Teaching Academic Concepts: The Effects of Equivalence-Based Instruction

The present study examined the effect of equivalence-based instruction (EBI) on academic concept formation. Twenty-six college students experienced matching-to-sample (MTS) training to establish five measurable dimensions of behavior with four members each. We arranged a within-subject pre- and post-design. In addition, half of the participants ex­perienced pre-training for two concepts, while the other half did not. The participants un­derwent training in a one-to-many training structure of five 4-member classes. All partici­pants formed equivalence classes in the MTS format. Furthermore, all participants showed improved performance on fill-in and multiple-choice post-tests. The results indicate that EBI can promote generative outcomes in participants. However, pre-training some relations for half of the participants did not enhance the equivalence formation. The results in the study replicate earlier studies in that EBI effectively establishes academic concepts and facilitates generative outcomes. Additionally, it adds to the existing literature by repeatedly testing each potential emergent relation to determine whether participants formed equivalence classes.