Module 4: Skill Acquisition Questions & Answers

Module 4: Skill Acquisition Questions &
Answers
skill acquisition plan - ANSWERa detailed description of what and how to teach your
client

common information in skills acquisition plan - ANSWER- domain name
- goal/program name
- long-term and short-term objectives
- operational definition of skill
- materials needed
- discriminative stimulus (SD)
- data collection method
- teaching procedures
- error correction procedure
- prompting procedures
- reinforcement strategies
- mastery criterion
- generalization
- target lists (if applicable)

goal definitions include - ANSWERcondition, change, criteria

condition - ANSWER- circumstances in which skill is used, how we will make the
behavior happen naturally - how the learner will know when to respond and if they will
interact with reinforcement or not
- most often called the discriminative stimulus (SD) - means that the response had been
reinforced in the past; this is a cue for the learner that reinforcement may be available
again

change - ANSWERspecific behaviors to be taught in objective, complete, and clear
terms - if it's a chain, break the complex skill down into small, discrete, specific steps
(task analysis)

criteria - ANSWERproficiency of targeted skill across a time period that demonstrates
mastery

SD - ANSWER- a good SD is apart of the goal itself, must be clear, and distinguishable
from other stimuli in the environment
- it occurs as the antecedent and elicits the behavior based on previous conditioning

when we are establishing discriminative stimuli, we look at - ANSWER- what will signal
and initiate the skill naturally?

, - although skills may require a prompt in the SD/Antecedent initially, we want to always
try to include the natural SD

definition of the skill - ANSWER- objective - observable and measurable; a verb
describing an observable action or observable product from the action, without
subjective adverbs/adjective
- clear - everyone that reads the definition will know what the definition means, and
everyone observing the behavior/product will agree that the behavior occurred as
defined
- complete - includes examples of what the behaviors does and does not look like

objectivity comes from - ANSWERclearly stating goals

criteria for mastery typically includes - ANSWER- the level of proficiency desired
- demonstration of proficiency across time
- across how many target or how many trials to indicate the learner can complete the
skill reliably - a trial is one opportunity for the behavior/skill to be demonstrated
- generalization criteria

generalization - ANSWERthe skill can be performed across different people, setting,
time, responses/stimuli

socially significant behaviors - ANSWERBehaviors that have immediate and long-lasting
meaning for the person and for those who interact with that person - typically functional
in nature

functional skills - ANSWER- increase a person's quality of life
- helps the individual to be self-reliant
- increases the individual's dignity
- minimized stress of caregivers
- maximizes an individual's safety
- increases the individual's ability to contact reinforcement in the environment
- increases the individual's ability to participate in the community in a meaningful way

functional skills domain - ANSWER- self care - toileting, dressing, eating
- domestic living - clothing care, housekeeping, property maintenance
- recreation and leisure - age-appropriate activates, exercise, music
- community skills - street crossing, shopping, using public transportation
- employment skills - completing applications, interviewing, following workplace
expectations
- social skills - nonverbal communication, taking turns, appropriate physical contact

Selecting skills - ANSWER- Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement
Program
- Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills
- Vineland II or III