What is a subsystem?

Learn More About Our Subsystems!

Behavior Analysis Training System (BATS)

BATS is a supervisory system within the Behavior Analysis Training System. The mission of the BATS subsystem is to facilitate continual improvement in the areas of quality, accuracy, and timeliness within the overall program. The subsystem’s main priority is to increase system accomplishments, minimize the number of disconnects, and ensure that all students complete all necessary requirements to graduate.

The BATS managers’ responsibilities include integrating first years into the BATS program through weekly BATS meetings, organizing attendance at professional conferences and colloquia, distributing and analyzing social validity surveys, and organizing and facilitating interview weekend for applicants and job fair for WMU’s Department of Psychology.

Behavioral Research Supervisory System (BRSS)

The Behavioral Research Supervisory System (BRSS) is designed to manage the performance of master’s students in BATS and undergraduate thesis students who are completing projects as a part of their thesis requirements. Continuous quality improvement is conducted by collecting data on timeliness, quality of supervision, and social validity.  Three projects are of particular focus to BRSS: the autism projects completed by master’s students, the work completed by undergraduate thesis students assisting master’s students, and the autism posters (presented at the MAC and BAAM conference).

Undergraduate Supervisory System (USS)

The Undergraduate Supervisory System (USS) is a supervisory system within the Behavior Analysis Training System. The mission of USS is to manage the performance of undergraduate research assistants, undergraduate learning assistants, and undergraduate thesis students who are completing either a Lee Honors College Thesis or a Departmental Thesis. The subsystem’s main priority is to maintain the efficient completion of research by undergraduates, supported by master’s mentors.

The USS managers’ responsibilities include creating resources and rubrics for thesis writing, monitoring the quality-based performance of undergrads, monitoring the feedback of master’s mentors, and providing support in terms of conference presentations, posters, and end-of-the-year orals.

West Campus Pre-Practicum System (Pre-Prac)

The purpose of the Autism Preliminary Practicum (“Pre-Prac”) course is to develop a basic Discrete-Trial Training repertoire in undergraduate and graduate students prior to their entrance into the KRESA West Campus Practicum. Pre-Prac is a 1-credit course that begins the last seven weeks of the semester. This course can be added to your schedule late without any penalty.  During the Pre-Prac class, students will learn about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and applied behavior analysis as a treatment for ASD, the procedures and policies we use at our practicum, role-play with peers and receive feedback from instructors, and visit West Campus to apply the skills learned in class to working with the kids at our practicum site.

West Campus Practicum System

We help college students get experience using behavior analysis to teach children diagnosed with autism.  We utilize discrete-trial training and incidental teaching methods on-site at the KRESA’s West Campus. This practicum also fulfills the requirements for practicum experience for the Psychology Department undergraduate curriculum. (Practicum with Special Populations). Please note that the Pre-Practicum is a prerequisite for the Practicum.

Practicum has three levels of experience, with a wider variety of experience with each semester. In the second semester, students will refine their Discrete Trial Training skills along with gaining other skills. Additional skills include conducting preference assessments, running portions of the VB-MAPP, graphing student data, handling and treating problem behavior, and skill acquisition. In the third semester, students will work one-on-one with a Masters student helping them with case coordination of a student at KRESA’s West Campus.

West Campus Support System (WCSS)

The West Campus Support System (WCSS) trains and performance manages program specialists to fulfill all duties assigned by their BCBA supervisors, classroom teachers at KRESA’s West Campus, and Malott. We train future program specialists on important responsibilities including monitoring progress of the children they supervise and classroom-wide systems. Once trained, we performance manage these tasks by evaluating quality and timeliness of completion and providing feedback to the MA practicum students. We also work closely with classroom staff to maintain classroom systems and to revise the existing curriculum and delegate editing tasks as needed to the program specialists. We aim to provide a consistent, applied, educational experience for all MA practicum students to satisfy the requirements of the BACB’s intensive practicum and the Fourth Edition Task List.

Media/DMC System

The Media/DMC system organizes and disseminates current information about autism, organizational behavior management, behavior analysis, and the behavioral analysis training system program at Western Michigan University. The DMC system is responsible for keeping dickmalott.com up to date and running smoothly as well as documenting BATS events with photos, such as alumni reunions and conferences. These photos are posted on Malott’s Facebook page, so be sure to go there to check them out (the albums are public!)

1400 Support System

The PSY 1400 Support System ensures the undergraduate course, PSY 1400 runs smoothly from year to year. As obsolete components of the course are identified, tor are in need of revision, the PSY 1400 Support System utilizes collected data and error analysis to improve the course materials and learning opportunities of the PSY 1400 undergraduate students. Our goal is to maintain a class that provides an optimal learning experience for all students. The PSY 1400 Support System ensures this by evaluating the course, student performance, and improving areas that have been identified for improvement. This includes correcting homework and creating materials that clarify difficult class content for students. Another offered support for  students includes Behavioral Academic and Career Counseling (BACC) meetings with each student. The PSY 1400 Support System trains our graduate discussion leaders to conduct these meetings, and improves these resources  to ensure  they are of optimal use to students in making the next step in their academic and professional careers.

Self-Management System

The Self-Management system manages both undergraduates and graduate students, using behavior analysis to promote self-monitoring. At the graduate level, this system helps members of the lab stick to their performance management projects (which can be either decreasing or increasing a behavior). At the undergraduate level, members of this system teach Self-Management (Psychology 3621) which teaches how to manage time effectively, prioritize class assignments, and how to enhance your study skills, including how to eliminate (or reduce) procrastination using methods like breaking down large assignments into smaller components that are more manageable to complete.