UNIT 6 TEACHING STRATEGIES

Structure

Introduction
What are Teaching Strategies?
Task Analysis
6.3.1 How to do Task Analysis?
6.3.2 How does Task Analysis Help Us?
Reinforcement
6.4.1 How does Reinforcement Help Us?
6.4.2 Types of Reinforcers
6.4.3 How to Choose Reinforcers?
6.4.4 How to Give Reinforcement?
6.4.5 When to Give Reinforcement?
Shaping
Chaining
Total Task Presentation
Prompting and Fading
Let Us Suin Up

6.1 INTRODUCTION
"The experience of teaching my eight-year-old child with mental
retardation had always been frustrating. I don't think he can do anything.
He just canJunderstand my instructions. Things have to be repegted.so
many times; he doesn't show any interest in learning. I am trying to teach
him how to brush his teeth but even afrer two months of my best eflorts,
he still can't do it. Tell me, what should I do?"
The above example describes the situation of a parent of a mentally retarded
child. The mother is trying her best to help her child learn, but cannot see any
improveinent in the child. Why do you think this is happening? ;This Unit will
provide answers questions such as these. In this Unit we; will describe the
different strategies used in teaching children with mental retardation.

You know that children with mental retardation require simpler instructions,
frequent repetitions and a variety of exposures to help them generalize the
skill in their day-to-day routine. Having learnt something, they also need help
in sustaining what they have learnt. You have read about the stages in learning-
acquisition, fluency, maintenance and generalization-in Unit 5. You would
remember that acquisition means 'learning the task'. In this Unit, we shall
 describe how to help the person in learning a task. You will learn about the Teaching Strategies

specific strategies that can be followed while teaching persons with

mental retardation- whether children or adults. Task analysis,
reinforceinent, prompting and fading, shaping, chaining and total task
presentation are some of the commonly used strategies in teaching children
and adults with inental retardation. These strategies can be used by parents,
teachers, community workers- anybody who is involved in teaching
and training the child. In the example quoted above, the mother is probably
not using the appropriate strategies in teaching the child.
How will this unit help you?
This Unit will help you to understand and become familiar with
the various strategies that can be used for teaching children and adults
with inental retardation;
how to use the various strategies in day- to- day interaction with the
child;
I
the ineaning of task analysis and how to do it;
I how to use task analysis for teaching;
the ineaning and uses of reinforcement;
the variety of reinforces and how to select them;
how to use reinforcement as a strategy for teaching;
I

the meaning of 'shaping' and 'chaining' how to use these techniques; and
the ineaning of prompts and their use in teaching.

6.2 WHAT ARE TEACHING STRATEGIES?

A 'strategy' is an organized approach to a task. 'Teaching Strategy' is a
method of imparting skills, knowledge or concepts to a learner. Do
children with disabilities require a special or unique set of teaching strategies?
Not really! The strategies used in special education (i.e; education of children
with disabilities) are not special in themselves-they are simply more evident
in special education prograinmes than in regular school programmes. For the
most part, strategies we are describing here to be used with children
with mental retardation are also applicalgle to children without
disabilities. Let us look at these strategies in detail.

6.3 TASK ANALYSIS

Children with mental retardation have difficulty in learning a skill or
an activity or a task as a whole. In fact, trying to teach a skill in one
IndiviBu~lizedTeaching attempt may result in failure on the child's part to learn it and this is very
and the Process o f
Learning discouraging to both the child and the trainer (the trainer may be the parent
or teacher or community worker). Most of us are so used to performing the
various tasks that we do during the day, that we do not think of them as tasks
which comprise a number of sub-component tasks (also called sub-tasks).
We wake up in the morning, brush our teeth, bathe, wear our clothes, eat
breakfast, take a public transport and go to work, without even thinking about
how we are doing these tasks. Yet, each of these tasks consists of sub-
component tasks which we have learnt to do so well, one after the other, that
the entire task looks like one skillful motion. Yet, each of these sub-tasks
may pose a difficultyfor the child with mental retardation, making it difficult
for him to carry out the task. To enable a person with mental retardation to
learn a task or a skill or an activity, it has to be broken into smaller and
simpler sub-tasks and the child has to be taught these steps (sub-tasks) one
by one, till he learns the last sub-task and thus acquires the tasklskill. In this
way, the child is able to make better progress. This strategy of dividing or
breaking up of a task into simple steps, (its sub-tasks) and arranging
the sub-tasks in a sequential order as they occur, from the first to the
last step, which when mastered will enable the child to perform the
task independently, is referred to as task analysis. Each step or sub-task
represents a teaching step -i.e. a step which has to betaughy. Task analysis
is the foremost strategy employed in teaching people with mental
retardation. Its main purpose is to simplifjr the learning of a particular task.
It can be used for teaching any task from any area of development and it can
be used by any person who is training and teaching the child -be it parent,
teacher, family member or community worker.
Let us understand what we mean by task analysis, and how to do it,
through examples.
Example 1
Let us take the task of putting beads through a string, which is a common
task that is taught to a child during preschool years as it helps in developing
fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination. To analyze the task of putting
beads through a string, think of how you yourself would do the task and write
down the steps. Match your steps with ours given below.
 Teaching Strategies
Broadly, the task of beading can be divided into the following steps o r
sub-tasks, in the sequential order in which they occur - from the first
to the last.
Sub task 1 : Pick up the bead fiom the container in one hand and the thread,
with a knot at its end, in the other hand.
Sub task 2 : Put the thread through the bead.
Sub task 3 : Bring the bead till the end of the thread.
Sub task 4 : Pick up another bead and repeat steps 1-3.
However, you may need to further divide each of the above sub tasks
into simpler steps, depending on the learning capacity of each child.
Thus, for example, a mildly mentally retarded child may learn the task of
beading when it is divided into four sub-tasks, but for a severely mentally
retarded child, you may have to further break up the sub-tasks into simpler
steps as given below. Thisis called slicing or m h e r dividing the sub-task
into simple steps.
Thus, the sub-task of 'picking up the bead and the thread' ( sub-task 1)
can be further divided (sliced) into:

la) Pick up the bead fiom the container and hold it in the left hand.
1 lb) Pick the thread and hold it in your right hand.

I 1c) Turn the bead with your thumb and index finger till the hole of the
bead is opposite the thread.
The sub-task 2 ('putting the bead through the thread') can be further
sliced into:

2a) Bring the thread and bead near to each other.

2b) Insert the thread inside the hole of the bead.

2c) Keep pushing the thread with your right hand till it comes out fiom the
other end.

2d) When the thread is visible from the other,end, pull it out with the
fingers of the left hand.
The sub-task 3 ('taking the bead till the end of the string') can be
further sliced o r divided as follows:

3a) Hbld the bead with the right hand.

3b) Keep pulling the thread with the left hand till the bead reaches the
knot.
,3c) Stop after it is threaded.
Individualized Teaching Example 2
and the Process of
Learning
Let us take another example from day-to-day life, to understand 'task a~alysis'.
Consider the example of 'making tea'. This task can be divided into the
following sub-tasks:
Sub-task 1: Boil water in a pan.
Sub-task 2: When the water boils, add sugar and tea leaves.
Sub-task 3: Cover the pan and let the tea brew for 2-3 minutes.
Sub-task 4: Take milk, as required, and pour it into the tea.
Sub-task 5: Stir the pan.
Sub-task 6: Sieve the tea and pour it into cups.
Depending upon the ability of the child, each of the above sub-taSks may
need to be sliced further. Let us now see how each of the above sub-tasks
can be sliced/hrther sub-divided.
Sub-Task 1: Boil water in the pan
This can be sliced as:
1a) Put the pan on the lighted gas burner (learning to light a gas burner can
itself be broken into sub-tasks, but we are assuming here that the person
is given ZI lighted gas burner)

lb) Fill 3/41h of a cup with water and pour it in the pan
Sub-Task 2: Add sugar and tea leaves when water boils.
This sub-task can be sliced as:
2a) Observe bubbles being rapidly formed in the water and see the steam.
2b) Take .one spoon of sugar and put it in the pan.
2c) Take half a spoon of tea leaves and put it in the pan.
2d) Switch off the burner.
Spb-Task 6: Sieve the tea and pour it in cups.

This sub-task can be sliced as:

6a) Take a cup and place it near the pan
6b) Take a sieve and hold it in the left hand a little above the cup.
 Teaching Strategies
6c) Hold the pan in the right hand using cloth or any other kitchen equipment.

6d) Pour tea into the CBLI by pouring it through the sieve.

6e) Stop filling the cup, once the level of the tea reaches the specified point.

These exain7les would have clarified what is task analysis. Let us now list the
steps involved in doing task analysis - in other words, how to do task
analysis.

6.3.1 How to do Task Analysis? (Procedure for Task Analysis)

The following are the steps involved in analyzing a task into sub-tasks :

Step 1
ldentifL and describe the task which you want the child to learn.

Step 2
Break up the task into as inany small steps as you feel are appropriate for a
particular child. Each of these steps is referred to as a sub-task. Try to keep
each sub-task simple and small enough, so that it can be attained in a short
time by the child.

In other words, a task can be broken up into more or less number of steps,
depending upon the ability of the child - more steps for a child with low
ability and fewer steps for a child with high ability. This aspect will become
clear to you as you read Section 6.3.2.

To break up a task into sub-tasks some methods have been suggested in Box
6.1. You may use any one of them.

BOX 6.1: Methods for Dividing a Tasks into Sub Tasks

1) Watch a Person: You inay observe a competent person doing the

activity which you want to teach the child. Observe this person carefblly
as he does the activity and write each step involved in doing the
activity. You could ask a family member or a friend to carry out the
activity.

- 2 ) Self-monitoring: Perform the selected activity yourself and note

down all the steps involved in completing it. Sometimes, doing the
activity and writing the steps may be difficult, as the writing will
interrupt the performance of the activity.

3) Backward Chaining: In this method, write down the final step or

sub-task. Then write down the other steps in the preceding level of
difficulty - i.e., writing from last step to first step.
Individualized Teaching
and the Process of 4) Brainstorming: Think about the activity as if you are performing it,
Learning and write down all the component steps.
To check whether your statements describing the sub-tasks are clear, or
whether you have noted down all the sub-tasks related to a particular task,
do the following exercise. For this, you need one person to read the
statements that have been written, another to follow these statements and
perform the task and some people as 'audience' to observe the person
performing the task. Ask the person who has to read the statements, to
face a wall and the person who has to do as per the statements, to face
the audience. Instruct the person who has to perform the task to do exactly
the way the person reads out. the steps. He should not add his own
interpretation. The person will be able to carry out the steps and complete
the task only if the statements are clear; if the statements are not clear,
he will end up not completing the task. This is a very useful exercise to
check the clarity of the statements written in task analysis checklist.
Step 3 \

Arrange the sub-tasks in the sequential order in which they occur when doing
the activity. Observe the child as he performs the various sub-tasks and
identi@ the sub-tasks in which he experiences difficulty. These are the sub-
tasks you have to teach the child.
Step 4
Decide upon the teaching sequence. The teaching sequence has to be
developed keeping the child as the focus and not the task as the focus.
What this means that the order in which the activity is taught to the child may
not be the order in which the activity actually occurs. Task analysis should
not become a rigid sequencing of activities where you do not proceed W h e r
till the earlier activities have been mastered. Deciding upon the teaching
sequence should be based on the following aspects:

1) See what the thild can do presently

Build from what the child is able to do presently, rather than insisting
upon teaching the activity in the sequence in which it occurs. Thus, if
the child during bathing shows ability and interest in wiping himself with the
towel, you begin by teaching him that sub-task, even though it is one of the
last tasks in the sequence. Do not insist that he first learn to pour water, then
apply soap on the body, then bathe and then wipe his body. Once the child
can towel himself ary and begins to take an interest in bhthing, these sub-
tasks can also be taught.

2) Begin by teachisg,the simpler sub-tasks first before you move on

to the more difficult ones.
Thus, when teaching the child to wear pants which has elastic or velcro Teaching Strategies

instead of buttons, you assist him in all the tasks involved in wearing the
pants, except the last one - that is, pulling it up to the waist and fixing the
velcro. This is the last step but it is taught as the first step since it is easier
to learn and motivates the child to learn the earlier tasks. Thus, it may
happen that the simpler steps may be occurring later in the sequence
the way the activity actually occurs, but they are the ones which may
be taught to the child first.
Another reason why the teaching sequence and the activity sequence may be
different is that the main tasks of the activity may be occurring somewhere
in the middle of the sequence and the earlier tasks may be a preparation for
the main activity. Let us understand this with respect to the activity of brushing,
given in table 6.1
Table 6.1: Teaching Sequence and Activity Sequence

Task :Brushing the teeth using toothpaste and brush.

Teaching sequence Sub-Tasks sequenced in the way in which
they actually occur
Level 111 1) Go to the sink.
2) Take the toothpaste tube from the shelf.
3) Hold the toothpaste with the left hand.
4) Open the cap with the right hand.
5) Hold the tooth paste in the right hand.
6) Take the brush in the left hand.
7) Squeeze the paste on the brush.
8) Place the cap on the tube and keep the toothpaste
back in the shelf
Level I 9) Hold the brush and brush the front teeth.
10) Move the brush to the left side and brush the left
teeth.
11) Move the brush to the right side and brush the
right teeth.
12) Open the mouth.
13) Brush the insides of the teeth on the left side, the
front teeth and the teeth on the right side.
14) Remove the brush from the mouth.
..............................
 ............................

1I
Individualized Teaching
and the Process of 15) Open the tap.
Learning
16) Spit the foam in the sink.

I 17) Cup the hand and take water.

I 18) Rinse the mouth four or five times with water.

I
I 19) Wash mouth and face with water.
20) Clean the brush with water and keep it on the
I
shelf.

When teaching this particular task, group the sub-tasks by seeing which are
the sub-tasks that go together. Thus, the task of bhshing can be grouped into
three levels-the tasks prior to brushing; the actual tasks of brushing; and the
tasks immediately after brushing the teeth. Teach the child the tasks of Level
I first, even though these tasks form the second set in the sequence the way
the activity actually occurs. Then teach Level I1 tasks and then Level I11 tasks.
Finally, however, you will have to link up all the tasks so that the child
perceives them as a continuous chain.

It is also possible that a particular child is able to do the cluster of activities

labeled as Level I11 because he has good motor coordination but finds it
difficult to do Level I & 11. In that case, you would begin by practising Level
111 activities first. Thus what we are trying to say is that while task analysis
serves as a guide for teaching, you have to keep the child as the focus and
plan your teaching based on his abilities. Thus, the teaching sequence for
a particular activity may vary from child to child.
Let us now read about how task apalysis helps us. We have broadly stated that
it$ main purpose is to help the person in acquiring a skill. Let us read how
it helps in doing so.

6.3.2 How does Task Analysis Help Us? (The NeedIPurpose of

Task Analysis)
Task .analysis serves three purposes:

1) To assess the person's current level of functioning

By now, you have learnt that task analysis is the process of dividing a
task into sub-tasks , dividingklicing these sub-tasks further into simpler
steps (if required), and arranging them in the order in which they occur.
When you do so, you get a checklist. This checklist helps you to pinpoint
exactly what the person's level of functioning is, at the present moment,
with respect to that activity. On the basis of this information, you can
plan the next step that you need to teach. Let us take the example of
'eating rice and dal by mixing them' to make this clear. We can divide
 Teaching Strategies
this activity into the following tasks and write these in the form of a
checklist, as given in table 6.2.
Table 6.2: Task Analysis Checklist

Task: "Mixing rice and dal and eating by self using a spoon"
Child's Performance
erl rw C \ 1 M b ' n
C 0
*g @
% % % %
Sub-task a-

2 % 5 $ 5 $
"erl .s Berl
h."c
-5 2 -5
4
+ +
- 1) Take a proper sitting position
2) Serve some dal from the PP PP
dish over a little bit of rice in
the plate PP
3) Mix the rice and the dal well, PP PP
with the spoon
4) Scoop up a spoonful of mixed VP
rice with a spoon
5) Take the spoon to the mouth pp PP
and put food in the mouth
6) Chew the food + +
7) Swallow the food + +
(VP- Verbalprompt, PP- Physical prompt, '+ ' independent. Do not worry
if you do not understand these terms now. You will read about them in
Section 6.6 of this Unit.)
Now you can observe the child to see what are the steps (sub-tasks) that he
can carry out. This indicates his present level of functioning, also referred to
as 'entry level performance' or 'baseline performance', The steps where the
child faces a difficulty are the ones you have to teach the child. For example,
as shown in table 6.2, in the case of a particular child, we find that he can do
step 1 independently, but needs to be physically helped in doing the second
and the third step. Then, he needs to be verbally reminded to do the fourth
step and has to be physically helped to do the fifth step. He can cany out the
sixth and seventh steps independently.
IndividualizedTeaching 2) TO plan the sequence of the child's learning as per his individual
and the Process of
Learning needs
It is quite clear from the above description that task analysis helps you to
decide upon a sequence of teaching. You come to know from which step
onwards you have to teach the child. But task analysis does more than that.
It helps in adding or deleting the tasks as per the individual child's
needs and abilities. You know that there are great variations in understanding
and learning among children with mental retardation. For example, in Table
6.3, the task "mixing rice and dal and eating without spilling" has been analyzed
into nine steps for child "B" who is mildly retarded. However, the same task
analysis checklist may not be usefbl for teaching child "A" who is moderately
retarded and has a lower ability for learning. He is likely to find the tasks as
they exist in the checklist for child "B" difficult to learn, and therefore, these
tasks need further breaking up. For him, these nine steps may have to be
fbrther divided, making a total of 13 steps that need to be taught (Refer to
Table 6.3). In table 6.2, we had analysed the same task into seven sub-tasks.
Hence, the number of steps into which a particular task would be divided
would depend on the learning ability of the child and the degree of
mental retardation and associated disabilities, if any.
Table'6.3: Tmk Analysis of the Activity of "Mhing rice and dal and eating
it with a spoon without spilling" for Two Children with D~rerent
Ability Levels
Child A - Low Ability Child B - High Ability
1) Assume $he proper position 1) Assume the proper position for eating
for eating
2) Hold the spoon properly 2) Hold the spoon properly
3) Take the spoon to the 3) Serve some dal from the 'katori' with
'katori' of dal the spoon over some rice in the plate
4) Take a spoonful of dal 4) Add more dal, if necessary
from the 'katori'
5) Pour the dal over some rice 5) Take a spoonful of mixed rice and dal
6) Turn the mixture of dal and 6) Lift the filled spoon.
rice with a spoon
7) Add more dal if necessary, 7) Place the spoon into the mouth
repeating steps 3,4, 5, 6. and close it
8) Take spoonful of the mixed 8) Take out the spoon from the mouth
food in the spoon
9) Lift up the spoon with the food 9) Chew and swallow the food
10) Take the spoon to themouth
11) Place the spoon in the mouth
12) Take out the spoon from
the mouth
13) Chew and swallow the food
Let us take up another example of 'brushing the teeth' (Table 6.4). The task Teaching Strategies

can be analyzed into fewer or larger number of steps(tasks) depending upon

the ability of the child.

Table 6.4: Task analysis of "Brushing the Teeth" for mentally retarded
children of d i f f e n t abilities
Child 'A': Low ability child Child 'B': High ability child
(moderately retarded) (mildly retarded)
1) Hold the tooth brush in the 1) Hold the brush in the left hand and
left hand paste in the right hand.
2) Hold the tooth paste in the 2) Press tooth paste and place the
right hand paste on the tooth brush
3) Open the tooth paste tube 3) Close the tooth paste tube and keep
it back.
4) Press the tooth paste and place 4) Brush the front teeth by moving
the the paste on the tooth brush brush up and down, including the
insides of teeth.
5) Close the tooth paste tube 5) Move the brush to the left side and
brush teeth on the left side, including
the inside of teeth.
6) Place the tube back. 6) Move the brush to the right side
and brush teeth on the right side,
including the inside of teeth.
7) Place brush on front teeth. , 7) Rinse mouth with water thrice
8) Move the brush in up and down 8) Rinse brush and keep the brush
motion. back.
9) After cleaning front teeth, move the 9) Take the towel and wipe the face
brush on the left side. and hands.
10) Clean the teeth on the left side 10) Keep the towel back in place.
using up and down motion.
11) Move the brush to the right side of
the mouth.
12) Move the brush in up and down
motion to clean the teeth on the
right side.
13) Open the mouth to clean the insides
of the teeth
14) Place the brush on the inside of
teeth of upper jaw
Individualized Teaching
and the Process o f 15) Clean the inside of the teeth of the
Learning upper jaw in the left, front and sides
16) Place the brush on the inside of the
teeth of lower jaw
17) Clean the insides of the teeth of lower
jaw in the left, front and right sides.
18) Take a mouthful of water and rinse
the mouth.
19) Repeat the above step 3- 4 times.
20) Clean the brush with water.
21) Keep the tooth brush back
22) Take the towel
23) Wipe the face
24) Wipe the hands

25) Keep the towel back in place.

Thus, depending upon the abilities of a particular child, you can sub-divide
the task.

3) To assess the child's progress

The task analysis checklist can be used to assess how the child is
progressing from one week to the next. With reference to the example of
mixing rice and dal for eating (See Table 6.2), the parent after finding out
the steps in which the child was having a difficulty, started training the child.
After one week of training, the child still needed physical help in mixing rice
and dal, but could scoop a spoonfbl of the mixture into the spoon, without
needing to be reminded. He still needed physical help in taking the spoon to
the mouth. (Refer to Column 2 inTable 6.2). In this way, the child's progress
was recorded each week.
To sum up, task analysis checklist helps you to :
Know the' child's level of performance before you begin teaching.
Plan the steps of teaching as the tasks are arranged in a logical sequential
order.

Assess how the child is progressing, once you begin teaching.

Identifjl the steplsteps where the child is not showing progress. These
may require to be broken up (sliced) further in order to help the child
learn them.
 Gives feedback to both the trainer and the child and keeps them motivated. Teaching Strategies
In the case of children with moderate and severe mental retardation, who
take a long time to learn, it is encouraging to note the child's achievement
step by step.

6.4 REINFORCEMENT
'Reinforcement' is another important teaching strategy followed while
'teaching children -whether or not they are disabled. Let us understand
what it means.
If you think about your day-to-day life, you will notice that we continue to
cany out and perform those behaviours and actions where the results are
encouraging or motivating. We lessen and gradually stop those behaviours,
where the results are negative or not rewarding. For example, when our
parents appreciated us for doing good work, we made efforts to continue
doing it.

We continue with those behaviours for which we are appreciated

If, in spite of our efforts, the parents did not appreciate us, it had the effect
of lowering our motivation and we did not work that hard.
Let us take some more examples. Supposing you tried out a new recipe. If
the dish'prepared was tasty and others expressed their appreciation, you
will try to prepare the item again; if the family members did not like the -
dish, you will not prepare it again. You use a blanket in winter because it
gives you warmth and you do not use it in summer because you sweat.
When two siblings fight and the father scolds them, they stop their fight
and the chances are that their fights will gradually lessen.
JndividualizedTmchlng If you look at all these examples, you notice that we continue the behaviours
and the Process of
Learnhe which lead to a pleasant results/consequences (appreciation, tasty, warmth)
and we discontinue those behaviours which have negative consequences. (no
appreciation, not tasty, scolding, sweating). This process governs our
behaviour all through out life, though often we do not realize it. This is the
process of reinforcement. 'Reinforcement' is any event which
strengthens and increases the chances of occurrence of that behaviour.
We use this as a strategy for teaching children and adults, all the time-
usually without our realizing that we are doing so. It is a powerful tool for
'
teaching desired behaviour to all children and adults.

Unpleasant consequences lead to lessening of that behaviour

Sometimes, the natural and spontaneous reinforcement that we receive when

we do activities may be insufficient to motivate us to continue with the
activities. This is particularly true in the case of children with mental
retardation. Often, the attempts that these children make of learning on their
own, lead to failures and disappointments, rather thari Fesulting in pleasurable
consequences. Thus, the chances of their making efforts get reduced and
learning new behaviours and skills becomes difficult. People with mental
retardation need more frequent and systematic pleasant results in order
for them to continue with desirable behaviour. Thus, they have to be
provided with planned and systematic positive reinforcement. In this
section, we shall read in detail about reinforcement since it is one of the
main strategies that you will be using to teach children and adults with mental
retardation.
 Teacblng Strategles
6.4.1 How Does Reinforcement Help? (Purposes of
Reinforcement)
Reinforcement can help to
teach new skills and behaviours; for example, to teach the child to
walk without support
increase the frequency of good and desirable behaviours that are
occurring, but not so frequently. For example, if a child rarely sits
at a place for five minutes at a stretch, you can increase the frequency
of this desirable behaviour (sitting at one place for a certain length of
time) by using reinforcement.
Maintain the good behaviour at acceptable levels. Once the child
begins to show acceptable(desirab1e) behaviour, it has to be sustained.
This is done through reinforcement.
Reinforcement makes the process of teaching and learning more pleasurable;
makes learning faster and enhances the child's participation in the training
programme.
To reduce undesirable behaviours, we use the strategy of 'punishment'. This
has been described in Unit 13.
6.4.2 Types of Reinforcers
Different types of reinforcers can be used while teaching and training people
with mental retardation.
Edible or primary reinforcers
Edible reinforcers include food and drink. They are also called 'primary'
reinforcers because they are essential for life. They are usually used with
young children and children with low cognitive ability (those with severe
degree of mental retardation). These are used when teaching new skills to
children, as they have higher motivational value. Thus, when the child perfoms
a behaviour which is desirable, he is rewarded by a banana, toffee, juice etc.
However, you need to remember the following points if edible reinforcers
are to be effective.

Edible reinforcers
Individualized Teaching 1) Select a food or drink which the child likes very much - only then will
and the Process of
Learning he be motivated to do something in order to get it.
2) Select something which will not harm him in any way (not too many
sweets, chocolates or cold drinks)
3) See that the child is hungry before using the reinforcer (food item). If
you give the reinforcer after the child has had lunch, the child will not
look forward to receiving the reinforcer. Then the reinforcer will not be
effective in increasing the chances of the child showing the desired
behaviour.
4) The child feels contented when he receives the food as a reinforcer.
Therefore, his enthusiasm and motivation for showing the desirable
behaviour will gradually decrease as his hunger is slowly satisfied by
eating the food. Follow the given points to prevent or delay the child
being contented or satiated with the food item.
- Use. different types of reinforcers (foodldknk items) all along the
day with the child, so that he does not get bored of a particular food
item. Therefore, before beginning the training make a list of food
items the child likes.
- Plan short teaching sessions in which an edible reinforcer is used.
Shorter sessions with few reinforcers decreases the chances of
getting used to the reinforcer (i.e., being satiated).
- Give only small pieces of food or drink for correct response. For
example, if the child likes chocolates, divide it in 5-6 parts and give
one part at a time.
Tangible reinforcers
Tangible reinforcers are those which are immediately useful to the child
(such as pen, pencil, crayons, games, money, food and toys) or are objects
which have achieved reinforcing properties, such as getting stars'or a check
mark (u) for the correct response, You would remember getting such rewards
from your teacher in school.

Tangible reinforcers
 Exchangeable reinforcers Teaching Strategies

Exchangeable reinforcers are those which may be traded or exchanged for

other more valued reinforcers. For example, tokens or stars or check marks
(w) are used as reinforcers which can be exchanged for other things. Thus,
each time a child does something right, he gets a token or a check mark and
if he gets five checkmarks in a week, he can have an ice cream (which is his
favourite edible reinforcer). The exchangeable reinforcers are also referred
to as 'secondary' reinforcers, since they are those events and things, which
have acquired reinforcing properties through being paired with (associated)
tangible or primary reinforcers.
(Note: The difference between using star or check marks as tangible
reinforcers and using them as exchangeable reinforcers is that when they are
used as the former, they are seen as a reward in themselves. In the latter, they
are traded for something else which is considered a reward)
Activity reinforcers
Activity reinforcers are activities that are of interest to the child. Thus, if the
child completes the task given, he can go on to his favourite activity. These
activities may be painting, colouring, playing a specific game or with a
certain toy, listening to a specific song.

Activities enjoyed by children

Social reinforcers

Social reinforcers include words of praise,.a smile, a nod, clapping, a pat on

the back and so on. These are most often used us as reinforcers.
Privileges as reinforcers

Making the child the monitor of a class or the leader of a group are privileges
which can serve as reinforcers. A child will show the desirable behaviour in
the future if he is given these privileges.
Individualized Teaching
and the Process of
Learning

The child enjoys the privilege of being the monitor

6.4.3 How to Choose Reinforcers?

The following points must be kept in mind when selecting the reinforcer:
1) The reinforcer must be appropriate for the child.
What you can use as a reinforcer will vary from child to child (person
to person). This is because different people find different things and
events rewading. For example, Karan's favourite game is 'snakes and
ladders' and Simran's is 'carrom' . If you reward Karan for appropriate
behaviour by giving him carrom to play with, it will not work since the
activity does not interest him. Therefore, we need to select and identi@
rewardslreinforcers according to the likes and dislikes of each child and
which are appropriate to his age, sex and individual interests.
Choose reinforcers which are easily available and can be given
easily in the training setting. Usually, social reinforcers are most
easily available and can be readily given. However, social reinforcers
alone may not work with very young children and severely retarded and
you may have to pair them up with other reinforcers. Often, we do use
social reinforces along with other reinforcers. For example, you praise
the child for showing desirable behaviour before you allow him to play
his favourite game.
3) Choose a reward which is strong enough to motivate the child to
work for it. Using something towards which the child is not much
attracted to will not encourage him to do what you want him to do.
4) Be aware of the changes in the child's preference for rewards. A
person's likes and dislikes are not fixed. What a child likes one day, may
not be preferred by him sometime later. Watch out for changes in the
child's preferences.
 Teaching Strategies
Mdhods o f S e l e c t k Reinforcers
You can find out what works as a reward for a particular child in the following
ways:
1) By observing the child's behaviour: Observe the child to see what are
the things or activities which are appropriate and which he likes to do or
demands again and again.
2) By asking the child directly: Ask the child for his likes and dislikes
if he can communicate.
3) By asking the parents or family members who know the child: This
is an effective way of finding out but sometimes it may happen that what
the parent (or others) think the child likes, may not be actually what he
likes. However, they would be able to tell you regarding things or events
which previously worked as rewards and which the child demanded from
others.
4) By using a reward preference checklist: If the above methods are not
successfbl, what you can do is to make a list of things, which most
'
children find interesting or rewarding. Now use these items one by one
with a particular child and see what items he prefers or wants more
often. These can be used as rewards for that child.
Once you have identified the events and things that work as reward for
a child, list the reinforcers and arrange them in order of 'most preferred'
to 'least preferred' item. This list is called a 'reinforcer menu'.
6.4.4 How to Give Reinforcement?
Having selected the right reinforcers, it is also equally important to use them
appropriately when teaching the child - in other words, you need to present
(use) the selected reinforcer (reward) appropriately. Remember the
following points when giving reinforcement:
1) Give the reinforcer only when the child shows the desirable
I behaviour. Therefore, before beginning training, decide clearly what are
the behaviours to be rewarded and which are not to be rewarded. Also,
explain to the child the behaviour that will be rewarded. For instance, tell
the child that: "if you recognize numbers 5- 10, then you can go out and
play". If the child is not able to recognize the numbers, he is not allowed
to go out to play.
2) Give the reinforcer immediately after the correct response. In the
above example, the child is given the reinforcer (allowed to go out to
play) immediately after he points to the correct numbers when asked. If
the giving of the reinforcer is delayed, there is a possibility that the
behaviour which occurs after the correct response may be reinforced, as
it would be followed by the reinforcer. In the above example, if you
Individualized Teaching delayed giving the ~inforcerafter the child pointed to the correct numeral,
and the Process of
Learning .and the child started tapping on the fable with his hands and then you
gave the reinforcer, the chances are that this behaviour (tapping with
hands on the table) will occur again, as the reinforcer followed this
behaviour. Therefore, you need to reinforce the child immediately after
the c o ~ e c response.
t
Also, the more the delay between giving the reinforcer and the desirable
behaviour shown by the child, the less will be the effect of the reward.
Therefore, if you are planning to use edible reinforcers or activity
reinforces, ensure Tat they are with you right there, so that you can
reinforce the child there and then (within 2-3 seconds).
3) Reward clearly: Be specific and clear while rewarding. For example,
when the child identifies the correct colour say that: "I am happy you
recongised the colour 'Red'. This is your star". This clearly tells the
child what was the good thing that he did and that he should continue
doing so in future. It also helps him to learn the relationship between the
specific behaviour and the ward. Avoid using general statements: "Great!
That is wonderful." The child may not understand what was it that he did
which was great and wonderful.
E
4) Combine other types of rewards with social rewards :When giving
edible, tangible or activity rewards, simultaneously use social rewards as
well. We ultimately want the child to perform a desirable behaviour in
anticipation of social reward and not because he will get something to eat
or do after he shows the desirable behaviour . Therefore, when you begin
using social rewards along with other rewards, the child begins to value
the social rewards as well. Gradually, as the child begins to work for social
rewards, the other rewards can be gradually reduced and finally, eliminated.
5) Change the rewards as children (and even adults) tend to lose interest
with the same reward being gi\ien each tide. So if you are using an
edible reward, you could shift to activity reward and then come
back to edible reward after some time.
As mentioned earlier, you need to make a list of reinforcerslrewards for
each child. When you notice that the child is losing interest with a
specific reward, change to another one.
6.4.5 When to Give Reinforcement? (Schedules of
Reinforcement)
Reinforcement schedules are of two types. Let us understad when to give
reinforcement.
1) Continuous schedule of reinforcement
When the reinforcement is given each time the desired behaviour occurs
(i.e. after each appropriate response), it is called a continuous schedule
 of reinforcement. You need to give continuous reinforcement when Teaching Strategier

you are teaching a new behaviour or a skill.

Intermittent schedule of reinforcement
When the reinforcement is given after some appropriate responses and
not after other appropriate responses, then it is called intermittent schedule
of reinforcement. When the child has learnt the skill or behaviour
sufficiently, switch over from continuous reinforcement to
intermittent reinforcement. This is because we ultimately want the
child to show the desired behaviour because it feels good when he does
it, and not because he always gets a reward on doing it. If you continue
rewarding the child even after he' learns the behaviour, then the child will
not learn to value or like the behaviour for itself. Thus, rewards must be
gradually faded.
If you think about it, you will realize that in every day life we use inter-
mittent reinforcement. We do not praise or reward people each time
they do something good. Intermittent schedule of reinforcement is more
natural (this is what we usually do) and it helps in mdntaining the acquired
behaviour, generalizing it and maintaining its proficiency.

6.5 SHAPING
'Shaping' is another commonly used teaching strategy. In the case of
many children with mental retardation, particularly those who are severely
retarded, it happens that the child does not entirely show the particular
behaviour which you want the child to learn in the early stages of training.
However, you reinforce him even if he shows a part of that behaviour
or an approximation of that behaviour. As the teaching and training
progress, you reinforce the child for closer approximations of the final
behaviour. This process is referred to as 'shaping'. Let us understand this
through some examples.
Karan, a moderately retarded child, is not able to sit in one place for
more than five minutes. You have identified, as your objective, that
you will train Karan to sit at one place and work for 20 minutes. It
is obvious that it will take a long time for Karan to learn to carry on
with a task sitting at one place for 20 minutes. lfyou wait till Karan
learns this before you reinforce him, it will take a long time and
Karan is likely to lose interest. It would also be discouragingfor you.
It would be a better strategy ifyou break up the time period of 20
minutes into shorter spans of time and reinforce him I3f he is able to
sit in one place for shorter time periods. Once he is able to do so,
increase the time span for giving the reinforcer, till he is able to work
for 20 minutes. Thus, your reinforcement criteria could be like the
following:
Indlvidurllzed Teaching - Reinforce when Karan sits in one place for 5 mintues - present
and the Process of
Learning behaviour.
- Reinforce when Karan sits in one place for 8 minutes.
- Peinforce when Karan sits in one place for 10 minutes.
- Reinforce when Karan sits in one place for 12 minutes.
- Reinforce when Karan sits in one place for 15 minutes.
- Reinforce when Karan sits in one place for 17 minutes.
- Reinforce when Karan sits in one place for 20 minutes.
Thus, what you have done is to break up your objective into smaller steps or
tasks and you have reinforced Karan at each step in the sequence, until that
step is established. Then, you move on to the next step till you reach your
objective. You reinforced the child, even though he initially did not show the
desired behaviour for full 20 minutes (which was your objective), because
the behaviour which he did show was in the direction in which you ultimately
wanted him to progress.
You want Lakshmi to be able to draw a circle at the end of three
months of training. However, at present she is only able to hold a
pencil and make some marks on paper. It would take some time for
Lakshmi to learn to draw a circle. Therefore, you break up the activity
of drawing a circle into smaller steps, with each step being a closer
approximation of drawing a circle. You reinforce each step in the
sequence and, once it is established ,move to the next step. Thus your
reinforcement criteria could be the following:
- Holds the pencil and makes any mark on paper-
present behaviour

- Makes circular motion with pencil

- Makes spirals

- Makes circle even though they are not proper

 Teaching Strategies

- Makes a proper circle

Rahul is a shy 10-year-old mildly retarded boy who does not like to
play with other children. He likes to play by himselJ: You have set up
a short tern objective as follows: "Rahul will play with other children
in the school for a duration of 5-10 minutes." You can reinforce Rahul
for each of thefollowing step successively, till he acquires the objective:
- Rahul watches other children playing from afar-present
behaviour
- Rahul is near the group of children who are playing -looks
upon them with interest, but does not join them
- Rahul responds if the children ask him something
- Rahul is a part of the play group but does not initiate interaction
- Rahul sometima initiates interaction with children

a) Watching from far

b) Looking with interest without joining

Individualized Teaching
and the Procesa of
Learning
nfiWILL YOU

c) Responds to question

d) Initiates interaction

Thus 'shaping' can be defined as follows:

'Shaping' refers to the process of giviCng rewards in a step by step
manner, to minor but correct approximations of behaviour towards a
particular objective.

Based on the above examples, we can identify the steps- in the shaping
process as follows:
Select the behaviour you want the child to achieve (targetldesired
behaviour).
Select the behaviour which the child presently shows which
resembles the target behaviour. This may also be referred as 'initial
behaviour' .
Select the reinforcer, keeping in mind the child's preferences.
 Teaching Strategies
Reward the initial behaviour till it is established (i.e., shown frequently).

Then reinforce responses which are closer to the target behaviour and
ignore other responses.

Through step-by-step reinforcement of closer approximations, reach the

desired behaviour.

Reward the target behaviour each time it occurs (continuous

reinforcement).

Once the behaviour is learnVestablished, reward the target behaviour

now and then (intermittent reinforcement).

Since shaping involves teaching the child the activity in small steps, you
have to plan the size of the steps carefblly. The step must neither be so
large that the child cannot reach that step, nor so small that time is
wasted by going through u ~ ' e s s a r ysteps.

The technique of shaping may be used to establish new behaviours of many

kinds, ranging from verbal behaviours in severely disabled children to study
behaviours in lcuflege students.

6.6 CHAINING
In section 5.3 of this Unit, you have studied about task analysis wherein a
task is divided into sub-tasks that are small and simple. These steps, when
linked with each other, will form a chain. 'Chaining' means listing the
steps of a task one after the other in sequence and teaching them
sequentially. Thus the basis of chaining is task analysis.

'Chaining' is a useful strategy for teaching children with mental

retardation and can be used in two ways:

Forward Chaining

When you use forward chaining, you start teaching from the first step
in the chain. Once the child learns to do the first step, teach the next step
and so on,. till the last step. For example, teaching the child to peel potatoes,
then washing them, then cutting them into large pieces and, finally cutting
them into smaller pieces. Another example is that when training the child to
eat food on his own, you start by teaching him how to break the chapatti into
pieces, then to dip the chapatti into the 'dal' or vegetable, then to take it to
his mouth, then chew and then swallow.
 Indlvidualizad Teaching
and the Process of
Learning

I
,
I
I

I
i
I
Step One
(1 1

I
I

I
I

~I
I
I

I
I

I
I

Step Five
(1+2+3+4+5)

Forward Chaining
 Teaching Strategies

Step Two
(5+4)

Step Three
(5+4+3)

Step Four
(5+4+3+2)

Step Five
(5+4+3+2+1) '

Backward Chaining
Individualized Teaching 0 Backward chaining
and the Process of
Learning
In backward chaining, the last step is taught first . Then you teach the next
step in backward fashion, and so on, till you reach the first step When the
last step is taught first and first step is taught last, it is called 'backward
chaining'. For example, while teaching the child to wear pants, you can
assist the child in all the steps (such as identifLing the back and front, holding
the pants in front in the correct position, putting legs inside the pants one by
one) except the last step, which is pulling up the pants. This is so because the
last step in this case is easiest to accomplish; the child can easily do it and
will feel inotiviited and confident to learn the other steps. Thus, being able
to do the last step acts as a reinforcer to the person to learil the earlier steps.

To take the example of eating food: we can teach the last step ( i.e, putting
the chapatti soaked in dal into the mouth) first. This will act as a reinforcer
for the child to learn the earlier steps

6.7 TOTAL TASK PRESENTATION

You can also use 'total task presentation' as a strategy for teaching.
Here, the person is taught all the steps in a sequence until the entire chain
is mastered. This strategy is particularly usefbl to teach children with mental
retardation who have higher ability. They are not taught step after step, as
explained earlier, as they may have the ability to learn more than one step at
a time. For example, teaching an adolescent boy to cook instant noodles. In
this case, all the steps in cooking noodles are taught at the same time, rather
than teaching him step-by-step.

6.8 PROMPTING AND FADING

This is another useful strategy of teaching. Often children with mental
retardation require help while leaming an activity or skill. This process of
giving help or assistance to enable the child to perform in a desired
manner is called 'prompting' and the kind of help given is called a
'prompt'. When a child is unable to perform a task, a prompt is used to help
him perform the task. The type of prompt given would depend upon the
ability of the child.

The various types of prompts are as follows:

Verbal request
You request the child to perform the task as you would request any other
child for example, "Rani, please wear the shirt."
 Teaching Strategies
Verbal prompt
For some children, verbal request may not be enough to do the task. They
inay need help in the form of verbal statements or instructions, which
describe every step of the task that is required to be performed. This
is called 'verbal prompt'.
Giving additional instructions, emphasizing important words by saying them
I louder or longer, giving single word reminders, drawing attention to each
I important part of the instruction by pausing -these are some of the verbal
1 prompts used in teaching tasks.
I
For example, when the mother says: "Rani, please wear ...... the red coloured
I

shirt .... kept on your bed" she is using a verbal prompt, She may need to .
repeat the instruction by saying, "Rani,wear the shirt."
Gestural prompts (explained next) can be used along with a verbal prompt.
In this example, the mother, in addition to the verbal prompt, may also point
to the shirt.
As the child learns to do the task more and more on his own, you may only
need to give verbal hints instead of co~npleteverbal instructions. Thus, you
may say "wash" instead of verbally stating the complete task of bathing; or
you may use words such as 'smile' and 'sit' to remind the child about the
behaviour that is to be performed..
Gestural prompts
Gestural prompt ineans using gestures to provide help to the child. Some of
the gestural prompts are pointing the place where the response is to be made,
(pointing to the bathrooin to remind the child that he had to go to the toilet),
making a sound by tapping the finger where the response is to be made (e.g.
tapping the sink to remind him to keep the plate there).
Modelling prompt
Modelling is a method of teaching by demonstration. You show how the
task is to be performed and the child imitates you. For example, to teach
brushing of teeth, stand behind the child facing the mirror and perform the
brushing action. The child will copy you and perform the activity. Or while
teaching the child to wear the shirt, you take a shirt and wear it yourself,
asking the child to follow you at each step.
Physical prompt
This refers to providing physical or manual help to the child to do a
task. You inay give complete physical supportlpartial physical support,
depending on the ability of the child. For example, while teaching the child
to balance hin~selfon the see- saw, you may hold his body so that he does
not fall. When teaching the child to wear the shirt, the mother may have to
hold the child's arin and put it into the shirt.
IndividunlizedTeaching Physical prompts are usually needed when beginning to teach a new
and the Process of
Learning task to the child.

Modelling Prompt: Teaching by demonstration

Sequencing of Prompts
These prompts can be arranged in a sequence from 'least prompt to most
prompt'. Level 1 is the 'least prompt' and level 5 is the 'most prompt'.
Level- 1 Verbal Request (VR)
Level-2 VR + Verbal Prompt (VP)
Level3 VR + VP + Gestural Prompt (GP)
Level-4 VR + VP + Modelling Prompt (MP)
Level-5 VR + VP + Physical Prompt (PP)

When beginning to train the child, begin by using the 'least prompt'.
If the child does not respond, move to the next level of prompt and so
on. The 'least-to-most prompt' sequence helps in finding out precisely at
what prompt level a child is able to perform a task.
Let us understand this through two examples.
Example 1: Supposing you have asked a child to wear a shirt (VR). If he
does not wear his shirt, give verbal prompt (VP) and wait for a few seconds.
If no response occurs, give the next level prompt which is gestural prompt
(GP) (i.e., point to the shirt, repeating your verbal instruction). If there is
still no response, show him how to wear the shirt by doing it yourself (MP).
If this still does not help the child to wear the shirt, you would need to
 Tea.ching Strategies
physically help him to wear the shirt (PP). Thus, if a child requires verbal
prompt during learning, it means that he needs less help from you and if he
requires physical prompt during learning, it means that he needs more help
from you.

a) Verbal Prompt b) Gestural Prompt + Verbal Yrompt

c) Physical Prompt

Example 2: Supposing you want to teach the child the task of threading
beads. The prompt sequence mould be as follows:
- Verbal request:

You tell the child to: "Thread the beads".

- Verbal prompt: Instructing verbally
Tell the child to: "Hold the bead, pass wire through the hole and pull
the bead down the thread".
- Gestural prompt: pointing, signals and so on.
Individualized Teacliing You point to the wire, show through gestures how to pass the wire through
and the Process of
Learning the hole and show the pulling motion of the bead down the thread. 'Verbal
instruction accompanies gestural prompt.
- Modelling prompt: Teaching by demonstration.

You take the bead and the wire and show threading of the bead step by
step, and then ask the child to do the same.
- Physical prompt: Helping or guiding the child by holding his hand and
doing the task.

Hold the child's hand and help him to hold the bead and the wire, then
help him to pass the wire through thehole and pull the bead .down the
thread.
Fading
As the child learns to perform a task, the prompt is slowly removed. The
process of gradual decrease in the assistance or help by you so that the
child begins to perform the activity or behaviour independently, is
called 'fading'.
Thus, in the above exampie, when the child learns to wear the shirt with your
physical assistance, gradually lessen your help (i.e. fade the physical prompt)
and use modelling prompt or gestural prompt. Once the child learns to wear
the shirt with inodeling or gestural prompt, lessen these and give verbal
instruction. Gradually, reduce detailed verbal instructions and give hints. Slowly
stop using hints as well so that ultimately the child wears the shirt
independently when asked. Thus, the fading out of the prompts has to be
in the sequence of 'most prompt' to 'least prompt'.
a Points to remember when selecting and using prompts

1) Use prompts only if the child does not show the behaviour/activity/
skill in the way it should be done.

2) Make the prompt as short as possible.

2) When using gestural and verbal prompts, ensure that they are in a
language in which the child can understand.

3) Ensure that the .child's attention is with you before using prompts
for teaching a skill.

4) If necessary, combine different types of prompts so that your teaching

can be most effective. .

5) Select prompts that are suitable for the child keeping in mind his
ability level.
 6) The selection of prompts should be such that the child acquires the Teaching Strategies
desired behaviour as soon as possible.

7) Fade prompts as soon as possible. When beginning to teach new

behaviours, the trainer may do more of the task as compared to the
child. However, as the child learns the task, he should be doing
more and more of it himself This can happen only when the prompts
are faded.

6.9 LET US SUM UP

~eachingstrategies are methods of imparting skills, knowledge or
concepts to a learner.
Task analysis is one of the foremost strategies used in teaching children
with mental retardation. It involves dividing or breaking up of a task into
simple steps (its sub-tasks) and arranging the sub-tasks in a sequential
order as they occur, froin the first to the last step.

The teaching sequence, after breaking up the task into sub-tasks, has to
be developed keeping the child as the focus.
The common ways of sequencing tasks which often prove helpful are
forward chaining and backward chaining.
Task analysis helps us to assess the child's current level of functioning;
to sequence the child's learning as per his individual needs and help to
assess his progress.

Reinforcement is another strategy that is used during teaching. It can be

used to teach new skills and behaviours or increase the frequency of
desirable behaviours.
The reinforcer selected must be appropriate for the child and must be
given keeping certain principles in mind.

You need to give continuous reinforcement when teaching a new behaviour

or skill. Once the child has learnt it sufficiently, give intermittent
reinforcement.
'Shaping', where you reinforce the child even if he shows a part of the
behaviour, is also a useful strategy for teaching.

Prompting and fading is another teaching strategy. 'Prompt' refers to

giving help 'and 'fading, refers to gradually withdrawing help. The types
of prompts you can use are verbal prompt, gesturl prompt, modeling
prompt and physical prompt.