2018 Behavior Technology Courses
Parvene Farhoody, PhD, returns to teaching in late summer of 2018 with Behavior Technology courses!
The Behavior Technology course series is designed to advance students’ understanding of the science of behavior (why) and its application (how).
The goal of all Behavior Technology courses is to help students become the most effective and efficient teachers they are capable of becoming by placing equal emphasis on understanding learning principles and developing the technical skills necessary to apply these principles with precision.
The scientific principles taught in these courses are based on empirical evidence from laboratory research in the field of the experimental behavior analysis, and the applications of these scientific principles (i.e., technology) are derived from experiments in the field of applied behavior analysis.
Behavior Technology course content, including formal lectures, hands-on training of all animals, and discussion, takes an objective approach (i.e., the scientific method) to the analysis of behavior rather than a subjective or anecdotal approach.
The chickens used during these courses serve as behavior models for the purpose of teaching learning principles to humans. Training chickens is not the purpose of any Behavior Technology course. In BehavTech courses, the use of chickens follows in the tradition of the highest standards of teaching behavior technology as set forth by Keller and Marian Breland beginning in 1947. In fact, the application portion of these courses is dedicated to the Brelands’ work and to upholding the integrity and rigorous standards that they, as formally trained experimental behavior analysts, maintained throughout every aspect of their work.
BehavTech courses use White Leghorn chickens, which the Brelands found to be the most active and useful breed for teaching trainers. These chickens are raised, conditioned, and cared for as valued, life-long members of the teaching staff.
The aim of the Behavior Technology course series is
– to provide students with an education in behavior science that challenges their presumptions about learning processes and behavior, and
– to immerse the student in an environment that provides a bridge between academic knowledge (the lab) and the technical skill needed for the precise application of that knowledge (the field).
