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"For Teachers" header

PREFERRED ACTIVITIES

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Implementation

Step 1: Identify the target behavior in need of change
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Define the behavior you want to change in measurable and observable terms. Such as task completion or task accuracy.
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Gather data on the behavior for a baseline comparison.

Step 2: Identify Student Preferences
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Preferences include, but are not limited to: order of tasks, materials used (e.g., pen or pencil), type of reinforcer (e.g., free time or tangible), and outside interests (e.g., sports or animals).
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Gather information about what your student prefers. Talk to the student and his/her friends, or his/her parents. Look at what items he brings from home. If more information regarding the student’s preference is needed, direct observations can be used. If more formal procedures are warranted then a preference assessment can be employed. Presenting a student with two different worksheets and asking him which one he prefers to do is a basic example of a preference assessment.

Step 3: Decide how you will use preference to change the target behavior.

After determining student preference, decide how the preference can be employed within the curriculum.
Some possible areas for use could be context, method, or reinforcement. What is the goal of the task?
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Content: If the goal is to practice handwriting can Nickola use paragraphs from Russian Fairy Tales?
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Mode: If the goal is to practice math facts does it matter if Matt writes them out or can he use the preferred computer?
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Reinforcer: If a reinforcement system is already in place can we incorporate Mary’s interest in Disney Princesses by including related items in the class store?

Step 4: Gather and/or create any materials needed.
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When implementing preferred activities it may be necessary to use materials that may not be typically available -such as pictures of motorcycles or a copy of a video game rulebook. The examples on subsequent pages give more insight into this.
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Ensure that you are comfortable with the amount of energy expended in obtaining and/or modifying the materials necessary. Using materials that you find overly time consuming or impractical will most likely result in your dislike of the intervention.

Step 5: Start the intervention
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Once you have done the work of defining the behavior, gathering data, and assembling the materials use them to help your student (as well as, your class and yourself).

Step 6: Monitor progress
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Continue to monitor your student’s behavior to see how well your intervention is working. This can be done by comparing the student’s behavior after intervention with the baseline data you collected in Step 1.
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