Beyond the Task List: Preparing Your Supervisee for the Real World
December 02, 2022
For the most part, supervision has primarily focused on teaching items from the task list. However, as supervisors, we often receive feedback regarding “soft skills” (known as common skills or core skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, public speaking, professional writing, teamwork, leadership, professional attitude, work ethic, career management and cultural competency, among others) that supervisees are lacking. Additionally, supervisors are often at a loss regarding how to systematically fade their supervisory support. Until now, there has not been a sequential means for supervisors to accomplish this, leaving students ready to pass the exam, and ready to work as a BCBA. This paper will highlight a competency-based approach to guiding and measuring soft skills. This includes how to systematically supervise, manage cases, build skills to demonstrate professionalism, as well as how to fade supervision ethically; thus ensuring supervisees demonstrate competency, readiness, and independence.