CESP Job Coaching Techniques & Systematic Instruction 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of task analysis in supported employment job coaching?
- To evaluate an employer's willingness to hire individuals with disabilities
- To break a complex job duty into small, sequential steps that can be taught individually (Correct answer)
- To assess a client's vocational interests before job placement
- To document workplace accommodation needs for an employer
Correct answer: To break a complex job duty into small, sequential steps that can be taught individually
Task analysis breaks complex job tasks into discrete, teachable steps, allowing a job coach to systematically teach each component to a worker with a disability.
Question 2: Which instructional strategy involves gradually reducing the level of assistance provided to a worker as they become more proficient?
- Prompting hierarchy
- Chaining
- Fading (Correct answer)
- Shaping
Correct answer: Fading
Fading is the systematic reduction of prompts and support over time to promote independence as the worker acquires a skill.
Question 3: What does the term 'natural cues' refer to in the context of job coaching?
- Verbal instructions given by a job coach during task performance
- Stimuli that already exist in the work environment and signal when or how to perform a task (Correct answer)
- Written checklists provided to workers to guide task completion
- Physical gestures used by supervisors to redirect employee behavior
Correct answer: Stimuli that already exist in the work environment and signal when or how to perform a task
Natural cues are environmental stimuli—such as a buzzer, a co-worker's action, or a filled bin—that signal the worker to initiate or complete a task without external trainer prompting.
Question 4: In a prompting hierarchy, which type of prompt is generally considered the MOST intrusive?
- Gestural prompt
- Verbal prompt
- Visual prompt
- Physical (hand-over-hand) prompt (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Physical (hand-over-hand) prompt
Physical or hand-over-hand prompting requires direct physical contact to guide a worker through a task, making it the most intrusive level of assistance.
Question 5: Which teaching approach uses a least-to-most prompting sequence, starting with natural cues and only adding more assistance if the worker does not respond correctly?
- Backward chaining
- Graduated guidance
- Errorless learning
- Least prompts procedure (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Least prompts procedure
The least prompts procedure begins with the least intrusive prompt (e.g., natural cue) and escalates through a hierarchy only when needed, promoting independence.
Question 6: What is the role of data collection during systematic instruction in supported employment?
- To satisfy legal documentation requirements under the ADA
- To bill vocational rehabilitation for services rendered
- To objectively measure a worker's skill acquisition progress and guide instructional decisions (Correct answer)
- To report workplace incidents to the employer's HR department
Correct answer: To objectively measure a worker's skill acquisition progress and guide instructional decisions
Systematic data collection tracks a worker's correct and incorrect responses over time, providing objective information to evaluate progress and adjust instructional strategies.
Question 7: Which term describes the process of teaching a sequence of steps by reinforcing completion of the LAST step first, then working backward through the chain?
- Forward chaining
- Whole task teaching
- Backward chaining (Correct answer)
- Shaping
Correct answer: Backward chaining
Backward chaining teaches the final step of a task first so the worker always experiences the completion and natural reinforcer, then progressively adds earlier steps.
CESP Job Coaching Techniques & Systematic Instruction 1
What is the primary purpose of task analysis in supported employment job coaching?