Teaching Graduate Courses on Radical Behaviorism: Goals, Strategies, and Resources

Coursework in radical behaviorism prepares behavior analysis students to be effective practitioners and scientists, and thus instructors of these courses have an important role in ensuring the future success of the field. The aim of this article is to support instructors who are developing courses in radical behaviorism by sharing some ideas for course design and teaching strategies. We first briefly review reasons for including radical behaviorism courses in behavior analysis graduate training programs and describe some of the skills that we hope students acquire in these classes. We then offer some ideas for course goals and objectives, readings, web-based resources, assignments, and activities, and discuss some curriculum considerations. We suggest possible pedagogical strategies for shaping verbal behavior on conceptual issues, promoting engagement with the material, encouraging discussions, and navigating challenging topics, such as determinism versus free will, with cultural sensitivity. We conclude by describing some of the reinforcers for instructors who teach these courses, and by describing potential benefits for graduate programs and the field for continuing to ensure that future generations of behavior analysts receive in-depth training in radical behaviorism.