Storytelling is a practice that is used to pass down important information about culture, environment, and history. From a behavior analytic perspective, the process of storytelling involves contingencies and can be viewed within the framework of the Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. For each listener, based on their history of learning and experiences, stories enable a unique type of learning about reinforcers, punishers and cultural context. In African American oral tradition, storytelling was and still is important in preserving the identity, safety, and wellbeing of African Americans. The purpose of this project was to inductively explore story telling between youth and elders in an African American community. A training workshop was developed that included an overview of the importance and role of storytelling in the black community and ways for youth to respectfully listen and learn from elders. The participants included two children and one elder. The independent variable was the training package, the dependent measures included the levels of synchronous engagement, the listener behaviors of the youth and the participant voices, that is, the descriptions and reflections of children and elders about the process and outcomes of this project. A multiple probes design across skills with in-vivo generalization check was used to observe the effects of a storytelling interview package to engage children with an elder in the community. The results of the project indicated that the project was beneficial and enjoyable for the participants. The extent to which this was a result of the workshop was not clear and suggestions are made for future directions. The findings are discussed in the context of measurement, meaning, and positionality.
