Cooperant Learning Presents: Behavior Business Roundtable Episode 5: Designing Better Systems

Cooperant Learning Presents: Behavior Business Roundtable Episode 5: Designing Better Systems

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com! Summary: In this episode of the Behavior Business Roundtable we discuss the application of behavior analysis in workplace settings, focusing on the effectiveness of reinforcement versus punishment in employee management. We'll explore the importance of creating a positive workplace culture that fosters motivation and engagement, emphasizing the need for understanding individual differences in employee motivation. The conversation highlights the challenges and strategies for improving employee performance and satisfaction through behavior analytic principles.  Guests Dr. Kristen Byra is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at a doctoral level (BCBA-D) and a licensed behavior analyst in Arizona and Texas. She completed her master’s degree in psychology from Western Michigan University in May 2007, specializing in autism and organizational behavior management. By May 2010, she received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the same university, specializing in Behavior Analysis. Her thesis and dissertation centered around the evaluation of prompting strategies for children with autism and related disorders, focusing specifically on matching to sample and receptive identification skills. Taylor Barker is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through compassionate, evidence-based care. After graduating from Western Michigan University, Taylor gained experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in both Indiana and Michigan, where he worked alongside exceptional mentors and colleagues who helped shape his clinical approach and commitment to high-quality, individualized services. Dr. Steven P. Sparks was born and raised in Rochester, Michigan. He received his Bachelors with honors from the Psychology Department at Western Michigan University in 2009, Masters in Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University in 2012 under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Malott, and completed his Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis at Western Michigan University in 2016 under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Frieder.  Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. In the past Dr. Sparks served as a member of the Transition & Adult Services Subcommittee of the Michigan Autism Council.  Listen now: 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/7jEtOKZjbww4TCL9YfOMZF?si=490b8beed95c406b 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cooperant-learning-podcast/id1817490272 ▶️ YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@cooperantlearning  🌐 Website → https://www.cooperantlearning.com Connect with us: 📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/cooperantbx/ 🎵 TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@cooperantlearning 📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/people/Cooperant-Learning/61564380433792/?_rdr

Cooperant Learning | Rethinking Assessment and Goal Selection Across the Lifespan | Stu Law & Mark Malady

Cooperant Learning Podcast | Rethinking Assessment and Goal Selection Across the Lifespan | Stu Law & Mark Malady   CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com [http://cooperantlearning.com]!   Summary: In this episode, we explore the innovative genArete Learning System [https://genarete.org/], a comprehensive assessment tool designed to evaluate human skills across the lifespan with two of the assessment's creators: Stu Law and Mark Malady. We discuss the philosophy, development, and practical applications of this womb-to-tomb approach to assessing skills using a values-based approach meaningfully  across the lifespan.  Guests Stu Law is a lifelong student of human learning and behavior. His work focuses on science as a human activity, language-language relationships, and building a more robust bridge between mainstream Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and familiar behavior analytic approaches to clinical psychology—such as Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (unfortunately acronymized as FAP), Acceptance and Commitment Training/Therapy (ACT), and primarily, Process-Based Therapy (PBT). He conceptualizes this bridge through an approach that could currently be called "Process-Oriented Intervention Science" (POIS). Stu took the scenic route through graduate school, eventually earning his PhD—and, more importantly, his "Behavioralis Junkus" degree—from the University of Nevada, Reno. As the final student to leave the nest of Dr. Steven Hayes, Stu and his lab mates focused on a reticulated approach to learning science and functional analysis in the broadest sense, emphasizing an "idionomic" perspective where data is aggregated at the level of the individual before broad principles are evaluated. Stu has a nagging affinity for complex sentence structures, metaphors, and corny jokes—the latter being a functional byproduct of having a college-aged daughter and a loving spouse. Mark Malady is an autistic behavior analyst, father, and general agent of chaos who has spent the last 19 years working with learners with various abilities from 2 to 90 years old. He is a co-creator of the genArete Learning system, a womb to tomb skill-based assessment focused on leveraging the fringes of the science of behavior to person led change processes. Mark specializes in instructional control, functional living skills, direct implementation of evidence-based approaches to learning, and theoretical approaches to working with learners with diverse abilities. Under his role as Director of Learning Systems at HSI/WARC for the last 3 years he has assisted in the development of multiple curricula including those regarding: career readiness, para-professional instruction, pre-transition employment, and a short-term low dose skill acquisition program. He has also created models for case management for Host Home providers, as well as models for day habilitation programs. Mark envisions a service of support options for all learners that expand the potential of individual humans to allow them to have meaningful experience through formalized supports using the science of behavior analysis to its fullest potential. Listen now: 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/7jEtOKZjbww4TCL9YfOMZF?si=490b8beed95c406b 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cooperant-learning-podcast/id1817490272 ▶️ YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@cooperantlearning 🌐 Website → https://www.cooperantlearning.com   Connect with us: 📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/cooperantbx/ 🎵 TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@cooperantlearning 📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/people/Cooperant-Learning/61564380433792/?_rdr [https://www.facebook.com/people/Cooperant-Learning/61564380433792/?_rdr]   This presentation is for educational purposes only. The host and producing organization have no financial relationship with genArete related to this episode, including sponsorship, payment, or other compensation. Any mention of commercial products or services is incidental to the educational content and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or approval. Participants should exercise professional judgment, seek mentorship, and consult applicable ethical and practice standards when evaluating or implementing any procedures or tools discussed.

Cooperant Learning Presents | Behavior Business Roundtable Episode 4: Philosophical Underpinnings

In Episode 4 of Behavior Business Roundtable, Kyle Steury, Dr. Steve Sparks, Dr. Kristen Byra, and Taylor Barker tackle big questions through the lens of behavior analysis itself, using the philosophical underpinnings of science to guide discussion. Whether you're a BCBA, business owner, RBT, student, or just fascinated by where the field is headed, pull up a chair and join the roundtable.

Cooperant Learning Presents: Behavior Business Roundtable | Episode 3: Dollars and Sense

Taylor Barker (Ebb and Flow ABA), Kristen Byra (Upskill ABA), and Steve Sparks of Sparks Behavioral Services joined the Roundtable to tackle the economics of our field. Topics included reimbursement rates, workforce challenges, private equity in human services, industry growth, quality concerns, and the impact of bad actors. Financial realities shape clinical services, so what will it take to build a sustainable future without compromising ethical, high-quality care? Whether you're a clinician, supervisor, business owner, or simply curious about where ABA is headed, this conversation offers plenty of perspectives to consider.

Cooperant Learning | Observational Conditioning-By-Denial | Jessica Singer-Dudek, Hung Chang, & Jennifer Longano

Cooperant Learning Podcast | Observational Conditioning-By-Denial | Jessica Singer-Dudek, Hung Chang, & Jennifer Longano CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to this episode by visiting cooperantlearning.com! Summary: This episode explores the research on observational learning and conditioned reinforcers in children, featuring experts Jessica Singer-Dudek, Jennifer Longano, and Hung Chang. We discuss their research on observational conditioning-by-denial and how peer versus adult models influence establishment of conditioned reinforcers. We also discuss how these findings can be applied in educational settings to enhance learning and behavior management. Research: Singer-Dudek, Jessica, HungChang, JenniferLongano, and R. D.Greer. 2026. “The Effects of Peers Versus Adults on Observational Conditioning-By-Denial,” Behavioral Interventions: e70100. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70100. Guests Dr. Jessica Singer-Dudek is the President of the Foundation for the Advancement of a Strategic Science of Teaching and serves as the chair of the CABAS® Professional and Organizational Standards committee under FASST. She also serves as a Senior Behavior Analyst Consultant to schools implementing the Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) model, and . Dr. Dudek’s research interests include component analyses of successful behavior analytic models of education, teacher and supervisor training, verbally governed and verbally governing behaviors, establishment of early observing responses, verbal behavior development, conditioned reinforcement, and observational learning. Dr. Hung Chang received his MA, M.Phil, and Ph.D. in applied behavior analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Chang is a program supervisor at the Fred S. Keller School located in the suburbs of New York City. He has worked for the Fred S. Keller School, a CABAS® model school, since 2016. He is supervising preschool classrooms for children with and without disabilities. His research has focused on establishing verbal developmental cusps and capabilities, conditioned reinforcement, and observational learning.  Dr. Jennifer Longano received her BS in education from the State University of New York at Geneseo. She then earned her MA, M. Phil, and Ph.D. in applied behavior analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University. Jennifer has worked at the Fred S. Keller school since 2008 serving as a classroom supervisor for both preschool and early intervention classrooms. In 2024, she became the director of the Fred S. Keller School White Plains campus.  Her research interests have focused on Verbal Behavior Development ranging from foundational behavior cusps related to observing responses to incidental language acquisition and observational learning. Listen now: 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/7jEtOKZjbww4TCL9YfOMZF?si=490b8beed95c406b 🍎 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cooperant-learning-podcast/id1817490272 ▶️ YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@cooperantlearning  🌐 Website → https://www.cooperantlearning.com Connect with us: 📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/cooperantbx/ 🎵 TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@cooperantlearning 📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/people/Cooperant-Learning/61564380433792/?_rdr [https://www.facebook.com/people/Cooperant-Learning/61564380433792/?_rdr]   Music licensed through Soundstripe L9LS3EEZET6V5XUM