K-Schedules Meet Precision Measurement: A Protocol for Intervention

Area of Science:

• Behavior Analysis
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Precision teaching (PT) aims to increase behavior frequencies toward an optimal level.
• Current PT reinforcement systems may provide infrequent reinforcement, necessitating rule exceptions.
• Learners often require more frequent reinforcement than standard PT schedules offer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a tutorial on incorporating percentile schedules of reinforcement into precision teaching.
• To offer a systematic and objective method for shaping behavior in PT.
• To address the need for adaptive reinforcement density in PT interventions.

Main Methods:

• The article details how to implement percentile schedules of reinforcement within PT.
• It builds upon Galbicka's (1994) systematic approach to shaping.
• The tutorial focuses on integrating objective shaping procedures into PT.

Main Results:

• Percentile schedules offer an objective method for shaping behavior, meeting established criteria.
• This approach enhances the precision of defining terminal responses in PT.
• The tutorial provides practical guidance for applying these advanced shaping techniques.

Conclusions:

• Percentile schedules of reinforcement offer a sophisticated and objective method for PT.
• Integrating these schedules can lead to more effective and individualized learning experiences.
• This approach addresses limitations in traditional PT reinforcement systems.