavior analysis. Report of NCR Behavioral Health, LLC, for the U.S. Air National Guard.
• Corso KA, Kielbasa K, Calkin AB. Using standard celeration makes COVID-19 data more meaningful. Families, Systems, & Health. 2021; 39 (1):91–101. 10.1037/fsh0000594. [ Abstract ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Duncan AD. The view from the inner eye: Personal management of inner and outer behaviors. Teaching Exceptional Children. 1971; 3 :152–156. 10.1177/004005997100300313. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Green, J., & Morrow, W. (1974). Precision social work. In E. Thomas (Ed.), Behavior modification procedure: A sourcebook . Aldine Publishing Company
• Koenig, C. H. (1967). Precision teaching with emotionally disturbed children. [Unpublished master’s thesis] University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS.
• Lindsley OR. Studies in behavior therapy and behavior research therapy, June 1953–1965. In: O’Donohue WT, Henderson DA, Hayes SC, Fisher JE, Hayes LJ, editors. A history of the behavioral therapies: Founders’ personal histories . Context Press; 2001. pp. 125–153. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pennypacker, H. S., Koenig, C. H., & Lindsley, O. R. (1972). Handbook of the standard behavior chart . Precision Media.
• Pennypacker HS, Gutierrez A, Lindsley OR. Handbook of the standard celeration chart . Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies; 2003. [ Google Scholar ]
• Sokolove HE. Inner behavior: The private eye becomes public information . Precision Media; 1973. [ Google Scholar ]

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Katonah-Lewisboro schools sue state over extension of special education eligibility age

A fter state officials told the Katonah-Lewisboro school district it had to continue educating a 21-year-old student with autism for an additional year, the school district sued the state to overturn that ruling.

Earlier this month, a judge in Kingston sided with Katonah-Lewisboro, finding that it had no obligation to extend the student's education until his 22nd birthday, repudiating the New York State Education Department's decision.

The Education Department had told the district in August 2023 that it had to provide educational services to the student, identified in court papers as H.P., for an additional year due to requirements outlined in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The law requires that students with disabilities receive a "free appropriate public education."

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With support from Katonah-Lewisboro, H.P. had been attending the Anderson Center for Autism in Staatsburg, Dutchess County.

It is common for students with disabilities to be educated out of district, in a private school or different public school district, if their home school district is not able to provide appropriate services. Such placements are often costly for the home school district.

Federal law puts the onus on states to provide a free education to students with disabilities that is on par with how they treat other students. In its 2023 decision, the state Education Department pointed Katonah-Lewisboro to a legal opinion it had issued the month prior, where it held that students with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education until their 22nd birthday.

State points to federal court ruling

The Education Department's legal opinion was based on a new, federal appeals court ruling on Connecticut's educational statutes. It found that Connecticut schools must provide education and services to students with disabilities, who have not yet received a high school diploma, until age 22.

In New York, school districts have long been required to provide education and services to students with disabilities until they receive a diploma or the end of the school year during which they turn 21, whichever comes first.

The Education Department, in its opinion, determined that school districts would have to comply with the federal appeals court's order, saying New York law on the subject is "materially indistinguishable from the Connecticut law."

But Katonah-Lewisboro took the major step of suing the state Education Department to nullify this opinion, getting it off the hook from educating H.P. for another year.

Justice David Gandin, the state Supreme Court judge based in Kingston, agreed with the district. Gandin determined that New York law was not similar to Connecticut law in that it only required the provision of education until a student's twenty-first birthday. Because of this discrepancy, an additional year was not required, he wrote.

Education Department to appeal

In a statement, JP O'Hare, a spokesperson for the state Education Department, blasted Gandin's decision, calling it "factually erroneous."

O'Hare noted that Gandin "did not engage with the federal authority analyzed" in the department's legal opinion and that he did not take into account "publicly funded adult education programs that are provided to non-disabled students through a student’s 22nd birthday," which would have changed the calculus on H.P.'s eligibility.

The Education Department will appeal Gandin's decision and said it expects "a more fulsome analysis" from the Appellate Division.

Asked about the decision to sue the state over its ruling, Andrew Selesnick, the Katonah-Lewisboro superintendent, said that the district "followed and continues to follow, to the letter, both New York State and federal law regarding the age eligibility criteria for students."

"Please be assured that our district takes seriously its obligation and commitment to educate every student," Selesnick said. "Should the law ever change such that New York State raises the age of eligibility, I have no doubt that the district will abide by any such changes."

Selesnick, who has been the district's superintendent since 2015, is set to retire in July. Before serving as superintendent, he worked in the Chappaqua school district for 23 years.

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can send him an email at  [email protected] . Reach him securely:  [email protected] .

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Katonah-Lewisboro schools sue state over extension of special education eligibility age

• houston politics

Democrats call for special session in letter to Gov. Greg Abbott after drastic school budget cuts

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston ISD announced drastic cuts last week, but other districts are in financial trouble, too. It's a statewide problem, and State Representative Jon Rosenthal said it needs a statewide solution.

"You will see terrible cuts," Rosenthal said. "Terrible budget cuts in school districts all over the state. If we don't do something about it and do something about it quickly, public education in the State of Texas will suffer. Our 5 million children in public schools will not get the benefit of the education that they deserve. "

That's why he sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday asking for a special session.

He asked for an increase to the state's basic allotment, the per-student funding formula, which has stayed the same since 2019. He also wants an increase in the school safety allotment.

Rosenthal said at least 40 lawmakers have also signed his letter. Though many of them also backed a bill last October that would have raised the basic allotment, it got no traction.

On Monday afternoon, after a request for comment from ABC13, Abbott sent a letter back to Rosenthal.

He writes that Democrats who signed Rosenthal's request voted against a school funding bill last session that would have added $6 billion. He writes that his "commitment to improving public schools is just as resolute" as Rosenthal's.

That bill Abbott references was a House Bill that would have also funded education savings accounts, otherwise called a voucher or school choice program. While it passed the House, the education savings account portion was killed by an amendment.

The governor also cites lower enrollment and a loss of federal COVID-19 dollars as the reasons for any shortfalls.

Last week, ABC13 reported a survey in which 80% of districts declared budget concerns, more than half have a deficit, and 43% expect significant cuts next year.

SEE MORE: 'We have a problem': Public schools in Texas face funding shortfalls

It does not seem that Abbott is interested in a special session, but Rosenthal remains hopeful.

"If we could get tons of people to pressure the state, pressure the governor, and their own representatives to take measures to fortify our public education system, that would improve our chances," Rosenthal said.

Only the governor can call a special legislative session and set the agenda. The next regular session doesn't begin until January 2025.

For updates on this story, follow Tom Abrahams on Facebook , X and Instagram .

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Introduction to the Special Section: Precision Teaching: Discoveries and Applications

• Precision Teaching: Discoveries and Applications
• Published: 17 August 2021
• Volume 14 , pages 555–558, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• Andrew J. Bulla 1 ,
• Abigail Calkin 2 &
• Mary Sawyer 3  

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The current article provides an introduction to the special section in Behavior Analysis in Practice focusing on precision teaching and standard celeration charting. This particular section highlights recent advancements and discoveries made using the standard celeration chart. Drs. Andrew Bulla, Mary Sawyer, and Abigail Calkin served as guest editors for the special section. This section includes articles focusing on applications to general and education settings, working with individuals with disabilities, tutorial pieces giving practitioners a step-by-step guide for implementing procedure, as well as unique applications of the standard celeration chart.

Similar content being viewed by others

The Precision Teaching System: A Synthesized Definition, Concept Analysis, and Process

Precision Teaching and Behavior Dynamics

A systematic review of the effectiveness of precision teaching for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Behavior Analysis in Practice has a long history of special issues and special sections devoted to a specific area within the field of behavior analysis. We are pleased to continue this tradition and offer a special section devoted to precision teaching and the standard celeration chart (SCC). We hope to bring the readers of the journal up-to-date research and information about the current state of precision teaching and the SCC. In addition, we hope to further clarify concepts and terms within the field to distinguish precision teaching from any application of the SCC.

The concepts for the standard celeration chart began with B. F. Skinner’s cumulative recorder and his work with rats and pigeons. In addition, Ogden Lindsley, a graduate student of Skinner’s, and his work with dogs contributed to the development of the standard celebration chart. Lindsley began using frequency to monitor human behavior, in particular, the free-operant behavior of one of his daughters, in 1952. At that time, a Newsweek article, “Babe in a Box,” described Lindsley’s work with his daughter. The article stated that although about 250 infants had grown up in Air Cribs, “Kathy [Lindsley] is the first of the crowd to undertake a precise scientific experiment” (“Babe in a Box,” 1952 , p. 98). The article included a photo of Kathy in her Air Crib with two rows of five lights, which were buttons his daughter could press. Lindsley monitored the button pressing of his daughter. Lindsley’s daughter noted:

As [my mother, Mary Lindsley Kenny, Ogden’s first wife] recalls, there was a big red button, my hand is on it in the Newsweek photo. Initially there was a two tone [sic] door chime and according to the article he later installed and substituted lights (panel of two rows of lights) would flash [sic]. So I had to press the red button. (K. L. Fandetti, personal communication email to A. B. Calkin, January 15, 2018)

Lindsley had just conducted the first behavior analytic, free operant experiment with a human.

While a graduate student, Lindsley continued this work with adults with psychotic and schizophrenic disorders, as well as children with autism when he ran the Behavior Research Laboratory at Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts, for 12 years (Lindsley, 2001 ). During this time, he conducted applied research helping to change, for example, the residents’ hallucinatory, vocalizing, and pacing behaviors to more socially appropriate behaviors. Using a manual plunger for reinforcement, patients could earn a penny, cigarette, M&M, or a slice of apple, as a reinforcer. The lab closed in 1965 when Lindsley left to take a professorship in special education at the University of Kansas.

As early as May 1955, while still working with patients at the Metropolitan State Hospital, Lindsley began to use adaptations of semi-logarithmic graphs (Ogden R. Lindsley Archive). Realizing that the cumulative recorder would be far too cumbersome for the classroom, he began to develop the standard behavior chart with the aid of three of his graduate students—Eric Haughton, Ann Dell Duncan, and Carl Koenig—when he moved to Kansas.

It was typical fluid Ogden where he would run up the stairs with the latest version, one of us (Eric [sic], Carl [sic], myself) would put some data on it and run back down the stairs to see what he thought about the visualization. We went through several versions (3 cycle for example) until the six cycle emerged because it had to be something that could handle high frequency as well as low frequency behaviors. (A. D. Duncan, personal communication email to A. B. Calkin, January 26, 2020)

The chart developed rapidly, moving from Daily Graph 1 in March 1967 to Daily Chart 8 in December 1967.

When Eric Haughton graduated and then arrived at the University of Oregon for his first teaching position with his new PhD, he brought the then-called daily graph, or DG-6, with him and he used it in his instruction. Behavior Research Company printed these graphs in September 1967. Haughton’s first class included Calkin plus eight others, none of whom continued to chart after the class, with the exception of Calkin. Because of the rapid development of the daily chart (Daily Graph 1 to Daily Chart 8), no one kept data on the dates of development between the DG-1 and DC-8. The name for the initial chart was daily graph (DG), which became the standard behavior chart (SBC) used from December 1967 until at least 1972 (Pennypacker et al., 1972 ).

The chart, now referred to as the standard celeration chart (SCC), allows observers to look at any chart without having to pay special attention to the ordinate or abscissa axes, or as Lindsley referred to them, the “up (or down) and across” to know what the scale is. The “up and down” on the left is always the logarithmic scale, and the across is always a linear scale of time. This is why the standard exists. If the viewers know they are looking at a daily chart, there are always 140 days (or 20 weeks) on the “across.” The weekly chart has 20 weeks. The monthly chart displays 1 decade, and the yearly chart 1 century. In each, the celeration line is x2 corner to corner (Caldwell, 1966 ; Calkin, 2005 ). Just as in medicine with the standard blood pressure, EKG, EEG, MRI, and C-T scan measures, looking at behavior needs to be standard also. Thus, the family of SCCs has standard measurement at its core.

The techniques for using the SCC are well-described in The Handbook of the Standard Celeration Chart (Pennypacker et al., 2003 ). What are the benefits of the SCC? The benefits include its use of frequency, which is the basis for calculating and displaying both celeration and bounce, and its standard display. This enables the charter to view multiplicative change, including celeration, or proportional growth, and the variability of behavior. If one looks at a linear graph, which is additive in its display, the option of viewing the growth and natural variability of behavior and any outliers is not readily apparent. Further, behavior—whether cell division, fetal growth, disease, etc.—changes by multiplying in any living organism. Even death shows a deceleration in the frequency of behavior. It is far easier to see and interpret the frequency of behaviors and graphically than using a table of numbers. One cannot look at growth or change additively any more than a shuttle can land on the moon or another planet when scientists view miles and time separately. All behavior change needs to be viewed and measured with the same precision as landing on the Moon or Mars. If its trajectory is a portion off, a space shuttle misses its target at great cost. Likewise, not tracking the trajectory of behavior and behavior change can cost an individual or any society a great deal of time, money, and effort in because we miss the target when attempting to create high quality education, health, learning, and standard of living. Just as someone steeped in physical science needs to look at the speed per unit of time of travel in space, those stepped in behavioral science need to look at the trajectory and patterns of frequency, celeration, and bounce of behavior across an individual’s life. Those who use the SCC know they can predict a behavior’s future with fine and detailed accuracy.

The behaviors pinpointed in the first charts created in the mid-1960s included inner behavior (Duncan, 1971 ; Sokolove, 1973 ), personal management behaviors (Green and Morrow, 1974 ), and learning in special education classes for emotionally disturbed students (Koenig, 1967 ). Because the field of education grew faster than the other two areas, the entire SCC measurement field using the SCC took on the name of precision teaching. Precision teaching, however, is but one application of the chart. Lindsley and others had originally hoped for precision inners, precision management, precision teaching, precision nursing, precision social work, etc. Unfortunately, however, the name “precision teaching” has stuck for all forms of the SCC. “Precision teaching” has been applied to many other areas since 1970, including business, medicine—including the tracking of international AIDS cases, and COVID-19 (Corso et al., 2021 )—the military (Corso et al., 2017 ), law enforcement, sports, health fitness and wellness, and, again nonhuman animals, with the occasional training of dogs, chickens, wolves, and turtles. Although people (and nonhuman animals) are always learning and this learning is measured and can be charted on the SCC, it is problematic to continue to call the entire field “precision teaching.” As Amy Evans and her colleagues state in their article in this issue, precision teaching is “a system for precisely defining and continuously measuring dimensional features of behavior and analyzing behavioral data . . . to make timely and effective data-based decisions to accelerate behavioral repertoires”. But the science is not limited to precision teaching, and standard celeration charting encompasses all fields of human behavior, from fetal movement to reading to government to COVID-19 infections to the dying process.

This special section of Behavior Analysis in Practice focused on precision teaching offers readers a wide range of applications of the SCC, including reviews of the literature, conceptual articles, technical/tutorial articles, and empirical investigations. Amy Evans, Andrew Bulla, and Andrew Kieta provide an overview of the history of precision teaching and offers an updated definition of precision teaching in an effort to further differentiate precision teaching from other applications of standard celeration charting. The authors sought to address the misnomer that precision teaching functions as a type of instruction that makes learners do things quickly. Rather, the authors suggest precision teaching is a measurement system that allows teachers to make better and more timely decisions. Richard Kubina furthers this commentary on precision teaching, and highlights precision teaching’s unique inductive research methods and analysis. Kubina provides some context for what readers can expect in the special section.

Kerri Milyko and Staheli Meyer and colleauges provide two technical articles offering step-by-step tutorials for advancements that precision teachers have made over the past few years. Milyko discusses how to apply k-schedule, a percentile schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is based on the current repertoire of the learner, to timings so one can shape behavioral frequencies within timed-practice sessions. This provides clinicians a practical way to train staff to deliver reinforcers for successive increases in behaviors targeted for increase. Meyer and colleagues provides an overview of the concept of agility and how one can use this conceptualization to analyze learning across time. They provide specific measures of agility and examples of what each measure demonstrates.

James Stocker and Richard Kubina, Mary Sawyer and colleagues, and Loraine Zanatta and Jesus Rosales-Ruiz provide readers some current investigations of precision teaching with general education populations. Stocker and Kubina contribute to the self-study literature, demonstrating an effective application of precision teaching and the SCC to build behavioral fluency in complex computation. This work extends the precision teaching math research to skills beyond more commonly targeted simple computation component skills. Sawyer and colleagues detail their implementation of the Fit Lite TM model, an instructional program derived from Fit Learning TM , in a public school and demonstrates the associated effects of the program to their learners. In particular, the authors targeted specific components skills with fluency-based instruction and assessed the effects on a variety of curriculum-based measures. Lastly, Zanatta and Rosales-Ruiz presents an empirical investigation of the effects of different learning channel sets for the same skill area and the associated effects on acquisition, generalization, and retention. This article may provide precision teachers some additional considerations when selecting learning channel sets for their pinpoints for a wide array of academic skills.

The special section also offers some guidance on precision teaching applied to instructional strategies with individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. Sridhar Aravamudhan and Smita Awasthi and Luca Vascelli and colleagues used component-composite analyses to improve functional skills. Aravamudhan and Awasthi targeted component syllable sounds using frequency-building techniques and found improvements on composite-level words without direct intervention on those words. Likewise, Vascelli and colleagues targeted tool motor skills using frequency-building techniques and assessed their interaction with a variety of daily living skills. It should be noted that Vascelli and colleagues was erroneously published in a previous volume of Behavior Analysis in Practice, but was meant to be included in the special section. We encourage readers to go back and read the authors’ work, because it contributes greatly to the precision teaching literature base. Both articles present a nice overview of such analyses, the utility of such analyses, and the power of building the frequencies of component-level skills. Lee Mason and Alonzo Andrews provide a pragmatic description of how to use precision-teaching methods within language-based interventions. The authors describe methods to probe the frequencies of verbal operants in a free-operant paradigm immediately after instruction. Lastly, Christina Barosky and colleagues focused on applying techniques derived from precision teaching to increase staff members’ frequency of trials presented during teaching sessions. This article gives clinicians a practical approach to increase the pace in which their staff members deliver instructions during a teaching session.

One technique commonly used in behavior analysis that is derived from precision teaching is Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS). The current special section presents two articles that further our empirical understanding of this technique. Shawn Quigley and colleagues assessed the effects of different procedural variations of SAFMEDS in an attempt to identify variables responsible for the greatest learning outcomes. Elizabeth Lovitz and colleagues present readers with a much-needed extension of SAFMEDS procedures for the digital age. The authors assessed a preliminary application of digital SAFMEDS in which they required learners to type in their responses rather than vocally state them. These articles present additional resources to individuals who use SAFMEDS as part of their training and/or teaching toolbox. In addition, Lovitz and colleagues provides guidance for professors instructing in an online format, which is particularly timely given the large shift to online instruction as a result of the global pandemic.

Finally, the special section includes three unique applications of precision teaching and standard celeration charting. First, Richard Kubina, Salvador Ruiz, and Douglas Kostewicz present a method for using the standard celeration chart to assist with experimental functional analyses as part of the functional behavior assessment (FBA) process. They propose a new version of the chart, the functional analysis celeration chart (FACC) and present archival data using the new chart to demonstrate its utility within the FBA process. Hafsa Junaid and colleagues targeted the physical activity of sedentary college students and used the SCC as part of a self-management package. Although not an instance of precision teaching, it shows how one can use the chart to promote physical activity and make decisions about the effectiveness of physical activity interventions. Lastly, Marisela Pallares and colleagues used precision teaching to teach tap dance movements to individuals. This highlights an interesting extension of precision teaching beyond general and special education settings and focuses on training nonacademic skills.

Taken together, these articles demonstrate that the field of precision teaching continues to grow and expand and that the SCC has a wide range of utility within the field of behavior analysis. We hope that these articles will spark new ideas and discoveries within the field.

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Bulla, A.J., Calkin, A. & Sawyer, M. Introduction to the Special Section: Precision Teaching: Discoveries and Applications. Behav Analysis Practice 14 , 555–558 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00624-1

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Baytown special education teacher accused of assaulting student with autism, cameras being reviewed, baytown special education teacher made his first court appearance wednesday.

Holly Galvan Posey , Digital Content Producer

Karen Araiza , Digital Content Lead , Houston

Jeovany Luna , Photojournalist , Houston, Tx

Investigators are checking classroom cameras at Antonio Bañuelos Elementary in Baytown after a special education teacher was charged with throwing a student with autism to the ground and causing a bloody nose .

The student is non-verbal, according to prosecutor Michael Haddad.

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“So it was tough to even get this case here. But we did find pretty substantial evidence that this defendant did assault this child,” Haddad said after teacher Shaq Alvarez Morales made his first court appearance Wednesday.

• Alvin ISD elementary school staff member arrested, accused of ‘inappropriate behavior’ with a student

Morales is charged with injury to a child.

He was arrested Monday after the Goose Creek CISD police department went to the school on May 3 to investigate.

SEE ALSO: Spring ISD theater teacher arrested after her text messages reveal improper relationship with student

Footage from the classroom showed the student sitting at a table, got out of their chair with a dry-erase whiteboard and began walking around. According to court documents, the video shows Morales telling the student to put up the whiteboard, which the student is seen throwing on the ground. As Morales walks up behind the student, video shows him him grabbing the child’s arm and lifting him before throwing him to the floor, where the student hits his face, and begins to cry.

“Even the parent was quite shocked that this teacher could have done this to her child because they had a great relationship,” Haddad said, adding “There is currently active investigation checking cameras in the classrooms, things like that to make sure nobody else was affected by this man.”

SEE ALSO: Former Cy-Fair ISD teacher pleads guilty after 5-year-old boy with special needs dragged by ankle over 100 feet

The affidavit says Morales did not check on the student or offer him any assistance for his injuries before picking up some items and returning to his desk.

“Another teacher in our community. And it seems so common nowadays that teachers in our community are taking advantage of their positions of power and assaulting their students that parents entrust to when they go off to work for 8 or 9 hours a day. So again, really harrowing to see,” Haddad told KPRC 2 Photojournalist Jeovany Luna.

Morales’s conditions for bail are:

• No contact with the the school. He cannot go within 1,000 feet.
• No contact with the student
• He can’t have any firearms.

Morales and his attorney did not comment after court.

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Houston bred and super excited to be back home! I grew up in The Heights with my 8 brothers and sisters and moved back in 2024. My career as a journalist spans a lot of years -- I like to say there's a lot of tread on these tires! I'm passionate about helping people. I also really love sharing success stories and stories of redemption. Email me!