A Comparison of Guided Notes and Video Modules in an Online Course

Literature Review

Research in ABA has traditionally emphasized effective teaching strategies for all learners, including university students. The teaching strategies implemented at the university level were originally evaluated in face-to-face classrooms (e.g., Boyce & Hineline, 2002; Fienup, Hamelin, Reyes-Giordano, & Falcomata, 2011; Heward, 1994; Keller, 1968). With the explosive advances in technology, Skinner’s (1958) teaching machines can be feasibly programmed as part of online instruction. Behavior analysts have attempted to integrate the technology of process (i.e., effective teaching practices derived from behavioral research) into the readily available technology of tools for individualized learning (Twyman, 2015). Thus, recent research efforts in pedagogy have gradually extended from the traditional classroom to the virtual classrooms (Martin, Pear, & Martin, 2002a; Pear & Crone-Todd, 1999; Sella, Ribeiro, & White, 2014; Walker & Rehfeldt, 2012). For example, Keller’s Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) was re-evaluated in web-based learning systems and found effective to improve student performance for college students in the virtual classroom (Martin et al., 2002a; Martin, Pear, & Martin, 2002b; Pear & Crone-Todd, 1999).

Several features of PSI have been successfully incorporated into an online format that includes self-paced learning modules, small instructional units, frequent unit quizzes, and a mastery requirement for each unit. However, because of PSI’s emphasis on written responses, the use of proctors to provide accurate and timely feedback on frequent quizzes can be quite challenging (Martin et al., 2002b, 2002a). Equivalence-based instruction is also programmed to teach derived relations in a variety of academic subjects at the college level, but empirical support for effective instructional practices to promote derived relations remain limited (Fienup et al., 2011). Despite the challenges, the findings indicate that integrating empirically validated online teaching strategies for individualized instruction, is both feasible and practical. The instruction in the previously mentioned studies consists of multiple teaching strategies derived from behavioral principles designed to engage learners in active participation to make online learning effective. However, many evidence-based practices developed and evaluated in traditional in-person classrooms are still in need of empirical validations when implemented in an online format.