Exploring the Effects of Daily, Timed, and Typed Technical Term Definition Practice on Indicators of Fluency
Replace see-say drills with daily one-minute see-type sprints to lock technical terms in long-term memory.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lovitz et al. (2021) swapped the usual see-say flashcard drill for a see-type race.
College students in behavior-analysis courses typed as many correct definitions as they could in one minute every day.
The computer shuffled the terms, timed the sprints, and drew a chart so students saw their own learning curve.
What they found
Daily one-minute typing sprints lifted the number of correct definitions students could write.
The gains stuck around later, held up when the timer stayed on, and even showed up when students had to use the terms in new sentences.
How this fits with other research
Dugan et al. (1995) built early computer games for behavior-analysis classes when live rat labs were too costly. Lovitz keeps the computer but trades games for fast fluency drills.
Carey et al. (2014) warn that sparse data points can fool the eye on mastery. Lovitz answers by charting every single timed sprint so the picture stays honest.
Mount et al. (2011) show novices jump out of baseline too soon when data bounce around. TAFMEDS gives students daily practice reading their own bouncy charts, a sneaky way to train visual inspection at the same time.
Why it matters
If you teach terms to RBTs, supervise students, or run exam prep groups, swap one round of call-and-response for a one-minute typing sprint. Learners see their own line go up, you get a free chart, and the words stay put long after the session ends.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Say All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) is one behaviorally based teaching tactic. Like flash cards, SAFMEDS helps build familiarity with course objectives and can be used to promote fluency in the corresponding verbal repertoire. However, SAFMEDS differs from flash cards in that it follows specific design features and the acronym specifies how to practice flash cards. Students might practice in the traditional see-say learning channel used with SAFMEDS, or they could practice in a see-type learning channel (i.e., Type All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled [TAFMEDS]), as the precision teaching community has sought to bring digital technology to their teaching, using computerized standard celeration charts and programs that present flash cards in a digital format. The present study explored the use of computerized charting and a see-type learning channel program developed for TAFMEDS in several sections of an undergraduate Introduction to Behavior Principles course. Course instructors explored the correlations between daily TAFMEDS practice with behavior-analytic terminology and student performance. After 3 weeks of daily practice, the study concluded with a culmination of 4 checkouts that examined endurance, application, stability, retention (when possible), and performance in different learning channels. Results indicated a correlation between daily practice and higher daily performance frequencies and longer term outcomes, including maintenance, endurance, stability, application, and generativity. The findings are discussed in terms of bringing frequency-building activities to university settings and the advantages and disadvantages of bringing technological advancements into frequency-based instruction.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2021 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00481-4