Archive for the 'Understanding' Category

Some resources

As a result of prowling around the Internet for a while, I’ve been assembling resources about applications of behavioral principles to problems relevant to the content of this blog. Of course, one of the foremost areas of application is improving the lives of individuals with autism. Indeed, applied behavior analysis (ABA) is sometimes misunderstood as a synonym for the discrete trial training procedures associated most closely with the work Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues. Although they shouldn’t be considered synonymous, there is a great deal of communality.

But, that’s a topic for another post. This post is just an opportunity to list a few of the blogs that one can follow and learn about the application of behavior analysis to autism.
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Reflections on control

Over on Another Brick in the Wall, Donna posted an entry about the term “classroom control.” It got me thinking about the concepts of control, management, and teaching. Here’s her lead

Teachers use the term “classroom control” for classroom management techniques. I have also used those terms. Lately I have been thinking about how much control makes sense and if the goal is to keep children simply controlled or to change their behavior in a more lasting way. Change is a process that takes place inside the child before you see it in the behavior.

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Baseline practices

Over on Snail-Snail, snail_snail has a couple of posts that illustrate fundamentals for behavior management. The recommendations, in the form of a list one should ask oneself, provide the basic background that should be in place before one attempts to employ more formal behavior modification procedures.

Under the titles “Onaway Elementary/Day N,” snail_snail raises questions such as “Are the teacher’s directions usually clear?” and “Is the teacher consistent? Are the rules in force for all students? every day?” Most of the items on the list of questions should serve as reminders about basic teaching practices.
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Mr. Belshaw’s tips

Some time ago, blogger Doug Belshaw had a post providing guidance about managing behavior that I just discovered. In the post Mr. Belshaw gives tips about classroom management that are worth repeating. Although there are 10 items in his list, I’ll just illustrate them using a couple here:
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Career switching teachers need management skills

In a story entitled “Teaching as a rewarding second career” in the Waynseboro (VA, US) News Virginian, Bob Stuart describes the experience of Chris Eldredge, an electrical engineer who changed careers and became a middle school math teacher. Mr. Stuart reports that Mr. Eldredge came to appreciate the importance of learning classroom management skills.
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Chimps out-pace humans

Watch this video and then get ready to answer some questions.

  1. How did the chimps learn to touch the numerals in sequence?
  2. What could one do to increase human’s performance on the task?
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