Working Toward the Johnson Ideal Dr. Kent Johnson of Morningside Academy has periodically suggested that classrooms devote up to 70% of class time to practice, or to practice and assessment. In my Observation & Measurement (O&M) class that I teach at TCS we came the closest we ever have to that ideal proportion this past week. After a brief Reading Check assessment that took no more than 10 minutes, we conducted three SAFMEDS timings on O&M terms, which took about 15 minutes altogether including the data recording and feedback and instruction. Then we did a 1-minute FreeWrite list as many examples of behavior as you can. I had them set that FreeWrite form aside. Then this all was followed by an interactive lecture on pinpointing behavior, replete with powerpoint presentation, but at various slides Id ask them to think and say examples of this, that or the other. During that presentation we also stopped periodically and did 4 different practice sheets on pinpointing behavior. Then I handed out a four-page practice sheet for them to do as homework. Lastly, we did a follow-up FreeWrite list as many behaviors as you can on the back side of that FreeWrite sheet. Each practice sheet episode took about 5 minutes each. Now, did we get up to 70% of classroom time devoted to practice? No. But we got up to maybe about 45 minutes or so devoted to practice in a 2 hour 40 minute class period (theres a 10 minute break, otherwise its 2 hours 50 minutes officially). The previous week we did 5 SAFMEDS timings in class. I have taken to doing massed practice timings of SAFMEDS in class as a change over previous semesters where wed do only 1 in-class timing. As Dr. Dennis Edinger points out, one of the most difficult things to learn, yet one of the most critical behaviorally, is to be able to pinpoint behavior well, and to avoid non-behaviors (the ones the Dead Man can perform well at). So, Id rather cut down on lecture and powerpoint slides and build in more practice. Im not to that ideal, and may never be, but I think that increased practice runs in the right direction. For learning pinpointing, I have the Count It Test, the Show Me Test, and, yes, the Dead Man Test. We did Show me reach, Show me point, Show me touch, Show me grab, Show me push, etc. at one point, then Show me appreciates, Show me is engaged, Show me understands, etc. (all of which might be nice goals or outcomes, but are not movement cycles). The Big 6+6 are excellent single syllable, clear, unambiguous, easily done and demonstrated examples of MCs. -- JE
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:36:48 +0000
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