Chaining
Also called: forward chaining, backward chaining, total task
Definition
Teaching the steps of a task analysis so they come to be performed as a connected sequence, in which completing each step both produces the next opportunity and signals it. Common arrangements teach from the first step forward, from the last step backward, or across every step each time.
In plain language
Teaching the steps of a task so they join up into one smooth routine. You can start from the first step, from the last one, or work on all of them each time.
Examples
A learner is taught the final step of handwashing first, so every attempt ends with a completed task.
Finishing the task is itself the natural consequence of the step just taught.
Staff support every step of making toast each time, fading help step by step.
Not chaining
Gradually changing a single response until it looks like the target, which is shaping rather than linking separate steps.
Teaching several unrelated skills in the same session. Chaining is about one sequence, not a set of goals.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- baer-wolf-risley-1968
Written from standard instructional practice in applied behavior analysis. No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.