Behavior Analysis
- Home
- Milestones
- Number of Students
- Organizations & Journals
- Plan of Study
- Practica Guidelines
- Practica Information
- Qualifying Exams
- Application Procedures
- Recent Graduates
- Research Proposals
- Research Topics
- Sample Sequence of Courses
- Clinical Specialization
- Student Information
Practica Descriptions
Specific practicum opportunities vary somewhat from year to year as a function of demand, availability, student interests and faculty availability. Examples of some recent practicum opportunities are listed below.
1) Applied behavior analysis with pet behavior problems:
Students participate in the assessment of pet behavior problems after which they construct individual treatment programs and implement them with the pet’s owners. The interventions then are modified and changed over the course of the intervention as the behavior of the pet dictates. The practicum includes weekly didactic meetings where aspects of pet behavior management are discussed. Students also are expected to take a dog through a dog obedience training class in the community and to interact with various community agencies and groups involved in different aspects of pet behavior management.
2) Children exhibiting problem behaviors in school settings:
Students on this practicum work closely with school professionals (teachers, administrators) and parents to conduct functional assessments, develop behavior support plans, train care-providers in support plans, and monitor intervention efficacy. Also, students may choose to assist in developing and conducting workshops on positive behavior support and behavior management for teachers, administrators, other school professionals, and parents. Children seen on this practicum include children with disabilities (e.g., mental retardation, autism) as well as typically developing children exhibiting behavior problems.
3) Children with autism:
Students have the opportunity to develop and implement educational and behavioral programs for children with autism. Students are involved in training parents, educators, and other professionals to conduct programs for children with autism. Also, students may be involved in providing workshops on "best practices" for individuals with autism.
4) Instructional Design:
The general goals of these practica are to provide instructional design services to clients and to enhance the skills of the student in designing electronic instruction. Students work under the supervision of a faculty member and an on-site instructional design or training consultant. Recent placements have been with Visum, an innovative behavior analytic e-learning company and Headsprout, which has designed a Web based behavior analytic reading program for children. Students have also been placed with organizations needing instructional design expertise, for example the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, which was designing an e-learning program for teaching applied behavior analysis, and WVU’s Department of Mathematics, which was designing a computer based diagnostic testing program for basic quantitative skills. Student responsibilities have included: writing scripts and story boards for programmers, sequencing written material logically, providing diagrams, models and other graphics, designing and implementing methods for evaluating instructional materials with typical users and user groups, working with other product testers to implement evaluation methods, and conceptual design of computer and other electronic products
5) Inter-disciplinary feeding and swallowing team:
Students attend a weekly interdisciplinary feeding and swallowing clinic. The clinic team includes social work, nutrition, pediatric medicine, occupation and physical therapy, and behavior psychology. The student conducts a clinic-based behavioral assessment for all children and, for children whose mealtime problems are related primarily to environmental factors, conducts more intensive assessment and intervention in the community. Examples of presenting problems include food selectivity, food refusal, and deficits in self-feeding skills. Students have the opportunity to provide workshops on behavioral interventions for feeding problems to parents and professionals.
6) Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) and Performance Management (PM):
The general goals of these practica are to provide OBM services to clients and to enhance the skills of the students in working in management consulting organizations. Students work under the supervision of a faculty member and an on-site management consultant who specializes in OBM or PM. Recent placements have been with two of the leading management consulting firms that focus on behavior analytic interventions, Aubrey Daniels International and CLG. Student responsibilities have included: reviewing documents and providing feedback to consultants who are developing materials for client use or general public distribution, working with a variety of consultants to help them develop projects for clients, providing background research on topics needed for client effectiveness, and reviewing and providing feedback on tools and strategies that the consulting company uses with clients.
7) Parent training clinic for children with challenging behavior:
Students participate in a weekly interdisciplinary clinic staffed by behavior psychology, pediatric medicine, speech, social work, and occupational and physical therapy. Interdisciplinary assessment is conducted and, when necessary, students assist in conducting a functional assessment and develop a behavioral intervention. Students will assist in empirically evaluating interventions and in training parents or care-providers to implement interventions for children exhibiting severe challenging behavior. Children seen through this clinic present with a variety of neurological or developmental deficits, and often exhibit such behavioral challenges as self-injury, aggression, pica, or property destruction.