Natural Environment Teaching (NET) and Incidental Teaching Flashcards

Natural Environment Teaching (NET) differs from Discrete Trial Training (DTT) primarily because NET:

Answer: Embeds teaching opportunities within the learner's naturally occurring activities and follows the learner's motivation

In NET, teaching occurs within naturally occurring routines and activities, and the learner's current interests and motivation guide which skills are targeted in the moment. This contrasts with DTT, where the instructor controls the pace, materials, and sequence of discrete trials at a table.

Which of the following is an example of 'capturing' a teaching opportunity in Natural Environment Teaching?

Answer: Taking advantage of a learner spontaneously reaching for a cookie to prompt the mand 'cookie please'

Capturing a teaching opportunity means recognizing and using a naturally occurring moment of motivation — the learner already wants something — to prompt and reinforce the target skill. Contriving an opportunity (like placing a toy out of reach) is a different but related NET strategy.

In incidental teaching, the instructor's role when a learner approaches and reaches for a desired item is FIRST to:

Answer: Wait for the learner to initiate communication and then prompt an elaborated response if needed

Incidental teaching begins with the learner's initiation (approach/reach/vocalization toward a preferred item). The instructor then uses a time delay or prompt hierarchy to elicit a more elaborate response before providing the item as natural reinforcement. The learner's initiation is the teaching trigger.

A key advantage of Natural Environment Teaching over purely structured teaching sessions is that skills learned through NET tend to:

Answer: Generalize more readily because they are taught across varied, natural contexts from the start

Because NET teaches skills in the settings and contexts where they will naturally be used — and using natural reinforcers — generalization of those skills is built into the teaching process rather than being a separate programming step.

Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'contriving' a teaching opportunity in NET?

Answer: Deliberately engineering an environmental situation to create motivation to communicate or respond

Contriving an opportunity involves intentionally setting up the environment to create a situation that motivates the learner (e.g., placing a preferred item in view but out of reach, giving a puzzle with a missing piece, handing over a jar the learner cannot open). This artificially creates a motivating operation that sets the stage for a functional communication or skill response.

During a NET session, a child reaches for blocks on a high shelf but cannot reach them. The RBT waits a few seconds, then models 'blocks please' and the child imitates. The RBT immediately gives the child the blocks. This sequence is an example of:

Answer: A mand training trial using a contrived motivating operation and natural reinforcement

The child's motivation to have the blocks is a motivating operation (MO). The instructor contrived the situation by placing blocks out of reach, then used a model prompt to evoke the mand 'blocks please.' Providing the blocks is natural reinforcement that directly addresses the child's current motivation — a hallmark of naturalistic mand training.