When creating and assessing teaching methods based on behavior analysis, it's important to choose the right approach for each learner. Three common methods are Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT), Free Operant, and Natural Environment Training (NET). Each has its strengths and is used depending on what skills need to be taught and the individual needs of the student.
Discrete Trial Teaching EED/DTT: DTT is a highly structured method where skills are broken down into small, clear steps. A teacher gives a clear instruction (called a discriminative stimulus or SD), the student responds, and then the teacher provides feedback—either a reward for a correct response or a neutral consequence for an incorrect one. When designing DTT, it is important to plan how instructions are given, how long the student has to respond, and what rewards will be used.
Evaluating DTT: To see if DTT is working, we can look at how quickly a student learns new skills, how engaged they are, and whether they can use these skills in other settings (generalization). One challenge with DTT is that it might not easily transfer skills to real-life situations if overused.
Example: Teaching a student to say "hello" might involve the teacher saying "hello" (the SD) and reinforcing the student with praise or a small reward when they respond correctly. Evaluating this involves checking how often the student says "hello" correctly and whether they can do so in different situations.
Free Operant: Free operant methods involve allowing the student to interact with their environment more freely, rather than following strict steps. This method works well when the goal is to teach skills that happen naturally. Designing free operant procedures involves arranging the environment in ways that encourage the desired behavior and providing natural reinforcement (rewards that naturally occur as part of the activity).
Evaluating Free Operant: Effectiveness can be measured by how often the student performs the desired behavior without being prompted. This method is often better for teaching everyday skills but may not work as well for completely new or complex tasks.
Example: To teach a child to dress themselves, you could create a play area with clothes and toys. The child can choose to dress up while playing, and natural reinforcement is given when they dress correctly. The success of this method is evaluated by observing how often and accurately the child dresses without extra help.
Natural Environment Training (EAN/NET): NET is about teaching skills in the settings where they naturally occur, like at home, in the community, or during play. This method is designed by embedding learning opportunities in regular activities and using things that are naturally motivating to the learner.
Evaluating NET: NET’s success is often seen in how well the student can use skills in different real-life situations. It is effective for teaching skills that need to be generalized, but it can be more challenging to plan compared to more structured methods.
Example: To teach a child to order food, you might take them to a restaurant and practice ordering. You would measure success by how often the child can order independently in different restaurants.
When designing and evaluating teaching methods like DTT, Free Operant, and NET, it is important to match the method to the student's needs and regularly check to see how well the method is working. By doing this, we can ensure that the student is learning effectively and can use new skills in their daily life.