Week 3: Assessing & Teaching Functional Skills

1. Week 3:Assessing & Teaching Functional Skills

2. Updates/Agenda • On Wed. for Functional Curriculum: Article Review #1 is Due. • Next Week April 18th, Two Assignments Due: • Ecological Inventory & Article Review #1 • Please Check Wiki for Readings & Assignments: Next week- read articles on Performance Assessments (Week 4) • For Wed. from Wiki- choose to read 1 of the articles on paraprofessionals

3. Steps in Ecological Assessment Process • Step 1: Plan with Student & Family • Step 2: Summarize what is known about the student • Step 3: Encourage Self-Determination/ Assess Student Preferences • Step 4: Assess student’s instructional program • Step 5: Develop ecological assessment report

4. The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale • Take a look

6. After you have determined where those skills can be met, conduct an ecological inventory of: • Environments: (e.g., High school classes) • Sub-environment: (e.g., Consumer math) • Activities: (e.g., work problems in text, lecture, computer simulations, group projects, etc.) • Natural supports available: (e.g., computer for each student, teacher gives 1:1 feedback • Target Skills: (e.g., number recognition, use of calculator)

8. Activity Analysis Name: _______________________________ Page: Date: _______________________________ Sub-environment/Class: _________________________

9. Bryant, D.P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive classrooms. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Bryant, D.P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive classrooms. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

10. Activity Analysis Name: _______________________________ Page: Date: _______________________________ Sub-environment/Class: _________________________

12. Why Do You Answer the Phone? •  • Phone Rings Who could that be? Attention and convers- ation More likely to answer phone in future Answer: “Hello”

13. Teaching • Teaching is the process of arranging instructional stimuli that result in behavior change for the learner. • Teaching requires the establishment of a learning context. • Teaching requires behavior change on the part of the learner. • Teaching students to respond to specific stimuli is a teacher’s basic job.

14. How do I achieve stimulus control (teaching)? • Associate correct response with antecedent stimuli. • Differently reinforce responding in presence of antecedent stimuli. • Give positive reinforcement for correct responding • Withhold positive reinforcement for incorrect responding (extinction)

15. Stimulus Control • Stimulus control refers to change in the likelihood of a response when a stimulus is presented. • The stimulus is a signal that if the response is performed, a predictable outcome (consequence) is likely. • If a person responds one way in the presence of a stimulus and another in its absence, than that stimulus is said to “control” behavior. • A traffic light is an example

16. Stimulus control and teaching • For any skill, teach a) what, b) when, c) why. • What = the new response (skill) • When = the stimulus that signals when to perform the new response • Why = what is the likely consequence (reward)

17. Teaching and Stimulus Control • Define the naturally occurring pattern • Setting Event -> Stimulus -> Response -> Consequence • Define what you will “add” to assist learning. • Setting Event -> Stimulus -> Response -> Consequence Prompt Extra Reward or Correction

18. How to develop stimulus control(Note what you ADD to the natural context) • Begin by pretest, then defining (a) the new response[R], (b) the stimulus that should control the response[S1], and (c) the natural reward [Sr+]. • Pretest to document absence of Sd  R • Present the stimulus (S1) • Prompt the new response (R) • Deliver a reward (Sr+) + extra reward • Withhold the reward when either • R1 occurs when S1 has not be presented, or • R1 does not occur when S1 is presented.

19. Stimulus control and teaching • For any skill, teach a) what, b) when, c) why. • What = the new response (skill) • When = the stimulus that signals when to perform the new response • Why = what is the likely consequence (reward)

20. Building Stimulus Control • Teach saying “thank you” when someone gives you something. • Test to determine if skill exists • Identify “pre-requisites” • Define “natural” behavioral elements • receive --> “thank you” --> “you’re welcome” • What do you add to teach • Add prompt (“say thank you”) • Add reward (“excellent job saying thank you”) • Multiple opportunities to practice (fade extras) • Test to determine if skill is learned

21. Teaching and Stimulus Control: Examples • Setting Event -> Stimulus -> Response-> Consequence • None-> “car”-> /car/-> info from reading • What do you add?

22. ConsequencesSetting Event -> Stimulus -> Response -> Consequence (Contingency) • Consequences follow a target response • Contingent consequences are delivered only after the target response occurs. • Consequences affect the future likelihood of the response. • Rewarding consequences increase the likelihood of the target response. • Aversive consequences decrease the likelihood of the target response.

23. Consequences • There are 5 major classes of consequences • Positive reinforcement • Negative reinforcement • Positive punishment • Negative punishment • Extinction • To determine the type/class of consequence: • Examine the effect on future occurrence of the behavior (increase or decrease?) • Examine the action involved in the consequence (give/remove/withhold)

24. Consequences

25. ConsequencesExamples • Define the target response • Define the consequence • Define the effect on future occurrence of the behavior. • Define the type of action involved in the consequence (give, remove). • Define the behavioral principle demonstrated

26. ConsequencesExamples (target response is underlined) • Over time, Darin (age 5) has become more likely to line up when given the instruction “time to line up” as a result of contingent praise from Ms. Dawson when he lines up. • Darin screamed, and Ms. Dawson said “Darin you be quiet.” He immediately stopped screaming and smiled. Over time, however, his rate of screaming in class has increased.

27. ConsequencesExamples (target response is underlined) • Over time Ellen’s talking out in class decreased during instructional presentations as a result of everyone ignoring her talk-outs (previously she received a lot of peer attention). • Over time Ellen has become more on task during independent seat work periods since Mr. Evan’s started giving out “Worker Rewards” for students who were on-task.

28. ConsequencesExamples (target response is underlined) • Over time Jim (age 9) has become less likely to push his way to the front of the line during recess since the teachers took away recess time for each instance of pushing. • Elaine volunteered answers in class when the teacher asked for volunteers, but about 25% of the time she would be wrong, and the teacher would scowl and tell her she was wrong. She now volunteers less often.

29. ConsequencesExamples (target response is underlined) • Over time Elaine was more likely to scream when given a math assignment as a result of the assignment being removed as soon as she screamed. • Tyron became more likely to become quiet, look down and whimper when other children would talk to him as a result of other children leaving him alone when he engaged in these behaviors.

30. ConsequencesExamples (target response is underlined) • Gwen’s attendance at choir has decreased as a result of Ms. Emerson’s repeated congratulations on Gwen’s “wonderful voice.” • Eric (age 8) has become more likely to tease and taunt Angelissa even though Angelissa consistently hits or yells at Eric when he teases her.

31. Effective Instruction:We Must Determine the Nature of the Problem • Behavior not in repertoire of student -SKILL DEFICIT Teach HOW • Student can do behavior but does not-PERFORANCE DEFICIT teach WHEN & WHY Does the student not know how or do they know how but choose not to? Focus

32. Errorless learning • Train discrimination without errors (shaping stimulus control) • Refined form of decreasing prompts • Alterations of features of the stimulus (Sd) OR Stimulus property • Student’s name on white card other student’s name on black card. • Card gradually darkened. • No incorrect choices and discriminated on relevant stimulus properties.

33. Errorless learning Definition • Using prompts to preclude a student from making an incorrect response • when students are not learning effectively and efficiently with other procedures 1 effective 2 positive teacher/student interaction3 fewer inappropriate social behaviors4 students learn little from repeated errors SUCCESS BEGETS SUCCESS AND FAILURE BEGETS FAILURE Use Rationale

34. Errorless learning • Train discrimination without errors (shaping stimulus control) • Refined form of decreasing prompts • Alterations of features of the stimulus (Sd) OR Stimulus property • Student’s name on white card other student’s name on black card. • Card gradually darkened. • No incorrect choices and discriminated on relevant stimulus properties.

35. Error Correction • When errors occur, correct immediately with minimal feedback • Provide a second opportunity to respond correctly • Reinforce (reward) immediately! • Must be explicit / specific.

36. Teaching Applications: Prompts • Defined: • Any antecedent stimulus ADDED to the presentation that increases the likelihood of correct responding. • Examples: • Verbal, gesture, physical, embedded (visual, auditory) • Modeling • Precorrection

37. Types of Prompts • Verbal Prompts • Rules: “Nouns are a person, place, or thing” • Instructions—when specific • Hints • Visual • Pictures, examples of correct answers, number lines, multiplication charts, visual schedules, diagram of steps, scripts • Modeling • Physical Prompting/ Guidance • Partial, Full

38. What makes a good prompt? • Increases likelihood of correct responding • Focuses attention on relevant features of task (Sd) • Ease of delivery • Ease of removal across trials • Good prompts are determined by the demands of the task AND the presenting skills of the learner. • As weak as possible (least intrusive) • Should be faded as rapidly as possible

39. Prompt Examples:What prompts might be useful? • Natural Sd  Target Behavior  Consequence • (Prompt) • Teaching cursive writing. • Teaching swallowing when too much saliva in mouth. • Teaching Carl how to ask to enter a wall ball game. • Teaching Emily to move from one task to another without help. • Teaching Phil to wait at snack without grabbing food.

40. Ongoing Class Activity:Provide examples of these methods for teaching a basic skill in a content area • Prompting • Modeling • Verbal prompt • Visual Prompt • Fading • Shaping • Chaining

41. Teaching Applications:Fading • Defined: Stimulus Fading • The gradual reduction or removal of a prompt. • Fading is a process for transferring stimulus control. • Examples: • Change in physical features (dashed lines) • Change in specificity of verbal prompts (“pick up the screwdriver”…to… “what’s next”) • Time delay (“Prompt+Sd”….to… “Prompt….Sd”)

42. Establishing Stimulus Control • Time delay: • begin with a prompt that works and then increase the DELAY between presentation of the target stimulus and the added prompt • fixed • Progressive • Sd +Prompt  response • Sd ….Prompt  response • Sd ….response

43. Fading Prompts • Increasing Assistance (Least-to-Most Prompts)—start with least intrusive and add more intrusive if necessary. • Graduated Guidance (Hand-over-hand, physical guidance)—reducing full guidance to “shadowing”. • Time Delay—wait several seconds before prompting to allow student to respond. • Decreasing Assistance (Most-to-Least Prompts)—move to less intrusive prompt when behavior occurs reliably

44. How would you fade these prompts? • Verbal prompt “move it to the tens” during two digit addition to prompt carrying. • Verbal prompt “ask nicely” when prompting Elsie to ask for toys/food, etc. • Physical prompt “touch on arm” as student points to communication board. • Gesture prompt, pointing to the correct color when asked to touch “yellow, etc” • Embedded prompt, dashed lines for writing

45. Ongoing Class Activity:Provide examples of these methods for teaching a basic skill in your content area. • Prompting • Modeling • Verbal prompt • Visual Prompt • Fading • Shaping • Chaining

46. Teaching Applications:Shaping • Defined • Teaching new behaviors through differential reinforcement of successive approximations of correct responding. • Differential reinforcement for shaping means that responses that meet a certain criterion are reinforced, while those that do not meet the criterion are not. • The Sd and reward are constant. What changes is the rule for delivering the reward. The goal is to improve the precision of the new skill.

47. Establishing Stimulus Control: Teaching New Behaviors Shaping: Students learn new things when a teacher “shapes” an existing response into the desired behavior. Advantages of shaping: • faster than waiting for a correct response • learner succeeds at a high rate • still kind of slow because you are waiting for the learner

48. Designing Successful Shaping Programs • Identify the terminal behavior (end result) • Identify the initial behavior • Identify intermediate behaviors • Determine the size of steps toward the goal • Reinforce successive approximations of the behavior • Monitor progress • Example student accessing a switch

49. Shaping Example • Problem behavior: Students are off-task about 80% of the time when working with a partner. Off-topic conversation occurs and work is not completed. • Define the terminal behavior. • Define the initial behavior. • What will our “successive approximations” be?

50. Shaping:How would you use shaping to.. • Develop skill of saying “thank you” (in different ways) to peers. • Develop skill of reading ninth grade material at 150 words correct per minute. • Develop ability of a 14 year old to stay in PE class for 10 min without screaming.