A Time to Read: Why Effective Early Childhood Reading Instruction Matters belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter school teams and classroom routines. In Why Effective Early Childhood Reading Instruction Matters, for this course, the practical stakes show up in feasible school-based support, stronger collaboration, and better student participation, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via BABAT
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Join Free →Children from economically disadvantaged families represent nearly 30% of all children under age 18. Yet, only 1 in 5 of these children learns to read proficiently by third grade. This is especially significant because children who do not reach this milestone are four to six times more likely to drop out of high school than their peers who do. These statistics highlight the urgent need for effective, early reading instruction — particularly for children facing barriers to literacy. The field of behavior analysis has a longstanding history of developing research-based instructional approaches that measurably improve reading outcomes. Collectively, these approaches form the Strategic Science of Teaching (SST)—a systematic, research-driven framework for effective instruction. This session applies the SST framework to reading instruction and demonstrates how a science of teaching can equip educators to move beyond simply delivering content to ensuring that meaningful learning occurs for all students. Participants will explore the core principles of SST, examine key components of effective reading instruction, and learn how promoting science-based literacy practices can lead to long-term, positive outcomes — especially for economically disadvantaged children and their families.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
Denise Ross is a researcher in special education and applied behavior analysis, specializing in language and literacy instruction. She serves as Chair of the Inclusive Education Department at Kennesaw State University and focuses her academic work on addressing the educational needs of children from economically disadvantaged communities. She is co-editor of When Text Speaks: Learning to Read & Reading to Learn (Sloan) and co-author of Verbal Behavior Analysis: Inducing and Expanding New Verbal Capabilities in Children with Language Delays (Pearson). Her research has been published in Behavior and Social Issues, the American Psychologist, Behavior Analysis in Practice, and the Journal of Behavioral Education. Dr. Ross has held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Western Michigan University, and Columbia University. She is a graduate of Columbia University and Spelman College.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
256 research articles with practitioner takeaways
244 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.