Module 2 Quiz: Basic Principles
| 1. In good behavioral teaching, rewards must follow children’s correct responses _________________.
A. Immediately B. Only if the child did not need any help to respond correctly C. Within 10 seconds |
If you said A. immediately, you were right. A reward works best if it’s given within a second or two after the behavior that you want to reinforce. If you wait 10 seconds, you will actually be reinforcing whatever the child did just before he received the reinforcer, which may not be something you want to reinforce. If you reinforce the child only when he did not need help, you might be waiting a long time to get a chance to reward the child, and he might be waiting a long time too! Both of you will be frustrated.
| 2. A mother is teaching her child a new skill and she gives her child a particular reward, directly after he performs his new skill correctly. She notices that he is beginning to perform that skill more and more often. We can call that reward a ____________. Choose one:
A. A treat B. Praise C. A reinforcer |
If you said C. a reinforcer, you were right. A reward can indeed be a snack treat, or an activity treat, and it can be praise, but “reinforcer” is the general term we use for rewards that reinforce and strengthen a behavior.
| 3. True or False: A reward that works really well for one child may not work well at all for another child. |
If you said True, you were right. Rewards have to be selected specially for each child. One child may love bubbles and really dislike chips, while another loves chips and isn’t particularly interested in bubbles. It’s important to find things that your child really enjoys a lot.
| 4. Sometimes, when we first begin teaching a child, praise is not a very effective reward. To help praise become a reinforcer:
A. We offer the child a treat just before we praise him. B. We offer the child a treat just after we praise him. C. We offer the child a treat whenever we prompt him. |
If you said B – offer the child a treat just after praising him, you were right. The timing is quite important. The treat starts out as a reinforcer. To get praise to become a reinforcer, the order of things must be as follows: correct response by the child, then praise, then treat. If you give the treat first, the child may enjoy the treat but ignore your praise. So – correct response, praise, treat.
| 5. True or False: Reinforcers tend to work best when they are special and not always available. |
If you said true, you were right. If a child can get the reinforcer, for example his favorite kind of cookie, or a favorite activity, like watching bubbles, whenever he wants them, then he may not be very motivated to learn something new in order to get the reward. So it’s a good idea to save those very special reinforcers for teaching.
| 6. A mother wants her child to learn to imitate her when she touches her own head. She is going to use a physical prompt. Which of the examples below describes a physical prompt?
A. The mother touches her own head and then, with her other hand, she points to her child’s head. B. The mother touches her own head and then, with her other hand, she takes hold of her child’s hand and helps the child to touch his own head. C. The mother says, “touch head,” and then touches her own head. |
If you picked choice, B, you were right. A physical prompt is when we help the child learn to do the correct response by gently touching the child and helping him do the behavior.
| 7. True or False: We use prompts to help a child be successful from the very first time we begin teaching him a new skill. Over time, we give less and less help until the child can perform the skill all by himself. We call this process Prompt Fading. |
If you said True, you were right. Fading the prompt, or giving the child less and less help as he learns a skill and does it more consistently, is very important. We don’t want him to come to depend on prompts all the time – then he hasn’t really learned the skill.
| 8. True or False: Errorless learning involves using prompts to help children learn without becoming frustrated and without making a lot of mistakes. |
If you said True, you were right. Errorless Learning is just what it sounds like – learning in which the child makes as few errors or mistakes as possible. We give the child as much help as he needs to perform the skill correctly the very first time we ask him to do it, and then we use fewer and fewer prompts over time until he is performing the skill correctly, all by himself.
| 9. True or False: Once you find something that works well as a reward for your child, you should just stick with that reward. |
If you said False, you were right. Children get tired of being given the same reward over and over, even if it’s something they really like. You should have a variety of rewards to use, and as soon as you sense that your child is getting bored with one, switch to another. For example, if your child needs treats to really pay attention, you might start with a few small pieces of potato chip, then switch to sips of juice, then switch to pieces of cookie.
| 10. Which one of these is NOT a useful way of prompting your child?
A. Use a physical prompt, where you guide the child physically to do what you are asking B. Model (demonstrate) the action or say the word you want the child to do or say C. Use a gesture (such as pointing) to show the child what to do D. Raise your voice as you give instructions to get the child’s attention |
If you said D, you were right. A, B, and C are all useful ways of prompting your child to learn and do what you are teaching. If your child does not understand your instructions, or does not know how to do what you are asking, raising your voice will not help him.