Training staff to implement brief stimulus preference assessments.
A short online module with virtual role-play trains staff to run brief SPAs as well as live coaching while freeing up 25 trainer minutes per person.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ellingsen et al. (2014) asked if staff could learn brief stimulus preference assessments online. They built a web module with virtual role-play. Trainees watched clips, clicked choices, and practiced digital trials.
The team compared this group to staff who got the usual in-person coaching. Both sets later ran real SPAs with children with autism.
What they found
Web-plus-virtual-role-play worked just as well as live training. Staff in both groups hit the same high fidelity scores when they ran the real assessments. The online path shaved about 25 minutes of trainer time per person.
How this fits with other research
Shapiro et al. (2016) show you can swap the web module for a simple self-instruction packet plus quick feedback and still reach mastery. The two studies look different but end at the same place — a nice conceptual replication.
Ausenhus et al. (2019) and Ruppel et al. (2023) push the idea further. They add live Zoom feedback after remote slides or rehearsal. Their work extends Ellingsen et al. (2014) by proving you can train staff from miles away and keep the gains.
Izquierdo-Gomez et al. (2015) used plain video modeling instead of interactive role-play. Teachers still reached mastery, hinting that the key ingredient is clear visual examples, not the fancy tech.
Why it matters
You can assign the web module as pre-work and save precious in-person minutes for tougher skills. If your clinic is short on trainers or spans regions, pair the module with brief Zoom feedback like Ausenhus and Ruppel did. The takeaway: good SPA training no longer requires two staff in the same room.
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Join Free →Email trainees the web module link, have them complete it before the next staff meeting, then spot-check one real SPA and give quick feedback.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Identification of reinforcers is critical to the effectiveness of behavioral interventions. Stimulus preference assessments (SPA) are a frequently used method to identify putative reinforcers. Given the fluctuating nature of individual preferences, there is need for efficient training of providers that may regularly implement SPAs. The present study evaluated the utility of a web-delivered training with virtual role play to train SPA implementation. This study builds upon previous literature by utilizing a larger sample and incorporating role-play, a component often omitted from other efficient methods of training. Study 1 trained 40 undergraduate students to implement an SPA via web or in vivo. Results suggest both trainings were equivalently effective, and the web-delivered training reduced trainer time by approximately 25 min. Live role-play and feedback was still necessary with web-delivered training, consistent with suggestions that rehearsal and feedback is a vital component of training. Results also suggest web-delivered training may identify areas of weakness following training. A follow-up clinical pilot showed that the web-delivered training was also effective at training eight novice providers to competently implement the SPA with children with ASD in a special education school. This study demonstrates that web-delivered training with virtual role-play is likely another efficient training method for implementation of behavioral procedures.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2014 · doi:10.1002/jaba.98