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FORWARD CHAINING
Forward chaining breaks a task down into understandable
and manageable steps. Each step in the sequence is then taught from the
beginning to the end. After the target task has been analyzed, broken
into steps, and written into a plan, the teacher begins to teach the
student the first step in the chain. When the first step is learned,
the teacher moves to the second step. The second step is taught by adding
it to the first step. The student is then learning the second step in
the routine and attaching it to the first step. When the student is able
to demonstrate the first and second steps in the chain, the third step
is taught in conjunction with the first two steps. In other words each
time a new step is taught the others are completed first and then the
new step is added. Each step must be mastered before the next step is
added. If a student is unable to complete a step in the sequence, the
teacher must analyze that step to see what changes might need to be made
in the chaining process.
Example:
Paul is not able to dress himself independently. However, he is able
to undress himself, only needing help with his buttons. A school
teacher suggested that a forward chaining program would be an appropriate
approach to teach Paul to dress himself. A task analysis has been
completed to gain information about the steps Paul will need to
learn in order to dress independently. The task analysis also provides
information about what skills Paul already possesses, but does
not
demonstrate during the dressing process. Paul’s parents would
like the priority to be that Paul learns to put on his pants independently
first and then the other items of clothing.
In the morning when it is time for Paul to get dressed, he is assisted
with putting on his underwear and socks. When the step occurs for Paul
to begin putting on
his pants, he is prompted to hold the pants in his hands and place his foot
into one pant leg. As Paul places his foot and leg into the pant leg,
he is reinforced
and the adult staff completes the process for him. As Paul independently begins
to complete the first step, he is prompted to put his other leg in next. As
the chaining process continues, Paul is handed the pants, he holds
them independently,
puts one leg in and then the other, stands up, pulls up the pants, pulls them
together at the top, fastens the fastener and to complete the chain, pulls
up the zipper.
The next step would be to teach Paul to put on his socks and then
his shirt and shoes. Finally, he would learn to tie his shoes. Then
the dressing process
would
be complete. Since Paul does not know how to button his shirt that could
be another chaining process as could tying his shoes.
Forward chaining can also be used to teach academic and behavioral
skills. An example, of a complex academic chain might involve learning
to count,
demonstrate one-to-one concepts, write the numbers and then to perform
simple addition
problems.
STEPS IN FORWARD CHAINING
- Identify the target behavior
- Task analyze the behavior to determine
each individual step
- Teach and reinforce the initial step in the skill
- Collect data on the acquisition of the skill and analyze it for
mastery
- When the first step is mastered, teach and reinforce the
second step in conjunction with the first step
- As each successive step is mastered, add the next step
in the skill series until
the student is able to demonstrate the entire skill
without adult support
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