Using Equivalence-Based Instruction to Teach Schedules of Reinforcement to Staff Members.

The present study evaluated the use of computerized equivalence-based instruction (EBI) to teach classes representing schedules of reinforcement to staff members. Four, 5-member classes representing fixed ratio, fixed interval, variable ratio, and variable interval schedules of reinforcement were taught. The participants were 16 staff members between the ages of 22 and 30 years of age that were employed at a private school for individuals with autism. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. A pretest-training-posttest-maintenance design was used to evaluate the effects of EBI on participants' performance during both a computer-based test and a written multiple-choice test. Participants in the control group were only exposed to pretest and posttests. All participants in the experimental group acquired the baseline trained relations during match-to-sample instruction. Test scores improved from pretest to posttest and derived (untrained) relations emerged across all participants in the experimental group following training but did not change for the participants in the control group. In addition, participants maintained the learned relations one week after EBI was completed. The present study demonstrated that EBI is an effective teaching procedure to teach schedules of reinforcement to staff members in the field of applied behavior analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]