Methods of Instruction

Identifying functional target skills

Methods of instruction

Review - Characteristics

Multiculturalism Functional curriculum – best practice Characteristics more severe as we look at

lower ranges of ID Zeaman & House (1963) – attending to

critical stimuli takes longer for ID Functional goals

Group discussion

Group 1: Ethical and legal issues associated with the use of aversives Gia, Molly, Kathy, Marie, Erin

Group 2: Achievement in inclusive settings Alex, Diana, Suzanne, Missy

Group 3: Disproportionate minority Eden, Claire, Libby, Amanda

Identifying functional target skills

Standardized tests Criterion-referenced tests Functional assessment Environmental assessment -

Ecological inventories (Snell, 1987) Informal assessments (interview & observation) Examine the environments relevant to student Totally individualized Identify functional routines and activities required

across relevant settings (home, school, work, and community)

Ecological inventories – cont’d

Domains (Brown at al., 1979): Domestic (self-care, clothing care, housekeeping,

cooking, yard work) Community (street crossing, public transportation,

purchasing, eating in restaurant, using public facilities) Vocational (skills involved in meaningful employment) School (eating in cafeteria, using a locker, attending)

Ecological // developmental approach Encourages generalization Flexible content (not predetermined, change in

worksite)

Ecological inventories – cont’d

Five phases of the ecological inventory process: Identify the curriculum domains Identify and observe current and future

natural environments Divide environments into subenvironments Identify relevant activities within subenvironm. Determine the skills needed to perform the

activities

Functional Assessment

Identifies which environmental variables maintain behaviors

Functions of behavior and maintaining consequences Attention – positive reinforcement Tangible - positive reinforcement Sensory - positive reinforcement Escape - negative reinforcement

Functional analysis – manipulation of environmental factors in order to determine if they maintain behaviors (hypothesis testing)

Learning phases Acquisition

# or % corrects Levels of assistance

Fluency Rate Latency duration

Maintenance Accuracy and fluency over time

Generalization … under nontrained conditions

Generalization Strategies for facilitating generalization Plan for generalization!

Program common stimuli Teach sufficient (multiple) exemplars Train on-site Increase opportunities to perform skill Use natural reinforcers – intrinsic to the task (and rf.

schedules) Fade (rf., prompts, cues/task formats, have

instructional materials replaced, have setting & persons varied)

Train self-evaluation Modify behaviors of others (peers attention)

Attentional Processes

Attentional cues – teachers’ behavior Attentional response – child’s behavior

Active – inactive/passive General – specific

Simple vs. conditional discrimination Attention problems:

Overselectivity – failure to develop responding to relevant features (restricted focus)

Perseveration – failure to sample choices Attentional shifts

Intradimensional Extradimensional

Prompts

Stimulus prompts – cues - pretask Response prompts – prompt - task Correction prompts – post error Purpose of instruction: transfer stimulus control

from instructional to natural prompts Hierarchy of prompts: 1) Physical; 2) Model; 3)

Verbal; 4) Gestural; 5) Pictorial (+ Independent) Prompt selection criteria: most natural, least

intrusive, most effective, ease of fading.

Methods

Methods are noncategorical How to teach (research-based) Consider pre-requisites prior to teaching Social validity (objectives, methods, outcomes) Effectiveness and efficiency Fading procedures (plan) Generalization (plan) Collect data to guide your instruction

Methods – Time Delay “Errorless learning procedure” - < 10% errors Systematically delay the time between task

direction and controlling prompt (CTD, PTD) Teach the child to respond correctly before the

teacher’s prompt OR wait 5 types of responses

Correct anticipations (reinforced) Incorrect anticipations (error correction + wait training) Correct waits (reinforced) Incorrect waits (error correction) No response (error correction)

Methods – System of Least Prompts Min. 3 levels of prompt hierarchy (individualize ) From independent (least intrusive) to most Final prompt is the controlling prompt Present task direction at each level Wait 5-s before and after delivery of each

prompt 5 types of possible responses Interrupt errors and move to next level Reinforce corrects regardless of level Record data

Method – Most to Least

Min. 3 levels of prompts (lower functioning) From most to least intrusive Wait 5-s after delivery of prompt 5 types of responses Student must reach criterion at each prompt

level Probe/test at least once a day/session Mostly used with chain responses

Method – Naturalistic (Milieu) Teaching Strategies Naturalistic time delay (PTD without 0-s delay) Incidental teaching (deprivation; SLP; elaborate) Mand-model (adult interrupts activity, asks

question, waits 5-s, models response, elaborate) Transition-based teaching (CTD without 0-s

delay; between scheduled activities) Common characteristics

Child-directed Interesting materials Natural contexts/activities Distributed trials across day/session Brief teaching episodes Contingent access to reinforcer

Method – Graduated Guidance

Gradual presentation and removal of physical assistance, moment-to-moment decision allowing student to reach criterion with least amount of assistance (lower functioning)

Deliver task direction Present controlling prompt Gradually fade by: reducing pressure, changing

location of control, “shadowing”