Written by Rick Kubina At some level, everyone has a stake in changing and influencing behavior. In fact, we all do it every day. If you drive to work, every time you use a turn signal or beep your horn, your actions have an effect on fellow drivers. When we greet people, ask for advice,…

Written by Rick Kubina Do you, someone you work with, or person you care about, engage in practice? If I had to guess I would say yes. People use practice to get better at all sorts of things. In business, you might find people working at call centers practicing how to respond to specific questions.…

Written by Rick Kubina The amount of statistical graphics generated worldwide staggers the mind. In his breakout book, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1983), Tufte reported between 900 billion and 2 trillion images of statistical graphics appear in print each year. Tufte reported the information in 1983; imagine the number in 2015!   A…

Written by Rick Kubina What’s the point of practice? Is some practice good and some practice harmful? In education, wild misconceptions abound. A quick search of the web yields a host of people stating problems with the practice. The old “drill the skill” strategy of learning math facts was based solely on memory. Any strategy…

Written by Rick Kubina In 1981, an important paper appeared in The Behavior Analyst titled Current measurement in applied behavior analysis. The paper reviewed the practice of using discontinuous time-based measures to count and record behavior. Interval recording represents a prime example of a discontinuous time-based method for behavioral observation. Let’s take the example of…

Written by Rick Kubina Working with students with disabilities requires patience, compassion, precise measurement systems, and above all, powerful methods capable of producing remarkable change. When teachers lack any of the previously mentioned attributes or processes, trouble can follow. The news story “Are NOLA Schools Failing Students With Disabilities? describes some of the struggles both…

Written by Rick Kubina When applying the scientific method, people will manipulate or observe variables. A “variable” refers to any factor a scientist can control, change, or measure in an experiment. Examples of variables include: a drug designed to cure strep throat, an exercise method geared towards helping people lose weight, and a reinforcement program…

Written by Rick Kubina Creating good pinpoints for data collection can sometimes be a daunting task. Pinpointing might take time, involve checking the dictionary, and sometimes include a healthy debate about word choices. But everyone can learn the steps for creating a good pinpoint: Action verb (make it present tense by adding an “s”) Object…

Written by Rick Kubina Early in my career, someone taught me about a Precision Teaching concept called “the big heart.” Below see a rendition of what I learned. Figure 1. The big heart all Precision Teachers strive to employ. I have sometimes seen the big heart as science + love. But either way, we think…

Written by Rick Kubina In education, we cherish the individual (and rightfully so). For example, the term “Personalized Learning” refers to a wide range of educational programs, instructional practices, learning experiences, and different support strategies for addressing the varied learning needs and interests of students. The United States Department of Education has defined Personalized Learning,…