Naturalistic Teaching
Also called: NET, natural environment teaching, incidental teaching
Definition
Teaching that embeds learning opportunities in ongoing activities and follows the learner's current interest, using the naturally available consequence as the reinforcer. Opportunities arise as the activity unfolds rather than being scheduled in advance.
In plain language
Teaching during normal play or daily routines. You start with what the learner already wants. The reward is that thing itself.
Examples
A learner reaches toward bubbles, and staff pause to give an opportunity to request before blowing them.
The reinforcer is the bubbles themselves, which is what the learner wanted.
During snack, a learner is given a closed container so that asking for help becomes useful.
Not naturalistic teaching
Running ten scheduled trials at a table with a token as the consequence, which is a discrete-trial format.
Letting a session drift with no planned targets at all. Naturalistic teaching still has goals; it changes when and how they are taught.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- baer-wolf-risley-1968
Written from the descriptive literature on naturalistic and incidental teaching formats. No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.