TAGteach Reinforcers for Toddlers and Preschoolers

We are sometimes asked if TAGteach works with toddlers and preschoolers. Well of course it does! Sometimes very young children just like the sound of the tag and that fact that their actions can make it happen. It is a fun game that gives them control. Sometimes something more tangible is required. Here is a list of some possible reinforcers for toddlers and preschoolers:

• Stickers - to put on a chart, on their hand, on their clothes
• Bubbles (child blows, or you blow and child breaks)
• Using Crayola stamping markers - on their hands, feet or on a chart
• A piece of a puzzle to build later when all the pieces are collected
• Opening a drawer or window of a special prize chest - as with advent calendar - to see a new picture or get a small prize
• Giving the dog/cat/bird/fish a treat
• Pushing buttons - cell phone, remote control etc
• Putting drops of food colour in a clear glass of water to watch the swirls
• Planting seeds in little pots
• Clicking a clicker
• Adding a Duplo (or Lego) block to a tower
• Knocking down any kind of tower
• Adding something to a driveway chalk picture
• "Painting" with water on the deck or patio
• Making noise with any kind of noisemaker

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TAGTeacher Tale: Fun with Studying for a Test

By Jane Jackson

I just had to share a little feedback from some tagging experience today. I tried out my pony part  memorization exercise with a group of 4-6 kids, aged 10-12. One sat with a book with the drawing of a pony (parts labeled) and the tagger. The other four sat across from her and a large chalk drawing of a pony on the barn floor. One of the four would take a turn by looking at chalk drawing and thinking of the name of a part they thought they could find- the various kids had different backgrounds of learning and knew different parts. When she thought of a part, she would tell the tagger girl. That girl would then find the part on the chart in front of her and say '"ok", then the learner would touch the part on the chalk drawing and get tagged if it matched the drawing in the book. After two rounds, the book and tagger got passed to another girl and the previous tagger joined the others. After several rounds of this, we pulled a real pony out of a stall to do it all again.

My feedback quote of the day? This book was "required reading" and all the kids have them. When one of the girls was doing the tagging, she looked down at the book and said "this is really neat- I've never really looked at this before. I should study it". It felt like a victory to me because even though she is one of the ones being tested tomorrow, and knows she should know the parts, she hadn't looked at the chart - until she got to play this game. And that game with the tagger made the chart fun and interesting. The learning was occurring in the girl doing the tagging, not necessarily the others. They were picking parts they already knew....the girl doing the tagging had to find the part on the drawing (visual reference #1), then watch the other girl touch it on the floor chalking (visual reference #2) and then TAG....auditory marker.

I had to pull them away from this to get lunch (yes, pull them away from studying to eat!).


Link to Jane's blog

Link to Bookends Farm

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TAGteach Presentations at ABAI

Every year TAGteach presents a session at the Association of Behavior Analysis state and international meetings. This gives us a chance to show our research results to the scientific community and to generate interest from others who want to apply TAGteach in their area of endeavor.  Each year excellent presenters join us to show the world what they have been doing with TAGteach. Below are slideshows of two of the presentations from 2010 ABAI. The third was discussed in a previous blog post.

The Combined Effect of TAGteach and Precision Teaching on Learning for Children with Autism - by Kevin Cauley and Elizabeth Benedetto-Nasho, Step By Step Learning Group Inc

Tagteach and Precision Teaching 2010

Creating and Following Directions In Hazardous Situations - TAGteach on the Bering Sea - by Theresa McKeon, TAGteach International.

TAGteach_ ABASymp_2010a

You can see a video that accompanied this presentation by clicking here. This video shows clips from a TAGteach consulting workshop where workers applied the TAGteach approach to solve some problems with training on work-related tasks.

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TAGteach™ International - Classroom to Boardroom: Create, Capture and Capitalize on Success

TAGteach™ International
Classroom to Boardroom: Create, Capture, and Capitalize on Success

“It has really changed not only how I view teaching, but how I view all human interactions.”
Susan Bearden, Brevard Symphony Orchestra

Frustration free learning
Designed to highlight success
Put into practice immediately and economically
Can be used with any age, population or application

What is TAG?
The acronym TAG stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance, as an acoustic or sound marker is often used (but not mandatory). 

How does TAGteach work?
The program provides a platform upon which anyone can create achievable goals with clear beginnings and well-defined endings. During the actual period of skill acquisition, language is reduced, feedback is immediate, and success is reinforced. In addition, we have developed specific vocabulary that supports the breakdown of skills into single, achievable goals. We call these very specific goals, TAG points. As a tag point is accomplished, it is highlighted with a distinctive, audible marker that has no other meaning in everyday life. It is an unbiased sound that says “goal achieved. The marker also adds an element of fun, encouraging repetition of success.

Where is TAGteach being used?
If you judge a tool by how versatile it is, consider this - TAGteach has been established around the world from Japan to Iceland in an astounding variety of applications including the classroom, sports, industrial safety, occupational therapy, business management and even non-verbal children with Autism. Once learned, TAGteach can be applied to any profession as our wide range of clients suggests.

Why is TAGteach so motivating?
Because a core component of TAGteach is to capture success, leaders become proficient at looking for what is right and building on that, instead of focusing on what is wrong. Building on success is a skill that generalizes into a lifestyle.

Learn about TAGteach at a 2-Day Workshop and Certification Seminar
www.tagteach.com/events 
Learn to capitalize on your learners’ innate desire to succeed
Reengineer tasks to encourage successful and safe performance
Use specific language that virtually ensures focus
Learn how to turn NAG points into TAG points
Learn what really motivates your learners
Practice the skills needed to effectively use an audible marker
Learn to set up and deliver immediate and positive reinforcement

For more information and to schedule a seminar or consultation contact:
Theresa McKeon t@tagteach.com  704-995-9237
To find a current seminar schedule www.tagteach.com 
For updated stories and press visit www.tagteach.blogspot.com 
For case studies and TAGteach projects visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TAGteach/files/ 
TAGteach Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TAGteach/
Facebook – TAGteach International

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Learning to use TAGteach (Cascade Fishing Company)

Video shows a TAGteach workshop for the Cascade Fishing Company. The management has identified several tasks that on the boat have become NAG points. They broke them down and created TAG points. They really had to be creative, using props within a classroom to create the tag scenario. These inconveniences don't stand in their way of desiging clear directions for teaching. Bravo!

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Association for Applied Behavior Analysis 2010 - TAGteach and Autism

TAGteacher and author Mary Lynch Barbera presented the results of her study entitled: TAGteach and Autism at the 2010 Association for Applied Behavior Analysis conference in Texas in May. Mary designed a multiple probe study to test the impact of TAGteach on shoe tying in her son. Lucas had never been taught to tie his shoes. TAGteach provided an effective way to teach this skill.

Click here to download the presentation in a PDF file.

Mary Lynch Barbera, RN, MSN, BCBA, is the author of The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders.

Here is a video showing the progression of steps in the shoe tying study:

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