A Work in Progress Companion Series: Volume 3: Teaching Interactions

Building on the seminal guide and curriculum A Work In Progress, Autism Partnership has followed up with this highly anticipated companion series that synthesizes solid information on various teaching strategies with demonstrations of actual sessions with students on DVD. The goal at Autism Partnership has always been to blend a natural, child-friendly approach to teaching while remaining determinedly systematic. This series offers viewers the unique opportunity to see these approaches implemented in actual teaching environments.

Volume 1 demonstrates the Cool versus Not Cool strategy. This is one of Autism Partnership's most often used strate-gies for teaching students foundational, as well as advanced, social skills. Essentially, the strategy teaches students to understand the difference between behaviors that are socially appropriate (cool) and those that are inappropriate (not cool).

Volume 2 focuses on Learning How to Learn. We often take for granted that students know how to learn or will acquire this skill on their own. But if students cannot pay attention, will not wait, or do not understand feedback, then learning is extremely difficult. In this volume, effective programs in teaching students how to learn are described and demonstrated.

Volume 3 is about Teaching Interactions. The Teaching Interaction is an approach that has been found to be espe-cially effective with students who have more advanced language abilities. With Teaching Interactions, students develop understanding and insight that help develop their internal motivation.

Volume 4 is designed to illustrate how to effectively develop and use a Token Economy. Although token systems are commonly used in school, as well as at home, too often critical steps are neglected in their development. With this vol-ume, you will learn step-by-step how to ensure there is a strong connection between the target behavior and the reward that follows.

Volume 5 focuses on Developing Reinforcers. The foundation of good teaching is utilizing powerful reinforcements so as to motivate students to learn, as well as to behave appropriately. We will show you how to be creative in developing new sources of reinforcement, which is especially useful for students who have limited interests.