Ms. Jones wanted to make sure Dylan could call 911 across appropriate situations. In other words, Ms. Jones was focusing on setting generalization. 

Ms. Jones knew that it would be impossible to collect data on Dylan during real emergency situations; real emergencies were rare and Ms. Jones was unlikely to be present during these situations. Instead, she created an operationally-defined objective based on practice scenarios. If Dylan demonstrated the skills during practice scenarios, Ms. Jones could be reasonably confident Dylan would be able to dial 911 during a real emergency. 

• Across 10 different scripted emergency situations, Dylan will dial 911 and provide appropriate emergency information on 10/10 opportunities.

• Instructional Setting: Small Group
• Instructional Method: Role Play

Ms. Jones then identified the generalization tactic she would use to help Dylan use the operationally-defined skill. Because the goal was for Dylan to dial 911 in emergency situations, she realized it didn’t make sense to use embedded opportunities. (Embedded opportunities are better for situations where the student’s interests are easily integrated into the context.) She also considered training the paraprofessional to prompt the skill, but she knew that Dylan would not have paraprofessional support during real emergency situations. She decided she would teach multiple examples to increase the likelihood that Dylan would respond in a real-life emergency. During instruction, Ms. Jones would use reinforcement to promote acquisition of the skill.

• Generalization Tactic: Teach multiple examples
• Support Strategy: Reinforcement

Ms. Jones’s Lesson on “Knowing What to Do in Emergency Drills and Real Emergencies”

Creating the Role Play

Ms. Jones decided to think through and script some of the instructional delivery prior to the lesson. Role play requires specific roles for players, scenarios to be scripted, and scripts for players to follow, much like a short play. Ms. Jones decided the role play would first focus on teaching Dylan to dial 911 and would later focus on appropriate dialogue with 911 operators. As she planned to teach multiple examples, Ms. Jones prepared 10 brief written scripts about emergency situations. Each script included dialogue involving a 911 operator, a 911 caller, and two students involved in an emergency situation. The caller had to provide information about the emergency situation and pertinent contact information.

Carrying Out Small Group Instruction and the Role Play

Ms. Jones invited three other students to join Dylan for small group instruction. The lesson began with Ms. Jones explaining to the students what the role play entailed. Two would act out emergency situations, and one student would play the 911 operator. As the peers rehearsed the scripted scenario a couple of times, Dylan waited and watched. Ms. Jones explained when it was appropriate to call 911. 

Dylan joined the role play after observing a few times. Dylan was the 911 caller for all scripts, but the peers took turns playing different roles. After practicing the 10 role plays with the provided scripts, Dylan practiced calling 911 and interacting with the 911 operator player without a script. She had to describe the emergency information (e.g., a man was having a heart attack) and provide personal information and location information to the operator. Dylan completed ten role plays where the script was not provided, and she had to talk to the operator independently. She received token reinforcement for correctly dialing 911 and interacting appropriately with the 911 operator without a script.