DNE: Lecture 26

• Task analysis

  • It is the process of breaking a skill down into smaller, more manageable components.

  • It can be used to teach SEN children a skill that is too challenging to teach all at once

  • Some other practices, such as prompting and reinforcement, can be used to teach the single component, building one upon another, until the skill is complete.
• Steps for Implementation 


  1. Identifying the target skill – Too simple vs multiple variables – E.g. turn on computer vs turn on + open “ppt” vs create personal website
  2. Identifying the prerequisite skills of the learner and the materials needed to teach the task – Doing summation: counting, recognizing numbers – Materials: counters, visual clues, worksheets without pictures
  3. Breaking the skill into components – Try out the skill and break down into small steps – Each steps consists of a discrete skill.
• Steps for Implementation

  
  

  4. Confirming that the task is completely analyzed– Get someone to complete the task to double check if all the steps are included and the result is accurate

  5. Determining how the skill will be taught

  – Backward chaining vs forward chaining?

  – Demonstration vs written prompt?

  6. Implementing intervention and monitoring progress

  – Implement the evidence-based practices identified in (5)

  – Data collection for monitoring
• Task analysis

  Teaching technique :

  • Shaping
• Task analysisTeaching technique : Chaining > Chaining - a method of linking simple steps to form a more complex task 


  • Forward chaining: – Focus instruction on the first step until it is learned – E.g. Provide reward after the child completed the first step independently, then provide hand-overhand prompts for the remaining steps until the end.
  • Backward chaining: – Focus instruction to complete the last step (refer to toothbrushing example) – E.g. Provide prompts for the previous steps of washing hands and let the child to complete the last step of drying hands for reward/praise
• Steps of doing those

  Example:

  Goal: The child will be able to understand the sequence

  of having afternoon tea

  Strategies:

  - Display the pictures/photos of related steps

  - Forward/backward chaining

  - Provide a reinforcement for the child after finishing all

  the steps

  - Gradually fade out different levels of promptings until

  the child can finish independently

  (F>P>M>V>V>G)
• Different levels of prompting

  >Full physical manipulation (Most)

  >Partial physical manipulation

  >Modeling

  >Visual Prompts

  >Verbal prompts

  >Gesture/Signal prompts (Least)

  
• Develop a plan to teach the specific living skills


  -Materials

  -Training time

  -Duration

  -Technique (Forward/Backward chaining; Reinforcement)

  -Hierarchy (Prompting)
• Different tasks we can break down into small steps (5-7 steps)

  1. Wash hands
  2. Wear shoes
  3. Wear a coat
  4. Take off a skirt
  5. Drink a paper packed product
  6. Cut out a circle
  7. Expressively label 5 animals