Mr. Zamarrón knew Brandy needed to demonstrate this skill across settings. In particular, Mr. Zamarrón wanted Brandy to use self-control during lunch and before and after school. Brandy was more likely to make rude comments during these activities because she had the most free time. Mr. Zamarrón operationally defined a single objective:

• When interacting with a peer or an adult, Brandy will ask, “How are you today?” without making a derogatory or rude comment to the peer or adult on 9/10 opportunities.

Mr. Zamarrón needed to determine an appropriate instructional setting and method to support generalization of the operationally-defined objective. He decided this skill would be best taught using role play in a small group setting. This would allow Mr. Zamarrón to emulate the settings in which the skill was likely to occur. He would recruit a small group of Brandy’s peers for the lesson.

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

With his instructional setting and method determined, Mr. Zamarrón was ready to select a support strategy and generalization tactic. He knew that Brandy made rude comments to peers and adults in a variety of circumstances, and he wanted to make sure Brandy made appropriate comments across circumstances. So, Mr. Zamarrón decided to teach Brandy multiple examples during the role play. Mr. Zamarrón would develop a simple visual support to remind Brandy of comments that are considered rude and should not be said. He would also train a couple of peers to be peer coaches; their task would be to ignore Brandy’s rude comments and only attend to appropriate comments (i.e., the target skill).

• Generalization Tactic: Teach multiple examples
• Support Strategy: Visual supports, Peer Coaching

Mr. Zamarrón’s Lesson on “Using Self-Control”

Recruiting Support from Peers

Mr. Zamarrón recruited two peers from Brandy’s classes to participate in the small group instruction. He met with the peers prior to the lesson to train them to be peer coaches. He explained the purpose of the lesson and shared with them the skill Brandy was learning. So that he could teach Brandy multiple examples, Mr. Zamarrón asked the peers to help him draft 10 example situations. Each situation included an explicitly-described setting (e.g., the cafeteria) and clear character roles. The target of each role play was for Brandy to ask “How are you today?” Mr. Zamarrón had the peers practice some of the scripts without Brandy a few times. He also explained to them that though Brandy would sometimes make rude comments to gain attention, she was learning appropriate ways to gain attention. He told the peers that if Brandy made a rude comment, they should ignore it and pretend nothing happened. This would help Brandy learn that only appropriate comments would gain attention.

Creating the Visual Supports

Before the role play lesson, Mr. Zamarrón prepared the visual supports. He created a list of rude comments, as well as a list of general comments that were polite and appropriate across settings. He printed these lists on a small piece of paper and gave it to Brandy. (Brandy would store the visual support in her binder for easy access.) 

Mr. Zamarrón indicated to Brandy the comments that were rude and should not be made. He explained that Brandy might get quick reactions in response to these comments, but she was unlikely to gain meaningful attention or develop relationships when she made these sorts of comments.

Carrying Out the Role Play

Finally, Mr. Zamarrón began the small group role play lesson. At first, he gave each peer a script and Brandy waited and watched. Mr. Zamarrón explicitly described the setting and the character roles for each lesson. He also told Brandy when she should say her line as they watched together. Next, Mr. Zamarrón had Brandy participate in the role plays. He gave her explicit feedback and verbally praised her for saying her line appropriately. 

After the lesson, Mr. Zamarrón asked Brandy and the peers to think of other ways Brandy could talk to others and gain their attention appropriately. The peers, Brandy, and Mr. Zamarrón brainstormed other appropriate comments and practiced saying them in different hypothetical situations. Mr. Zamarrón also added these comments / questions to Brandy’s visual support.