Using the stimulus equivalence paradigm to teach course material in an undergraduate rehabilitation course.
Stimulus equivalence can teach college content online, but we still need proof on chat versus forum discussion.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Waller et al. (2010) built an online rehab course that used stimulus equivalence. They wanted to know if live chat or forum posts help students learn better.
The study ran with college kids taking rehab class credits. No scores or grades are shared in the abstract.
What they found
The paper does not say who learned more. It only says the authors are still comparing chat versus forum.
We have to wait for the full report to see numbers.
How this fits with other research
Perez et al. (2015) later showed that simple-to-complex sequencing makes equivalence classes form faster. Their college sample matched D’s, so the 2010 course could run smoother with that tweak.
Frampton et al. (2023) added graphic-organizer notes and hit 100% class formation. If D’s online modules let students sketch relations, gains might jump.
Schedlowski et al. (2025) warn that equivalence memory training for dementia is still shaky. D’s work with healthy adults keeps the method moving forward while the clinical side stays experimental.
Why it matters
You can already plug equivalence-based lessons into your LMS. Until we know the best discussion format, run both live Zoom review and async boards, then track quiz scores to see what your class likes. Borrow the simple-to-complex order from M et al. and offer optional note sheets from Frampton to squeeze the most learning out of each module.
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Join Free →Post an equivalence lesson in your LMS and add both a live chat and a discussion board, then compare quiz results after one week.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Online learning is extremely prevalent in education, more than ever given the COVID-19 pandemic that has shifted most educational services to an online platform. More specifically, in 2015, close to six million students were taking at least one online learning course, which was 29.7% of all postsecondary students (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2018). In 2017, the Online Learning Consortium reported an almost 4% increase in online learning students in 2015 as compared to the previous two years. Although online learning is becoming more prevalent, there has been little to no research to determine what makes online learning most effective. Those that have, either have not compared modalities (i.e., only testing one format) (Sella et al. 2014; Walker and Rehfeldt 2012) or have focused on another aspect of the learning (e.g., does grading anonymously affect performance) (Liu et al. 2018). Determining the components of online learning that lead to better student outcomes will add to the current literature and improve online learning as a whole. The primary purpose of this experiment was to determine what forms of discussion (synchronous vs asynchronous) are most effective in an asynchronous online master-level applied behavior analysis course.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2010 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2010.43-615