Generalization and Sustainability in Positive Behavior Support
Training New Staff
New staff are learning a lot of different skills related to their job. Teaching the steps involved in implementing a positive behavior support plan intervention also requires training that includes an understanding of how adults learn new skills. It can be helpful to use a variety of strategies for teaching people new information. Multiple teaching strategies (visual, auditory, role plays, observation, discussion) can be helpful to address everyone's needs.
A pioneer in adult education, Malcolm Knowles, recommended the following strategies for adult learners:
- Explain why a new skill is important to know and understand
- Allow people the freedom to learn in their own way
- Create opportunities for people to try skills and observe the results
- Understand when the time is right for learning to occur
- Use strategies that are positive and create opportunities to experience success
To encourage generalization, teaching strategies should include:
- Modeling, practicing and time to reflect with someone else
- Providing coaches who will support initial implementation and empower people to expand the places where interventions are used
- Teaching interventions in the setting where the strategies are needed
- Using examples and nonexamples of the steps involved
- Providing people with a planning tool to problem solve while expanding interventions to new settings
Staff can learn new skills using by:
- Reading online modules
- Discussing topics in small groups
- Working together on learning activities
- Watching others implementing practices
- Working along side another staff person who is modeling the skills
This article provides important concepts related to generalization:
Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 10(2), 349-367.
You can find out how to access this article (available by the publisher) by visiting the Module 4 Resource Page .