Teacher-conducted trial-based functional analyses as the basis for intervention.

Five students with developmental delay or intellectual disability kept acting out in class. Their teacher ran short trial-based functional analyses right at her desk. Each test took only a few minutes and fit between lessons.

The teacher tried attention, escape, and alone conditions in tiny bursts. She counted problem behavior and appropriate requests during each burst. After the trials, she picked a function-based fix.

Every function-based plan cut problem behavior and lifted the right replacement skill. The same teacher who ran the tests also delivered the fix, so no extra staff were needed.

Results held across different times of day and different class activities.

Lambert et al. (2017) later swapped the trial structure for a latency timer and still got clean functions and strong effects. Both studies show teachers can wear the experimenter hat without a BCBA in the room.

Horner-Johnson et al. (2002) came first. They taught teachers to run basic FA conditions with modeling and feedback. Robertson et al. (2013) packaged those skills into quicker trial bursts that fit a busy class schedule.

Hall et al. (1971) and Zimmerman et al. (1962) already proved that teacher-delivered extinction plus reinforcement works. The 2013 paper simply links that old power to a teacher-run FA so the right reinforcers are picked from the start.

You no longer need to pull kids out for long FA sessions. Train the teacher once, give her a simple data sheet, and she can test function during snack, math, or circle time. The same person then delivers the right differential reinforcement or non-contingent attention the next period. This keeps the classroom moving and saves you hours of consultation time.