Reflection Paper

The Softer Side of Supervision: Recommendations When Teaching and Evaluating Behavior-Analytic Professionalism

Natalie R. Andzik Northern Illinois University

Michael P. Kranak Oakland University

One welcomed addition to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board Fifth Edition Task List and Supervisor Curriculum (2.0) is the duty of the supervisor to not only teach, but also evaluate “soft skills,” which we will refer to as behavior-analytic professionalism. With this addition, supervisors must teach and evaluate skills related to behavior- analytic professionalism exhibited by their trainees. However, findings from surveys of supervisors in the field indicate two issues: (1) Few view teaching behavior-analytic professionalism as part of their responsibilities under the current supervision guide- lines, and (2) they do not know how to teach these skills. Accordingly, we provide supervisors with a recommended training model for teaching skills related to behavior- analytic professionalism, which includes the steps outlined in behavioral skills training. We outline how to get buy in, operationally define the skills, provide multiple exam- ples, and how to ensure trainees have adequate practice so that timely and constructive feedback can be given.

Keywords: supervision, professionalism, teaching, evaluating

The number of individuals seeking certifica- tion as a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA), board certified assistant behavior an- alyst (BCaBA), or registered behavior techni- cian (RBT) is growing expeditiously. In 2019, 13,211 (i.e., 6,884 first-time takers and 6,327 repeating takers) individuals sat for the BCBA exam, and 2,439 (i.e.,1,450 first-time takers and 989 repeating takers) for the BCaBA exam (Be- havior Analyst Certification Board [BACB], 2019a). Based on the increase of test takers

since 2015 (i.e., an increase of 7,140 and 1,564 test takers, respectively), it follows that a simi- lar increase in the number of individuals accru- ing hours to become exam-eligible exists. In addition, there are 70,361 RBTs (BACB, 2019b)—all requiring supervision from a BCBA, BCaBA, or an otherwise approved and noncertified RBT supervisor (BACB, 2018a). There are just over 30,000 credentialed BCBAs who are, or can become, eligible to supervise certification-seeking trainees. This number in- cludes newly minted BCBAs (LeBlanc & Lui- selli, 2016) whose supervisory skills may not be as refined and competent as those who have supervised for an extended time period. None- theless, BCBAs who supervise trainees are re- sponsible with equipping trainees with the skill sets needed to work directly with clients, and also interpersonal, or “soft” skills.

“Soft skills” likely contribute to professional success across a number of fields. From a be- havior-analytic perspective, this skill set ex- tends beyond the technical abilities of data col- lection and designing appropriate client treatments. A more apt name for this needed skill set could be behavior-analytic profession-

This article was published Online First June 11, 2020. X Natalie R. Andzik, Department of Special and Early

Education, Northern Illinois University; X Michael P. Kranak, Department of Human Development and Child Studies, Oakland University.

It is important to note that the information contained in this article is based on the upcoming changes to the BACB task list and supervision curriculum. As the field of behavior analysis continues to evolve, we encourage readers to be cognizant of updates listed on the BACB website, as well as read all BACB newsletters.

Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- dressed to Natalie R. Andzik, Department of Special and Early Education, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115. E-mail: [email protected]

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Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice © 2020 American Psychological Association 2021, Vol. 21, No. 1, 65–74 ISSN: 2372-9414 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bar0000194

65

alism. Although teaching social and interper- sonal skills is a requirement outlined in the updated BACB Supervision Training Curricu- lum Outline 2.0 (BACB, 2018b), supervisors report not feeling confident regarding the teach- ing or evaluation of these skills with their train- ees (Sellers, Valentino, Landon, & Aiello, 2019). As a result, this area of supervision ac- tivity for trainees is lacking (DiGennaro Reed & Henley, 2015; Sellers et al., 2019).

The BACB notes several skills in the Super- vision Training Curriculum Outline 2.0 (BACB, 2018b) that fall within this category of behav- ior-analytic professionalism. Supervisors must teach and evaluate professionalism related to (1) time management (e.g., measure planned activ- ities vs. actual activities, adherence to dead- lines, attendance), (2) organization (e.g., mea- sure client programming, meeting preparation), (3) prioritization (e.g., measure appropriate al- location of time toward tasks based on critical- ity), (4) social skills (e.g., evaluate posture, adaption to audience, select appropriate attire), and (5) interpersonal skills (e.g., social interac- tions, flexibility). Encouragingly, Sellers, et al. (2019) recently found that supervision-provid- ing BCBAs and BCBA-Ds (n � 284) directly measured their trainees’ interpersonal and com- munication skills (67.3%), time management (68.7%), organizational skills (67.7%), and pri- oritization skills (63.7%). Discordantly, the same group of supervisors who reported mea- suring soft skills also indicated that they felt they did not know how to measure or teach time management, organization, and interpersonal communication skills. Also, they did not be- lieve doing so was within the BACB supervi- sory requirements to teach these skills. As such, those findings indicate that responding supervi- sors did not feel confident in how to teach, track, and/or evaluate for evidence of positive outcomes each of the behavior-analytic profes- sionalism skills listed in BACB’s Supervision 2.0 document. These findings support the need to address the disparity between adequately training and supporting supervisors and calling them into action unprepared.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts must “rely on professional derived knowledge based on science and behavior analysis when making sci- entific judgments” (BACB, 2014). Although this statement aligns with the hundreds of hours of instruction BCBAs received in their prepara-

tion for the exam, applying this rigor toward less objective, behavior-analytic professional- ism represents a novel, idiosyncratic task. Find- ing empirically validated, evidence-based prac- tices related to teaching others how to refine their “interpersonal skills” or how to be “flexi- ble” can be a challenge. Thus, BCBAs may have to think outside what is comfortable and familiar when teaching and evaluating these ambiguous, person-specific skills. The chal- lenge of teaching professional and interpersonal skills is not unique to the field of behavior analysis. Professionals in other fields also need soft skills to be successful. Yet without explicit instruction and modeling, these skills can be lacking. For example, individuals in hotel man- agement rate soft skills as a priority over other technical skills, but undergraduates in hospital- ity management degree programs state their programs lack focus on teaching these skills (Wilks & Hemsworth, 2012). By taking an ac- ademic-based approach (i.e., instruction fo- cused on the principles of applied behavior analysis) versus an applied approach (i.e., em- phasis is on the day-to-day practice of the be- havior analyst), professional development could often go unaddressed. Therefore, supervisory experiences should be focused on providing support and training in settings where supervi- sion is taking place, rather than taking reiterat- ing knowledge-based content that should have been covered in coursework (Hartley, Courtney, Rosswurm, & LaMarca, 2016).

The new supervision requirements obligate supervisors to incorporate professional develop- ment into a trainee’s supervision experience (BACB, 2018b). Bailey and Burch (2013) sug- gest that a newly minted BCBA needs to quickly establish rapport by being friendly, trustworthy, and charismatic. Well-developed social skills will likely improve a behavior an- alyst’s abilities to interact with consumers, re- gardless of knowledge level. Thus, including explicit teaching of behavior-analytic profes- sionalism skills during supervision experiences would enhance the success of new behavior analysts and bring supervisory activities in line with BACB guidelines. As no widely accepted instructional protocol exists to teach behavior- analytic professionalism, in the following sec- tion we provide some recommendations based on behavioral skill training (BST) to address this shortcoming.

66 ANDZIK AND KRANAK

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Teaching Behavior-Analytic Professionalism With BST

Behavioral skills training is an empirically based training strategy that employs a rationale, description, and model of the skill prior to ask- ing the trainee to practice. Immediate corrective and/or supportive feedback follows this training (Parsons, Rollyson, & Reid, 2012). Researchers and others have used this strategy when teach- ing skills to a variety of practitioners working in the field of behavior analysis. In the field of special education, behavior change following exposure to BST-based training methods has been associated with the most consistent im- provement of implementation fidelity (Brock et al., 2017). With respect to professional devel- opment for behavior analysts, BST has been demonstrated to be effective when teaching skills that trainees will use throughout their experience and career, including conducting as- sessments such as verbal behavior assessments (Barnes, Mellor, & Rehfeldt 2014), the Promot- ing the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge (PEAK) relational training system (Belisle, Rowsey, & Dixon 2016), preference assess- ments (Bishop & Kenzer, 2012), and functional analyses (FAs; Moore et al., 2002; Ward- Horner & Sturmey, 2012); implementing dis- crete trial teaching (Fetherston & Sturmey,

2014; Sarokoff & Sturmey, 2004); and estab- lishing graphing and data interpretation skills (Kranak, Shapiro, Sawyer, Deochand, & Neef, 2019; Maffei-Almodovar, Feliciano, Fienup, & Sturmey, 2017). Given the robust nature of the effectiveness of BST to teach a variety of skills to a variety of practitioners, this approach likely has utility when developing strategies for teach- ing behavior-analytic professionalism skills.

Pre-Step 1: Needs Assessment

In concert with any behavior-analytic pro- gram that involves teaching new skills, the su- pervisor should conduct a needs assessment. The supervisor should conduct the assessment with the trainee before engaging in the supervi- sory experience (Garza, McGee, Schenk, & Wiskirchen, 2018; Luiselli, 2017). The supervi- sor should start with an interview and ask ques- tions about the trainee’s indices of profession- alism to include (1) related BACB policies and all codes, (2) BACB task list items, and (3) company-specific policies (see Figure 1 for sug- gested questions). Next, supervisors should ob- serve the trainee in settings where these behav- ior-analytic professionalism skills are required. Direct observations will help the supervisor identify and prioritize target skills needing im- provement and will ensure a personalized ap-

Skill Not

Observed

Unfamiliar:

Needs

training

Familiar:

Needs a

review

Confident:

Independent

Sample BCBA Standards

Measure planned activities vs. actual activities

Adherence to deadlines

Measures client programming,

Prepared for meetings ahead of time

Measure appropriate allocation of time towards tasks based on criticality

Adjusts own posture, placement

Adapts tone, volume, cadence as it relates to the audience

Communicates with parents, RBTs, Paraeducators, BCaBCAs respectfully,

Adjusts use of jargon, uses people-first language

Sample Company or Hiring Agency Standards

Arrives on time and leaves at stated time

Business casual, closed toed shoes, no visible tattoos or piercings other than in ear

Uses work email / phone when with parents and RBTs and BCaBAs

Professionalism during client sessions (e.g., takes data, does not engage on cell phone, refers to child by name

All reports due by Friday at 5pm, data sheets uploaded by 8pm daily

Sample Interview Questions:

1. When considering your role as a BCBA, what questions do you have about how to present yourself as a professional?

2. Do you have any concerns about ethical violations (e.g., dual relationships) when interacting with parents, BCaBAs, RBTs or others that might be under your supervision?

3. What is your signature line on your work email? Do you exclusively use your work email when communicating with work-related individuals?

4. What types of clothing do you wear to an IEP or team meeting compared to when you are supervising in home, at school, or in the community?

5. Have you encountered any challenging situations yet in your career when you have had to professionally deescalate an irate parent, practitioner, or professional?

6. What is your social media presence like? Have you recently swept your online profiles to ensure you are portraying yourself in a professional way?

Figure 1. Needs assessment, which can be adjusted to capture all possible behavior-analytic skills trainees should be engaging in based on their setting.

67BEHAVIOR-ANALYTIC PROFESSIONALISM

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proach for the trainee that addresses specific settings, expectations, and other skills currently in the trainee’s repertoire (see BACB Task List Item 1-3; see Figure 1 for an optional list of items to cover when conducting the initial needs assessment).

Step 1: Provide a Rationale

Getting buy-in from the trainee is, poten- tially, one of the most important first steps when training less behavioral, more ambigu- ous and subjective skills such as behavior- analytic professionalism (Carnegie, 1998; Daniels, 2016). We suggest supervisors start the conversation with their supervisee by re- ferring to the policies and procedures outlined for a BCBA working in schools, homes, or other locations, as well as a policy or proce- dure manual related to the trainee’s current setting. Supervisors must be aware of the nuances and differences that exist in the train- ee’s current placement and where the trainee might end up after finishing the supervision hours. For example, if the trainee wants to work as a BCBA for a clinical company that provides in-home services, but is currently accruing experience in a school-based practi- cum site, the trainee’s behavior is likely to contact different contingencies given the con- trast between in-home and school-based set- tings than if their placement is in a school setting. Put another way, supervisors should consider increasing opportunities to practice the skills the supervisee will rely on when they transition to their desired context follow- ing completion of experience hours.

Step 2: Provide a Checklist

Many aspects comprise behavior-analytic professionalism, so we advise the supervisor focus on those outlined out by the BACB (BACB, 2018b) when engaging in a BST ses- sion with trainees. Supervisors should focus on one skill at a time when training and should keep sessions short, ideally less than an hour (e.g., 15–20 min; Nigro-Bruzzi & Sturmey, 2010).

The supervisor should work with the trainee to operationally define targeted skills needing intervention. For example, “You need to im- prove upon your social skills” is slightly vague and nonbehavioral. Instead, the supervisor

might include a checklist of categories that en- compass social skills, including (1) attire (e.g., ironed clothes, closed-toed shoes,), (2) atten- dance (e.g., on time, acceptable absences), (3) social greetings (e.g., calling clients and care- givers by name, inquiring about a personal de- tail such as “How was the family reunion last weekend?”), and (4) interactions through e-mail (e.g., use formal greeting, professional signa- ture, complete sentences, lack of jargon or slang).These selected skills can come from the needs assessment cited earlier, but may also arise during natural conversations or during for- mal/informal observations of the trainee.

Although some professionalism skills (e.g., arriving on time, social greetings) are ubiqui- tous across settings, some specific components of skills may depend on the setting in which one is practicing (Ross, 2007). For example, train- ees who work with individuals who engage in severe problem behavior will have entirely dif- ferent clothing requirements than trainees at- tending meetings. It may be necessary for train- ees assessing and treating severe problem behavior to refrain from wearing piercings of any kind as a safety precaution. It may also be acceptable for trainees working with severe problem behavior to wear comfortable clothing (e.g., t-shirts, denim jeans) to allow for imple- mentation of intensive behavioral assessments such as FAs. In contrast, trainees working with individuals whose families may have expressed specific cultural or religious beliefs may always have to wear clothing that covers tattoos (if applicable).

Supervisors should decide on one specific skill to target at a time within each brief BST session. It is very important for this targeted skill to be trainee specific. For example, BCBAs often dress in “business casual” (Bailey & Burch, 2010). Although this might work for most, it certainly would not be an appropriate outfit choice when working with very young children or supporting students with self-care needs in the bathroom. It is almost never ac- ceptable to wear sheer or excessively loose clothing. However, again, when considering de- finitive rules about professional attire, the su- pervisor and trainee should agree on the degree of attire. Being aware of one’s working envi- ronment and the acceptable clothing for that environment could even be considered a part of the interpersonal skills required to engage in

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evidence-based practice (Slocum et al., 2014). Although it may be difficult to undergo a tradi- tional BST approach for selecting appropriate attire, one option may be to use an analog to in vivo situations (e.g., Neef, Iwata, & Page, 1978). Put another way, a supervisor could have a trainee select the most appropriate attire from an array of exemplars. Then, at the next possible opportunity, the supervisor could provide feed- back on the trainee’s chosen attire for that day.

Figure 2 is an example of a checklist used during a BST session related to one behavior- analytic professional skill, interpersonal skills. Bailey and Burch (2010) highlight interpersonal communications as one of the 25 essential skills of a behavior analyst. Although there are many individuals the trainee will need to exercise appropriate interpersonal skills with, BST ses- sions should be focused and short. For that reason, we have selected interpersonal skills with the client for this hypothetical BST ses- sion. Arguably, this could also span seven dif-

ferent BST training sessions, but we listed all stages for reference.

Step 3: Demonstrate/Role-Play

Supervisors should be aware that the behav- ior they model during supervision could be im- itated by their trainees. Thus, if supervisors use profane language or text during meetings, it is possible that trainees will imitate these behav- iors. Trainees are likely to take on similar qual- ities they observed in their own supervisor, and thus, supervisors have a responsibility to model appropriate behavior-analytic behavior (Sellers, Alai-Rosales, & MacDonald, 2016). These pro- fessional behaviors might require role-playing to ensure the trainee understands the concepts prior to expecting them to practice those behav- iors themselves. Although sometimes awkward, supervisors can be creative when role-playing with supervisees and when seeking a model. Within these role-play opportunities, it can also

Checklist for interpersonal skills with the client:

Stage 1: Intake

� Be a good listener by maintaining eye contact

� Show confidence in your approach by doing your homework ahead of the meeting

� Be caring by noticing body language of the persons in the meeting

� Have a friendly demeanor by engaging in some small talk prior to the meeting

Stage 2: Present analysis

� Start casual, make your audience comfortable by eliminating jargon,

� Speak in positive-focused statements and highlighting individual strengths of the

child/student/client.

� Present easy-to-consume, visual data to justify your case for services but build this slowly

� Respond to body cues and ask if clarification is needed

� Use anecdotes or stories from your own experience to encourage buy-in

Stage 3: Presenting treatment plan

� Use active listening (e.g., nodding, repeating back statements, use affirmative statements)

� Explicitly state that you are seeking approval for your plan

Stage 4: Training the implementer

� Break tasks down into smaller component steps when training

� Exercise patience when giving instructions

� Make sure to use behavioral skills training when training any practitioner or family

member to implement your plan

� Watch for fatigue and take breaks or spread training over multiple sessions

Stage 5: Once the intervention is in place

� Use specific praise when observing the implementer

� Trouble shoot small issues by owning the mistake as your own during the initial training

� Increase your expectations slowly and use shaping when thinning your schedule of

reinforcement with the implementer

Stage 6: Monitoring, evaluation, maintenance of the plan

� Occasionally check-in with your implementers and review the data with them and

encourage any success in the trends the data is showing

� Give the implementer the credit for any success

Stage 7: Termination

� Hold a final wrap up meeting (or party, depending on your setting) to say goodbye

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Figure 2. Checklist used during behavioral skill training (BST) when teaching interpersonal skills.

69BEHAVIOR-ANALYTIC PROFESSIONALISM

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be beneficial for trainees to tact both examples and non examples of desired skills. See Table 1 for a list of potential exemplars to use when demonstrating and role-playing skills with the trainee.

Step 4: Practice Professionalism

Following demonstration and role-play, train- ees must have an opportunity to practice pro- fessional skills in a guarded environment rather than just discuss and observe a skill didactically (Sawyer et al., 2017). The previous section de- scribed exposing trainees to various profes- sional and nonprofessional exemplars through demonstration/role-play. The supervisor pro- vided appropriate examples, as well as non- examples. In addition, the trainee should have been able to tact both examples and non- examples of various aspects of professionalism. Prior to practicing their newly learned skills, the supervisor should remind the trainee of the checklist provided in Step 2. In addition to other skills (e.g., steps implemented correctly when implementing functional communication train- ing), the supervisor will be monitoring, the su- pervisor will now be observing and measuring the trainee’s adherence to the checklist used in Step 2 of this training.1

Following practice in a controlled setting (e.g., role-play), Step 4 of the training includes the trainees independently practicing what they have learned with real clients, practitioners, col- leagues, and family members. In Step 3, it would have made the most sense for the super- visor to focus on skills the trainee can immedi- ately emulate, such as attire, organization, and prioritization skills. However, there are some skills that may not naturally arise during the supervisory experience (i.e., may be unlikely to observe during supervisory observations). Ac- cordingly, those should be set up as contrived opportunities to practice (e.g., role-play) when necessary.

Step 5: Feedback and Evaluation

Once the trainee has demonstrated mastery of the skills through role-play, the supervisor can now take the observation checklist (cited above in Steps 2 and 4) and critically observe the trainee in the field. Providing feedback and evaluating the professional skills of trainees is not only essential to training (Aljadeff-Abergel,

Peterson, Wiskirchen, Hagen, & Cole, 2017), but also a critical component of effective super- vision (BACB, 2018b). Feedback and evalua- tion allow the supervisor to determine if he or she is best preparing his or her trainee in the area of behavior-analytic professionalism. Bai- ley and Burch (2010) term a group of skills as “business etiquette” (p. 3) to include attire, so- cial skills, interpersonal skills, and time man- agement when interacting with a team—a set- ting in which behavior-analytic professionalism culminates and is paramount. As such, see Fig- ure 3 for an example evaluation checklist when observing a trainee in a team meeting.

Ongoing feedback and evaluation from the supervisor. Feedback and evaluation com- prise, arguably, the most important aspects of the training process (Aljadeff-Abergel et al., 2017; Parsons et al., 2012; Ward-Horner & Sturmey, 2012). Once a trainee has demon- strated competence through structured training, has had an opportunity to practice in the field, and has had initial and immediate feedback following observations with the supervisor, he or she needs to be given ongoing and regular feedback. The supervisor is only required to see the trainee in the natural setting two times per month and those can be live, recorded live, or shared videos after the occurrence. Researchers have found that more immediate feedback is more effective than delayed feedback (Brock et al., 2017). Given the relative infrequency of minimal BACB supervisory observations (i.e., twice a month) and the potential for incorrect behavior patterns to emerge in the absence of observation, feedback should be provided as soon as possible following the observation (e.g., same day). If problems do arise, supervisors can consider using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist—Human Services (PDC-HS) to iden- tify employee problems related to environmen- tal variables (Carr, Wilder, Majdalany, Mathi- sen, & Strain, 2013). The fourth section in the PDC-HS relates to soft skills in regard to fre- quency of monitoring by a superior and regu-

1 This statement is not to say supervisors should take data on both trainee program implementation and professional- ism in every observation, as increasing the number of vari- ables the supervisor measures may impact the quality of the supervisor’s data. Thus, it may be advantageous to consider which skillset requires more improvement and subsequent progress monitoring.

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larity of feedback. This tool might be useful when understanding performance problems re- lated to behavior-analytic professionalism as well as helping the supervisor create targeted interventions for the trainee rather than attempt- ing a quick-fix solution.

Feedback from the trainee. Although this training is focused on what the trainee is doing and learning, it is highly recommended before terminating the training to check in with the trainee to see what his or her level of accept- ability is surrounding the training (Turner, Fi- scher, & Luiselli, 2016). Supervisors should solicit feedback regarding socially significant outcomes related to their supervisory effective- ness. However, it is possible that one common concern related to trainees providing feedback to supervisors is the ability for a trainee to speak openly about his or her supervisor to the super- visor. If there is a concern, even a modest con- cern such as “coffee breath,” it may be difficult for the trainee to share this due to a perception of feedback affecting the relationship. Turner et al. (2016) suggested using a self-monitoring tool as often as biweekly to bring light to the above concerns. Likert scales might reduce the need for a trainee to find words to describe

performance that might be problematic to rate observable behaviors (e.g., on time, uses lit- erature to guide supervision, gave positive and corrective feedback). This exercise will help the trainee give him- or herself insights on any feelings or any anxieties he or she wants to share with the supervisor. This can, in turn, help identify areas of strength and areas that need improvement. Sellers, LeB- lanc, and Valentino (2016) suggested that su- pervisors should be cognizant of and assess their own behaviors when supervisor–trainee frustrations first emerge. That is, must the supervisor change his or her behavior to bring about change in the trainee’s behavior? We whole-heartedly agree supervisors must as- sess when difficulties arise.

The supervisors could request feedback on several items during this process. Some sugges- tions of actionable components include (a) level of the trainee’s engagement during BST, (b) fluidity of conversations (e.g., back and forth as opposed to the supervisor doing all of the talk- ing), (c) supervisor’s willingness to answer questions, and (d) the trainee’s willingness to give the supervisor feedback. These compo- nents are only a starting point of potential com-

Table 1 Multiple Exercises to Consider When Providing Demonstrations of Behavior-Analytic Professionalism

Demonstration Explanation Action

Watch videos The supervisor can pull videos from various sources and ask the trainee to observe the behaviors of others

Watch videos from YouTube1

Debrief after observing others

After the trainee observes individuals, the trainee can tact if the person was or was not adhering BCBA professionalism standards

The trainee can (1) first describe what aspect of professionalism they observed (e.g., attire, social skills) and (2) identify the violation or adherence to BCBA or work-related codes of conduct

Critically evaluate others

After the trainee observes others in the field, he/she can evaluate their professionalism and suggest recommendations for adjustment

Supervisors might ask something like “What feedback might you give Nicole on her outfit today?”

Engage in role-play Use situations where it might be harder to experience live before training occurs

Examples might include phone calls with a difficult parent, interactions with a challenging RBT, politely declining a social invitation from a client

Observing the supervisor

The trainee can watch as their supervisor engages in behavior- analytic professionalism in their own role as a BCBA

Examples of good opportunities to observe might include (1) while the supervisor is conducting a staff training, or (2) running a team meeting

Note. BCBA � board certified behavior analyst; RBT � registered behavior technician. 1 These may contain examples and non examples of the targeted professional behavior.

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ponents supervisors should evaluate. Additional components may, and should, be individualized based on the supervisor–trainee relationship and goals of that supervisory experience.

Conclusion

Supervisors are entrusted with the respon- sibility of ensuring 1,500 hrs (independent fieldwork; increasing to 2,000 in January of 2022; BACB, 2017) of supervised experience to be meaningful, ethical, professional, and rigorous. Although trainees require a mini- mum of 75 hrs (to increase to 100; BACB, 2017) of time with the supervisor (i.e., 5% of 1,500 or 5% of 2,000), prior to the changes in the supervision curriculum (2018), little em- phasis had been placed on ensuring trainees are capable in their behavior-analytic profes- sionalism before concluding the supervision experience.

Supervisors must not only train behavior an- alysts competent in the science and practice of behavior analysis, but also need to teach behav- ior-analytic professionalism skills and evaluate trainees’ level of performance on these skills. Trainees are likely to model supervision prac- tices and behaviors of past supervisors (Sellers, Alai-Rosales, & MacDonald, 2016). Thus, be- havior analysts’ supervision serves as an impe-

tus for creating either ethical, competent prac- titioners or unqualified, potentially detrimental supervisors. The BACB takes a powerful stance with its changes to the 5th Edition Task List. These changes effectively compel supervisors to intentionally evaluate this ambiguous skill set of behavior-analytic professionalism. Accord- ingly, we have provided some strategies, rec- ommendations, and tools to serve as a starting point for that structured teaching and active evaluation of behavior-analytic professional- ism.

Behavioral skills training has been used to effectively change the behaviors of many prac- titioners in the field (Brock et al., 2017). Thus, this training strategy presents an opportunity for researchers to experimentally validate this prac- tice when training future and practicing behav- ioral analysts’ soft skills. Behavioral skills training has been demonstrated to be a robust, successful training approach, but intentional re- search on its utility in this particular area would be welcomed. We encourage others, supervisors and researchers alike, to consider taking a more behavior-analytic approach to teaching those professional skills. As behavior analysts, we have the skillset to objectively and diligently monitor and assess this critical skillset of our trainees. It is time that we do so.

Behavior-Analytic Professionalism: Business Etiquette

Behavior Observed,

Professional

Not

observed

Observed, errors made (Make a

note for feedback)

Arrived on time

Greeted each member by

name

Introduces self

Appropriate attire (i.e.,

business casual)

Appropriate language (e.g.,

missing jargon, sang,

swearing)

Cell phone off or away

Takes notes, handwritten

(Meeting over a meal) Accept

any refreshments offered

(Meeting over a meal)

Appropriate table manners

Figure 3. A sample checklist to use when evaluating presence or absence of behavior- analytic professionalism during a meeting.

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Received August 21, 2019 Revision received May 15, 2020

Accepted May 18, 2020 �

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