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ABA 628 Signature Assignment

Baillie Stelly

Master of Science, Applied Behavior Analysis

National University

ABA 628: Behavioral Change Procedures

Dr. Flores

August 26th, 2023

Visual Analysis

Figure 1 shows the Standard Celeration Chart for all acquisition decks studied

thus far in the program. The acquisition decks for ABA 628 are located furthest to the right

labeled, 628 D1, 628 D2, and 628 D3. A Standard Celeration Chart displays performance and

how it changes over time (Cooper et al., 2020). Figure 2 displays the fluency decks for this

course. Figure 3 displays the scores from all three exams with an increasing trend from the Pre-

Assessment, to the Midterm, to the Final Exam. Table 1 is located in the Intervention/Graphing

section and displays all of the “best of the day” SAFMEDS accel and decel scores received for

each week, for both acquisition and fluency decks. With all SAFMEDS visuals there is an

overall upward accel trend. This data also reflects steady decel trends with overall low to no

variability.

Figure 1
Standard Celeration Chart: Acquisition Decks 1 – 3
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Figure 2
Progress Charts: Fluency from top to bottom, Decks 1 - 3
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Figure 3

Line Graph: ABA 622 Assessment Scores

Baseline/Pre-Assessment

As shown in Figure 3, the learner earned a baseline score of 81.82% on the Pre-

Assessment. This score was based solely off of knowledge acquired through experience with

ABA as a technician in a clinic setting, as there was no review of test material beforehand. While

the score was adequate, there was still room for improvement. The intervention plan put in place

was in with a goal to earn a 90% or higher in the course.

Intervention/Graphing

SAFMEDS is a method of studying that places an emphasis on fluency and speed.

SAFMEDS was created in 1978 by behavior analysts Drs. Ogden Lindsley and Steve Graf. The

study strategy involves quickly and silently reading the back of the card, which is the definition

or concept, and then saying aloud the answer (Quigley et al., 2017). The required timings were

five times per day, five days per week, 30 seconds per timing. Accel is the number of cards

correct, and decel is the number of cards that are incorrect. The data was collected on the highest
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accel of the day. Acquisition decks are the decks newly introduced, and fluency decks are an

ongoing collection of cards in maintenance.

Table 1

Week: Acquisition: Accel Decel Fluency: Accel Decel

1 Deck 1 11 0 Deck 1 15 0

2 Deck 1 14 0 Deck 1 16 0

3 Deck 2 14 3 Deck 2 16 0

4 Deck 2 14 0 Deck 2 16 0

5 Deck 2 15 0 Deck 2 15 0

6 Deck 3 13 2 Deck 3 15 0

7 Deck 3 15 0 Deck 3 17 0

8 Deck 3 15 0 Deck 3 15 0

Baseline to Midterm Assessment

As reflected in Figure 3, the learner scored an 72.73% on the midterm. This is a below

average score and the goal of making a 90% or higher in course will likely not be reached

without a higher score on the final. The accel progress made by the learner in the acquisition

decks throughout weeks one, two, three and four don’t have a strong correlation with the

percentage correct from the Pre-Assessment to the Midterm since my score decreased while the

accels increased. The fluency decks, however, do align. Week one to week two the fluency accel

increased from 15 to 16. Week three a new deck was introduced and the accel remained at 16

and then again with the introduction of Deck 2.

Mid-Term Assessment to Final Exam

The learner is very pleased with going from a 72.73% on the midterm to 81.82% on the

final exam. Studying SAFMEDS did adequately prepare the learner for the final exam. The accel

progress in the fluency decks throughout weeks four, five, six, seven and eight support the

increase in the percentage correct from the Midterm to the Final Exam. The steady trend reflects

understanding of the content and remaining above the AIM of 14 with an anomaly of 13 accel in

week six.

Future Goals

One of the learner’s goals coming into ABA 626 was to run the timings five times per

day, five days per week for all eight weeks for the acquisition and fluency decks. The learner fell

short of this goal for two of the eight weeks. The goal remains the same for ABA 630 to run the

timings five times per day, five days per week, for all eight weeks without missing a single

timing. Mastery criteria for this goal is 100% accuracy. The second goal being set is to finish

ABA 630 with a 90% A.

The study approaches for ABA 628 included studying in “study mode” on Central Reach

SAFMEDS for a duration of ten minutes before running timings each day. This intervention did

not prove to be effective. Due to the learner’s assessment scores, and grade of 90% or higher in

the course will not be achieved. The learner will change her strategy and begin attending the

sessions live instead of watching the Zoom sessions afterward. The learner will attend 90% of

sessions in order to reach mastery criteria. The consequence to this behavior intervention change

should result in a grade of 90% or better on the final exam and in the course for ABA 630.

Data Analysis and Interventions Implemented

Baseline

The learner’s preassessment score was 81.82%. The goal for the course was to make a

90% A or better, the other was to run the SAFMEDS timings five times per day, five days per

week for all eight weeks for the acquisition and fluency decks. The rationale was that if the

learner hit this goal it would not only affect SAFMEDS points and grades but would also allow

the learner to better retain the course information and do well on the final.

Interventions and Adjustments

The course plan in place included the following components/interventions: SAFMEDS

deck timings, studying the decks in “study mode,” watching zoom sessions post live sessions,

weekly discussion posts, and weekly discussion replies.

The SAFMEDS intervention included running both the acquisition decks and fluency

decks for a frequency of five days per week, five times per day, for a duration of 30 seconds

each. Week one to week two the acquisition accel increases from 11 to 14. Week three a new

deck was introduced and the accel remained at 14. The accel then remained at 14 for weeks four

and five. Week six a new deck was introduced and the accel decreased to 13. The accel then

increased to 15 in week seven remained the same in week eight. The overall steady trends seen

throughout show a functional relationship between the accel and scores for the preassessment,

midterm, and final. The scores overall displayed a steady trend starting with a Pre-Assessment

score of 81.82%, 72.73% on the Midterm, and 81.82% on the Final Exam.

The “study mode” intervention included studying the decks using the “study mode”

function on Central Reach for ten minutes prior to running the five 30-second timings.

The next intervention involved watching the zoom sessions for a frequency of one time

per week for eight weeks total. The duration of the session was typically 50-60 minutes long.
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The discussion post component of the plan included participating in the weekly

discussion posts at a frequency of one time per week for eight weeks total. The class was also

required to respond to peers’ discussion posts for a frequency of two replies per week for eight

weeks total. The discussion posts gave external validity to the learner’s SAFMEDS intervention

plans due to being able to generalize the information in the posts as well as comment on peers’

posts and ask meaningful and probing questions.

Data Collection

The learner graphed data on PrecisionX at a frequency of one day per week, five data

points per day. Although doing this is not recommended, it worked better for the learner’s

current schedule and does not cause the learner to make less informed study decisions. As a first-

time mom of an eight-month-old, and other confounding variables and environmental

constraints, flexibility is important. Being that Central Reach collects the data in real time, this

adjustment did not affect the accuracy of the data.

Goals

Since the learner will not make an A in the course, the goals set for this course will not be

met. The learner did not meet the goal of running the timings five times per day, five days per

week for all eight weeks for the acquisition and fluency decks. While the final score is likely not

heavily dictated by this shortcoming, the satisfaction would have served as a strong reinforcer.

As far as the other components of the course plan, the following changes will be made in ABA

630. The learner plans to attend the sessions live in ABA 630 for 90% accuracy, instead of

watching the recordings afterwards.

Next Steps
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The learner will begin the next course with the following changes in place: the learner

plans to attend the sessions live in ABA 630 for 90% accuracy, instead of watching the

recordings afterwards. Another goal is in place to make a 90% A. As stated before, the learner

intends to meet the SAFMEDS deck timings at 100% accuracy for the entire eight weeks. 100%

accuracy is five times per day, five days per week, 30 seconds in duration, for acquisition and

fluency decks.

The learner feels better equipped and prepared to implement behavior change procedures

in the near future as a behavior analyst.

References

Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2020), Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd

Edition), Pearson Education, Inc., Ch. 3, p. 138

Quigley, S.P., Peterson, S.M., Frieder, J.E. & Peck, K.M. (2017, April 19). A review of

SAFMEDS: Evidence for procedures, outcomes and directions for future research. Perspectives

on Behavior Science. Retrieved June 24th, 2023, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6701507/