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| How Can I Possibly Teach this Group of Students? A Systematic Model of Group Instruction |
| Saturday, May 23, 2015 |
| 8:00 AM–11:00 AM |
| 205 (CC) |
| Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Service Delivery |
| CE Instructor: Jill E. McGrale Maher, M.A. |
| JILL E. MCGRALE MAHER (McGrale and Associates), Kristi Witkowski (McGrale and Associates), Kevin Van Horn (McGrale and Associates) |
| Description: Research has clearly demonstrated that learners with autism acquire skills most rapidly in a behavior analytic one-to-one teaching format referred to as discrete-trial teaching (DTT). Because DDT does not provide the skills necessary to learn in conditions similar to those found in the community and in adulthood, there has been a recent focus on group instruction. Similarly to other skills, group-working skills need to be broken down into clear steps and taught in a systematic, empirically based manner. Additionally, for learners to learn effectively in groups, it is critical that teachers are skilled in providing instruction in groups. While many programs teach staff to be very skilled one-to-one instructors, few provide staff to become proficient group teachers. This workshop will provide participants with skills to become effective group teachers as well as provide a comprehensive model of designing, implementing, and evaluating programs to teach group learning skills. Skills will be applicable across age groups and learning profiles; participants will practice writing lesson plans, running groups, designing data collections systems, training staff, and evaluating progress. |
| Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants should be able to: (1) identify skills required to work in a group; (2) create guidelines for constructing homogeneous groups; (3) identify key components of a staff-training program; (4) write a lesson plan for a group to include selection of appropriate activities for teaching skills; (5) create a format for teaching groups with empirically based group management techniques and interventions for addressing challenging behaviors; (6) determine empirically based teaching techniques including prompting strategies and reinforcement systems; (7) develop data-collection systems that target up to three behaviors for individual learners; and (8) promote the use of best practices and ethical standards into groups. |
| Activities: Didactic instruction, role-play development of lesson plans, development of a staff training program, and development of data collection procedures. |
| Audience: Directors, supervisors, and instructors of children with autism and related disorders. Participants should have skills in one-to-one instruction. |
| Content Area: Practice |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): Group Instruction |