Continuing Vicci Tucci’s Legacy: The Competent Learner Model (CLM) Featured at the Gulf Coast ABA Conference 2025

Tucci Learning Solutions is proud to celebrate ongoing research and professional presentations highlighting the Competent Learner Model (CLM) and its compassionate approach to teaching and learning.

We’re excited to share that Maribel C. Stikeleather, BCBA, QBA, LBA-NY, a colleague and friend to the Competent Learner Model, co-presented at the Gulf Coast ABA Conference 2025 last week, alongside Dr. Anna M. Linnehan (Endicott College) and Sheila Klick Oswald (Endicott College, Melmak). Their symposium, titled “Assent in Practice: A Constructional, Nonlinear Approach to Compassionate Behavior Analysis,” continues to advance the conversation around how we support learners with respect, dignity, and true choice.

Symposium Overview:

Assent in Practice: A Constructional, Nonlinear Approach to Compassionate Behavior Analysis
Presented at the Gulf Coast ABA Conference 2025, by:

Anna Linnehan, Endicott College
Sheila Klick, Endicott College / Melmak
Maribel Stikeleather, Behavioral Teaching Solutions / Simmons University

Presentation Focus:

Belle Castillo Stikeleather, BCBA, QBA, LBA

This symposium explores how professionals can move beyond traditional notions of compliance toward meaningful, cooperative engagement. Too often, “assent” is defined simply as a learner’s visible willingness to participate — but this can overlook whether a learner truly has a choice or is acting under compulsion.

Drawing on Israel Goldiamond’s nonlinear contingency analysis, the presenters at the Gulf Coast ABA Conference 2025 will examine:

• How to distinguish genuine assent from apparent assent and compulsion,
• How to design and deliver programs that maximize learner choice and minimize coercion, and
• Real-world case examples (across human and animal contexts) showing how assent and dissent can be recognized and respected in real time.

At its heart, this work aligns deeply with the philosophy of the Competent Learner Model (CLM) — a model developed by Vicci Tucci to promote compassionate, constructional teaching that empowers both learners and educators.

“This work is about advancing a more compassionate, constructional approach to behavior analysis — one where assent is continuously evaluated, choice is embedded, and participation becomes empowering.”
— Maribel C. Stikeleather

We at Tucci Learning Solutions are honored to see Vicci Tucci’s legacy carried forward through this important research and presentation. Congratulations to Maribel, Anna, and Sheila on this recognition and contribution to the field!