Beyond the Classroom

The Mixer for Masters program is designed to encourage and foster relationships between faculty and students. The Mixer for Masters event allows faculty and students to share information, get to know others, and build professional connections in a quick dialog, small group format. The one-hour social event is well received by students and faculty alike. This meet-and-greet social event is conducted once per semester synchronously through video conferencing.

The Open Door series is designed to support and enhance students’ graduate school experience by presenting topics relevant for successful distant learning and professional development. Open Door strives to foster inclusiveness and connectedness between Endicott Master and certificate students, adjunct faculty, and the professional community by providing a time for dialog on academics and professional career development topics. Several examples of topics for this series include information on specific course assignments, library instruction for gathering books and journals, requirements for accruing BCBA fieldwork hours, information on defining career goals and career planning, and professional self-care. A unique series is presented each semester.These events are presented each semester synchronously through video conferencing.

Workshops support student’s skill development. The focus is to help with learning specific skills used when working in the field of ABA. The understanding and use of ABA skills, such as graphing and understanding Interobserver Agreement (IOA), benefit ABA graduate students' unique abilities. Knowledge in the use of skills can be added to a resume. All helpful for when students start the first job searches. This event is conducted once per semester with rotating topics. Open Door Application workshops run once per semester synchronously through video conferencing.

The CHI Task Force in the Institute for Applied Behavioral Science presents the journal club called Bagels and Belonging: Diversity Dialogues. The journal club meetings are held once every quarter and will review articles focused on CHI. Each meeting aims to cover two articles, provided to all prior to the meeting. Each article is summarized by a member of the CHI Task Force with open opportunities for discussion. Students and faculty are encouraged and warmly welcomed to attend this meeting and contribute to the spirit of belonging within the program. This event will be open for earning BACB continuing education credits.

Study skills workshop leaders are field experts who are available for all masters students to assist with content specific questions. The service is available for free for our students through Endicott’s Center for Teaching and Learning.

International students sometimes face challenges that are specific to differences in cultural variables based on location. Some challenges may include administrative issues, getting textbooks, challenges with synchronous classes, writing assistance, and others. Therefore, the purpose of creating this support channel is to really help international students to overcome these challenges by providing a place to easily access increased information, tips, and strategies for navigating education in a different country and timezone. The site also provides a safe space for students to connect with students and professionals all over the world.

Learning is a life-long tenet of any clinical or organizational behavior analyst. Current and graduated students of our program are invited to share academic experiences, training experiences, or work-site scenarios where learned behavioral concepts were applied. The goal is to share our experience, learn from each other, encourage each other, and acquire new perspectives to help with creating our own ideas and plans. These sessions allow for the communication of our love of behavior analysis. This program is presented once per semester through a group-formatted distance-learning platform.

Adjunct Faculty Spotlight highlights the Institute for Behavioral Science adjunct faculty. Adjunct faculty are asked to present their training, and career path along with their passion for behavior analysis. Dialoging on practical aspects of career development and success is encouraged between adjunct faculty and students. This program is presented once per academic year synchronously through video conferencing.

Two-part series of presentations for first and second semester Master and Certificate students. Students are offered the opportunity to gain information to support the beginning of their graduate career at IABS. Topics include: introduction to the Canvas LMS, review of mandatory assignments including Behavior Development Solutions and Cambridge Center Learning Modules, and review of the M.S. Graduate Student Handbook including academic integrity. These events are conducted once per semester synchronously through video conferencing.

Concentration Conversations showcase our Master of Science academic areas of Autism, Childhood Clinical Disorders, Mental Health, Organizational Behavior Management, ABA in Public Schools, Sustainability, and our General ABA concentration. Knowledgeable faculty with expertise and experience in the concentration area facilitate conversations on the required coursework, course content, and job and career path opportunities within each concentration. This program is presented once per academic year synchronously through video conferencing.

Mid-semester opportunity for a student space to support connections and share academic and work-related stories and achievements. Topics could include: talks on unfamiliar technology platforms, program expectations and Master-level requirements never experienced, and work and BACB supervision responsibilities and expectations. Students are encouraged to converse and engage with each other to talk about their everyday academic and work lives; what is happening for them and how they are doing. Facilitators create a setting where student voices are honored and where engagement is in a professional yet casual informal manner. These events run several times per semester synchronously through video conferencing.

Professionals and students of behavior analysis are invited to a free annual conference that provides information about increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across behavior analytic practice, supervision, training, and education. This conference is open to all within the Endicott community and the general public and offers free BACB continuing education credits to those who attend.

Endicott hosts a one-day conference in collaboration with the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies that features leaders in the fields of Psychology, Business, Autism, and Applied Behavior Analysis. The conference is of benefit to behavior analysts, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, teachers, special education providers, school administrators, students, and caregivers. A discount code is offered for all Endicott students and faculty.

The Institute invites experts in the discipline of Organizational Behavior Management to present annually to students, faculty, and the greater public on the application of our science to improve service delivery across a variety of settings and enhance employee performance to increase the results of the business. This free conference is open to all within the Endicott community and the general public and offers free BACB continuing education credits to those who attend.

Families of individuals diagnosed with autism, as well as BCBA professionals are invited to a free conference and workshop that provides current and very practical information about living with autism. BACB continuing education credits are offered to those who attend.

The institute hosts an annual conference focused on professionals working within school systems who deliver behavior analytic services. This conference is open to all within the Endicott community and the general public and offers free BACB continuing education credits to those who attend.

This annual conference focuses on examining nonlinear contingency analysis for building functional behavior repertoires and discuss real world application for understanding complex behavior across diverse contexts. This conference is open to all within the Endicott community and the general public and offers free BACB continuing education credits to those who attend.

The ABA & Mental Health Conference showcases how applied behavior analysis can be used to better understand and support individuals experiencing mental health challenges. Each year, leading researchers and practitioners share practical, evidence-based strategies for assessment and intervention across clinical, school, and community settings, highlighting mental health applications of ABA as an emerging area of practice for behavior analysts' working collaboratively with other professionals to address complex behavior. This free event is open to students, faculty, and the general public and includes BACB continuing education credits.

Mission:

• The mission of the Endicott College ABA program’s CHI task force is to evaluate the current climate and enact actionable items toward meeting our values of a fully diverse, inclusive, and equitable higher education program. We strive to create a brave space that facilitates respectful dialogue regarding complex and difficult issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our department and our larger community. In pursuit of these goals, we will engage in ongoing data collection and analysis to identify needs, measure progress toward goals, and promote equity for all students, faculty, and staff.

Vision:

• Continuously model, promote, and shape practices to advance equity and compassion, creating a climate of cultural responsiveness and social justice within the fields of behavior analysis and higher education.
• Some projects from the task force include continuous monitoring of progress through student and faculty surveys, publication of initiatives in Behavior and Social Issues, quarterly journal club meetings, increase in cultural diversity topics and representation across courses, and increased awareness of methods to report and discuss any discomfort within student or staff experiences.

• The goal of the Quality Assurance Task Force within the Department of ABA at Endicott College is to improve the quality of instruction students receive in the department by continuously evaluating current pedagogical practices and modifying instructional practices as areas of improvement are identified.