Now on 10/17/2018- ABACLive Cambridge Center Series Presents Dr. Janet Twyman: “PSI, Teaching Machines, and the Digital Age”

Behavior analysis can improve education for all learners. One vision is inspired by one of Fred S. Keller’s lesser known writings: Peter Opossum Goes to School, an illustrated parable of personalized system of instruction. Keller describes how PSI’s individually paced, mastery-driven teaching method could improve instruction in grade schools as well as in college-level classes. In the 30 years since its publication education may appear to have changed very little, yet is poised for major innovation. Increasingly resilient and widespread signs of change parallel components of PSI: mastery learning is emphasized in “competency-based education;” the use of classroom time for learning (not lecturing) is exemplified in the “flipped classroom;” “proctors” (tutors or guides) are now widely available in the form of intelligent software adaptive instruction. These are but a few examples of the revolution happening at the intersection of education, technology, and behavior analysis. The increased focus on the individual learner, a greater understanding of the capacities of digital tools, and a deeper appreciation for analytics inherent in recent educational trends share critical features with behavior analysis. By highlighting work in this area, I will emphasize the enhanced opportunities for behavior analysis in education leading improved learning outcomes for all.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will identify at least 3 crucial components of Keller’s Personalized System of Instruction (PSI).
   2. Participants will identify at least 3 current trends in K-12 and higher education that support PSI.
   3. Participants will identify at least 3 opportunities for behavior analysis to have a greater impact on education, at the individual, classroom, or system level.

Throughout her career a preschool and elementary teacher, school principal and administrator, university professor, instructional designer, and educational consultant, Dr. Twyman has been a proponent of learning technologies that produce individual and system change. A sought after speaker nationally and internationally, Dr. Twyman has presented on leveraging new technologies for diverse learners and settings at the United Nations. She has served on the boards of numerous organizations including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (chairing the Education Group) and PEER International (assisting township schools in Port Elizabeth, South Africa). In 2007-08 she served as President of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and in 2014 was named an ABAI Fellow. Formerly the Vice President of Instructional Development, Research, & Implementation at Headsprout, currently Dr. Twyman serves as the Director of Innovation & Technology for the U.S. Dept. of Education funded Center on Innovations in Learning and is the founder and Chief Learning Scientist at blast: A Learning Sciences Company. She holds faculty appointments as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a Full Professor of Behavior Analysis at the Florida Institute of Technology. She has published and presented widely on instructional design, evidence-based innovations in education, and systems that produce meaningful differences in learners’ lives. For her distinguished contributions to educational research and practice she has received the 2015 Wing Award for Evidence-based Education and the 2017 American Psychological Association Division 25 Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education Award.

Presenter Disclosure Statement

Janet S. Twyman  does not receive speaker fees for presenting as part of the ABACLive Cambridge Center Series. These fees are donated directly to The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies (TM).