This paper aims to respond to the widening gap between schools and the implementation of evidence-based practices. It supports the Comprehensive Application of Behaviour Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) as a model for delivering high-quality instruction and teacher training using behaviour principles. It is not enough to “present content”; educators are tasked with using evidence-based strategies with pupils.
Researchers outline foundational instructional tactics, learn units and multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) and introduce the framework for developing teachers as strategic scientists; the CABAS® Teacher Rank System.
Educators can use these tactics to deliberately arrange their environment to shape pupil and teacher behaviour. Teachers may use learn unit components to shape learning through contrived opportunities, rather than passive exposure to content (Greer and McDonough, 1999). Teachers can use MEI to systematically vary response types, promoting learning flexibility (LaFrance and Tarbox, 2020). Educators and administrators may choose to implement components of the CABAS® Teacher Rank System, which is a mastery-based professional development model that structures teacher growth around observable instructional repertoires, data-based decision-making and ongoing performance feedback (Du and Lee, 2024).
This study suggests that, together, these tactics help to position teaching as a behavioural process that is dynamic, responsive and shaped by the contingencies embedded within the classroom. This study offers educators a starting point for integrating behaviour analytic systems into both general and special educational settings. It describes how educators can adopt or adapt CABAS® structures to promote instructional quality, staff development and pupil outcomes for all learners.
