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The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Conditioning Books as Reinforcers: How to Increase Reading Engagement in Young Children: Inside JABA 26

Apr 2, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min · 13 segments

Episode Summary In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Daniel Fienup, Dr. Kate Loomis, and Lilian Morales to discuss their recent paper in JABA, Turning the Page: Increasing children's preference for…

Episode Summary In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Daniel Fienup, Dr. Kate Loomis, and Lilian Morales to discuss their recent paper in JABA, Turning the Page: Increasing children's preference for looking at and engaging with books. In this episode, we explore how books can function as powerful reinforcers for young children, especially in early learning and ABA contexts. We discuss how to identify when books are actually reinforcing, how to condition books as reinforcers if they're not already, and practical strategies for incorporating them into teaching and behavior support. Key Topics Covered 1. What Makes Something...

Episode Summary In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Daniel Fienup, Dr. Kate Loomis, and Lilian Morales to discuss their recent paper in JABA, Turning the Page: Increasing children's preference for…

Top entities: Applied behavior analysis×13 Teachers College, Columbia University×4 Daniel M. Fienup×5 Columbia University×4 Institutional review board

Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Amazon Music Website

Speakers: Kate LoomisGuestLilian MoralesGuestDaniel FienupGuestMatt CicoriaHost

Show signals: SuitabilitySafeBiasNot politicalPopularityVery Populartop 5%Audience≈8k followers

Guests' Professional Backgrounds1:58 – 3:57

Daniel FienupGuest

1:58

I'm sure.

Daniel FienupGuest

1:58

Sure.

Daniel FienupGuest

1:59

So I'm a professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, part of Columbia University.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:05

And we have an ABA master's program and an ABA PhD program.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:10

And my brief history is I got into ABA in college and it led me to get a master's degree at Southern Illinois University in behavior analysis, behavior analysis.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:21

And then That's where I learned that I really liked research and might want to be on the other side of the table.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:26

So I got my PhD in school psychology with Tom Critchfield.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:30

And my first job was at Queens College, part of the CUNY system.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:34

And then I started at Teachers College in 2017.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:36

All right, Kate,

M

Matt CicoriaHost

2:39

I'm just going to wrap.

M

Matt CicoriaHost

2:39

10 o'clock, I guess.

Kate LoomisGuest

2:44

So I came into the ABA field through public school, actually.

Kate LoomisGuest

2:49

I taught in an ABA program in middle school straight out of college, and that really ignited a passion and led me to pursue the ABA master's program through Teachers College at Columbia University, followed by the PhD program, which was then under the tutelage of Dr. Greer.

Kate LoomisGuest

3:06

And currently I'm a practicing BCBA, and I'm also a program supervisor at the Fred S. Keller School.

Kate LoomisGuest

3:13

Excellent.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:15

I came in.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:15

I'm Lily.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:16

I got interested in ABA very early on.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:19

Actually, I never thought I was

Kate LoomisGuest

3:20

interested

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:21

in that.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:21

But at undergrad, I had a professor.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:23

I will never forget.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:23

His name was Michael Alessandri.

Applied behavior analysisEntityDiscipline
97%13 mentions
Teachers College, Columbia UniversityCollege or UniversityGraduate school in New York
92%4 mentions
Daniel M. FienupPersonResearcher
87%5 mentions
Columbia UniversityCollege or UniversityUniversity in New York
82%4 mentions
Institutional review boardEntity
76%1 mention
Michael AlessandriPerson
71%1 mention
Journal of Applied Behavior AnalysisPeriodicalPeer-reviewed journal
66%1 mention
Queens College, City University of New YorkCollege or UniversityCollege in Queens, New York
61%1 mention
Southern Illinois UniversityEntityUniversity in Carbondale, Illinois
55%1 mention
FacebookSoftware ApplicationSocial networking service
47%3 mentions
XEntitySocial networking service
47%2 mentions
City University of New YorkOrganizationUniversity in New York City, New York
39%1 mention
Rockland CountyAdministrative AreaCounty in New York State
32%1 mention
Westchester CountyAdministrative AreaCounty in New York State
32%1 mention
New YorkAdministrative AreaUS state
24%1 mention
HispanicEntityPeople
18%1 mention
GodEntitySupreme being
13%2 mentions
American Academy of PediatricsCompanyProfessional association
8%1 mention
LegoEntity
3%1 mention

Early InterventionEducation > Special Education > Behavior Analysis
Literacy DevelopmentEducation > Special Education > Behavior Analysis > Early Intervention
Behavioral InterventionsEducation > Curriculum Development
Reinforcement StrategiesEducation > Curriculum Development > Behavioral Interventions
Conditioning ProceduresEducation > Curriculum Development > Behavioral Interventions > Reinforcement Strategies
DisabilitiesEducation > Child Development
Communication SkillsEducation > Child Development > Disabilities
Social SkillsEducation > Child Development > Disabilities > Communication Skills
Behavioral TechniquesEducation > Teacher Training > Professional Development
Classroom ManagementEducation > Teacher Training > Professional Development > Behavioral Techniques
Child DevelopmentEducation
Special EducationEducation
Experimental DesignEducation > Research > Methodology
Behavior AnalysisEducation > Special Education
Data CollectionEducation > Research > Methodology > Experimental Design
Teacher TrainingEducation
Curriculum DevelopmentEducation
Professional DevelopmentEducation > Teacher Training
MethodologyEducation > Research
Education
ResearchEducation

Guests' Professional Backgrounds1:58 – 3:57

Daniel FienupGuest

1:58

I'm sure.

Daniel FienupGuest

1:58

Sure.

Daniel FienupGuest

1:59

So I'm a professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, part of Columbia University.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:05

And we have an ABA master's program and an ABA PhD program.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:10

And my brief history is I got into ABA in college and it led me to get a master's degree at Southern Illinois University in behavior analysis, behavior analysis.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:21

And then That's where I learned that I really liked research and might want to be on the other side of the table.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:26

So I got my PhD in school psychology with Tom Critchfield.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:30

And my first job was at Queens College, part of the CUNY system.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:34

And then I started at Teachers College in 2017.

Daniel FienupGuest

2:36

All right, Kate,

M

Matt CicoriaHost

2:39

I'm just going to wrap.

M

Matt CicoriaHost

2:39

10 o'clock, I guess.

Kate LoomisGuest

2:44

So I came into the ABA field through public school, actually.

Kate LoomisGuest

2:49

I taught in an ABA program in middle school straight out of college, and that really ignited a passion and led me to pursue the ABA master's program through Teachers College at Columbia University, followed by the PhD program, which was then under the tutelage of Dr. Greer.

Kate LoomisGuest

3:06

And currently I'm a practicing BCBA, and I'm also a program supervisor at the Fred S. Keller School.

Kate LoomisGuest

3:13

Excellent.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:15

I came in.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:15

I'm Lily.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:16

I got interested in ABA very early on.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:19

Actually, I never thought I was

Kate LoomisGuest

3:20

interested

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:21

in that.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:21

But at undergrad, I had a professor.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:23

I will never forget.

Lilian MoralesGuest

3:23

His name was Michael Alessandri.

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