{"id":118,"date":"2015-07-08T13:46:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T17:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/?page_id=118"},"modified":"2026-02-07T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T18:36:21","slug":"module-10-clear-instructions-and-mastery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/module-10-clear-instructions-and-mastery\/","title":{"rendered":"Module 10: Clear Instructions and Mastery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this module we will give you steps for effective teaching during your more structured learning sessions.&nbsp; We will also give you guidelines for keeping track of how well your child is learning new skills, and how to track the many things she has learned well.&nbsp; We will finish this section by giving tips for ways to help your child keep up the new skills she learns and use them in a many places and situations.&nbsp; For this module, start with The Importance of Giving Clear and Simple Instructions, found below. Then, work through each of these sections in the order listed. When you reach the end of each section, you will find a link to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/timing-is-important-too\/\">Timing Is Important Too<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/the-abcs-of-behavioral-teaching\/\">The ABC&#8217;s Of Behavioral Teaching<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/the-concept-of-mastery\/\">The Concept Of Mastery&nbsp;and Keeping Track of Progress<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/the-concepts-of-maintenance-and-generalization\/\">The Concepts Of Maintenance And Generalization<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/clear-instructions-mastery-and-generalization-quiz\/\">Module 10 Clear Instructions, Mastery, And Generalization Quiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Importance of Giving Clear and Simple Instructions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During early learning sessions, it\u2019s important to keep your language very simple. For example, you can tell your child to \u201csit down,\u201d or \u201cstand up,\u201d or to \u201cgive spoon.\u201d We try to use as little language as possible to get the point across. So, instead of saying, \u201cOk, now I want you to put the spoon in the cup,\u201d we might just hand the child the spoon, point to the cup, and say only, \u201cPut in,\u201d or, \u201cIn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Viggo-42A 864x486\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/201767427?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"864\" height=\"486\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your child already understands more complicated language like, \u201cTouch the picture of the bed, please,\u201d that\u2019s fine. You can use more natural language. But if you\u2019re not sure how much language your child understands, or if you think she understands quite a bit, but she seems to miss things when you use long sentences, keep your instructions very simple. For example, in that case you might say only, \u201ctouch bed,\u201d or, even just \u201cbed.\u201d That way, she can hear the important words and not be confused by extra words.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Viggo-32 864x486\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/201767073?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"864\" height=\"486\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes you do not need to give <strong><em>any<\/em><\/strong> instructions. The <strong><em>context<\/em><\/strong> will be as good as an instruction. For example, a child should learn to wave bye-bye when someone else waves bye-bye to her first. This is without being told to wave. Once your child knows what you would like her to do in a specific situation, give her practice paying attention and responding correctly. This is even when you do not use a specific instruction for each trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the next video clip, the teacher is working on imitation with objects. She gives the instruction, \u201dDo this,\u201d while modeling the action, on the first trial.&nbsp; On the next trials, she just models what she wants him to do, and then gives him a waiting look, to show that she is waiting for his response. When he replies correctly, she reinforces him.&nbsp; See that when he fails to respond on one of the trials, she pauses for 2-3 seconds and remains calm. She makes sure he is paying attention and does the action again. Then she reinforces him enthusiastically for responding correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Viggo-56 864x486\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/201767977?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"864\" height=\"486\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When children don&#8217;t understand a lot of what people say to them, it\u2019s natural for them to pay little attention to what others say. Using simple and clear language will help your child understand what you are saying. This is true both in your special learning sessions and in the natural environment. The more she understands, the more likely she will be to pay attention to you when you are talking to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/timing-is-important-too\/\"><strong>Next: Timing Is Important Too<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nIn this module we will give you steps for effective teaching during your more structured learning sessions.&nbsp; We will also&hellip;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/module-10-clear-instructions-and-mastery\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Module 10: Clear Instructions and Mastery&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-118","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9913,"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/118\/revisions\/9913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parenttraining.chip.uconn.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}