Implementing an applied verbal behavior model in classrooms
A blended computer-competency-coaching package lets teachers nail AVB fast and boosts student manding and engagement.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Shillingsburg et al. (2022) built a three-part staff-training bundle for autism classrooms.
First, teachers completed a short computer module on applied verbal behavior.
Next they showed mastery in a mock teaching setup.
Last, a coach gave live tips while they worked with real students.
What they found
Staff hit high-fidelity AVB teaching after the short package.
Students asked for items more often, stayed engaged longer, and showed fewer problem behaviors.
How this fits with other research
Ellingsen et al. (2014) already showed web lessons plus virtual role-play can train staff to run brief preference assessments.
Shillingsburg adds an in-vivo coaching layer and targets full AVB instead of just preferences.
Homlitas et al. (2014) and Park et al. (2024) used classic behavioral skills training—no computers—to teach PECS.
Their results match the high fidelity seen here, but the new bundle may save trainer hours by front-loading the computer piece.
Mailey et al. (2021) went computer-only for social-skills training and still gained fidelity; Shillingsburg shows a middle path: tech first, then human feedback.
Why it matters
You can roll out AVB in classrooms without long in-person workshops.
Assign the online module as homework, check mastery in a mock session, then coach briefly in class.
Students talk more and act out less while you conserve trainer time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractApplied verbal behavior (AVB) is an intervention approach grounded in Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior. Common components of the AVB approach have been established as evidence‐based, indicating the approach should be progressed into the manualization and implementation phase of research. In the present study, we used an intervention package consisting of computer‐based training, performance and competency‐based training, and in vivo training to promote the use of AVB procedures in 26 classrooms in a nonpublic school serving students with autism. We evaluated the effects of this intervention package on the performance of teacher level staff via a controlled consecutive case series design, nonconcurrent multiple probe design, and aggregate data analysis using inferential statistics. Results showed that staff members demonstrated high levels of fidelity with AVB procedures when working directly with students. Measures of student behavior showed significantly increased engagement with staff members, reduced interfering behavior, and increased rates of manding. These findings have implications for the dissemination of AVB in educational settings.
Behavioral Interventions, 2022 · doi:10.1002/bin.1807