The Student Should Help the Teacher: a View From 30 Years as an ABA Trainer
Let the trainee’s response rate set the speed of supervision, then crank the difficulty up a notch each time the rate jumps.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Martens (2018) spent 30 years watching new BCBAs learn. He wrote a paper that treats supervision like shaping a brand-new skill.
He drew a simple math picture. The student’s practice responses go in, feedback comes out, and the criteria tighten only when the speed of good responses rises.
No kids were tested. No trials were run. It is a trainer’s reflection plus one equation meant for you to pin above your desk.
What they found
The big idea: the learner, not the supervisor, sets the pace. More correct responses per hour equals faster mastery.
If the student stalls, the answer is usually “give more response chances,” not “talk more.”
How this fits with other research
Sellers et al. (2016) gave you five concrete tools—goal sheets, BST, feedback. Martens just showed why those tools work: they pump up response rate.
Irwin Helvey et al. (2022) flipped the script and told trainees to chase feedback themselves. That move lines up perfectly with Martens’ math; the student drives the loop.
Ecko Jojo (2024) keeps the same shaping frame but adds accommodations—extra wait time, large-print forms—so disabled supervisees can still emit high response rates. Same model, wider door.
LaBrot et al. (2021) ran an actual experiment. Graduate students got layers of practice and feedback and their praise rates shot up. The data trace is the living proof of Martens’ curve.
Why it matters
Next time you meet a trainee, open with one question: “How many practice responses can you give me this hour?” Track it on a scrap sheet. When the count climbs, tighten the criterion. No extra prep, no new forms—just count and adjust. You will turn a 30-year hunch into tomorrow’s quicker mastery.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
I characterize my efforts to train graduate students in applied behavior analysis as a shaping process that involves closely monitoring their performance, providing numerous opportunities to respond in a variety of contexts, gradually shifting the reinforcement criterion, differentially reinforcing improvement, and providing instruction and error correction when necessary. In line with the old adage that “the student should help the teacher”, I also discuss how students are responsible in part for their own learning. To illustrate the importance of the student helping the teacher, I present a simple mathematical model that shows how two equally talented students can master skills at dramatically different rates by how frequently they respond to learning opportunities and apply what they learn.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2018 · doi:10.1007/s40617-018-0220-5