Terrific Task Analyses & Beautiful Behaviour Chains
What is a task analysis used for?
Teaching behaviour chains
Which chaining procedures involve teaching one step in the task analysis at a time?
Forward and backward
Describe how differential reinforcement works in shaping.
One approximation contacts reinforcement until mastery, and then this approximation meets extinction conditions and the next expected approximation contacts reinforcement.
What is one of the best ways to develop a task analysis?
Act it out - do it yourself
Does backward chaining mean you teach the skill backwards?
No - you teach starting with the last step in the chain, but the skill is still completed from the first to the last step in the correct sequence.
List 2 dimensions of behaviour that can be shaped.
Frequency
Duration
Topography
Magnitude
Latency
What would dictate having more or fewer steps in a task analysis?
Learner skill set
The complexity of the skill
How precise your data should be
When might you use forward chaining?
When baseline indicates more skill at the beginning
If you have a learner who has a hard time initiating skills following an SD, and you want to specifically reinforce this initiation
Are successive approximations the same as a task analysis?
No.
Task analysis = steps in a behaviour chain
Successive approximations = versions of a behaviour within a shaping program
What are the 2 roles each step in a behaviour chain play?
SD and R+
Which chaining procedure does a better job emphasizing contingent behaviour-consequence connections?
Backward chaining - learner's behaviour is always followed by the terminal reinforcer at the end of the chain
How/why is extinction used in shaping programs?
To ensure that the next target approximation contacts reinforcement, and all previous iterations do not continue to occur.
How should behaviour chains be taught?
In the same sequence each time
Why is total-task chaining a more flexible teaching procedure a compared to backward or forward chaining?
Because all steps are taught at the same time, and you can focus on the steps that require more dedicated teaching at different times.
Explain what some successive approximations for attending class on time might look like, if a learner is consistently ~10 minutes late.
- Arrive within 8 minutes of class starting.
- Arrive within 6 minutes of class starting.
- Arrive within 4 minutes of class starting.
- Arrive within 2 minutes of class starting.
- Arrive up to 2 minutes before class starts.