Using General-Case Procedures to Teach Graphing Skills to Undergraduate Students

Abstract

As fluency in technology becomes more of a requirement in many fields, identifying an effective and efficient way to teach technology skills, such as spreadsheets, is necessary. In the field of behavior analysis, many studies assessed methods to teach graphing skills, but few have reported programming for or assessing generalization of these skills. One effective way to program for generalization is through general-case procedures, which produces behavior change across a variety of stimuli and responses while requiring minimal training time. The current study used a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design across participants to assess the effects of general-case procedures and computer-based instruction on graph training in Excel and to program for and assess within and across-category generalization of responding with undergraduate college students. These procedures resulted in generalized responding within and across stimuli and response categories for most participants. Future research should further evaluate the application of general-case procedures outside of behavior analysis.