14 General Case Programming
Definition: Systematic way of teaching skills with various materials and stimuli in order to expand student flexibility in understanding and performing a skill.
Rationale: The primary goal of teaching a concept or skill is use in a natural setting or context. While it can be helpful to use a very basic and controlled set of routines and materials in early learning, teaching for generalization requires gaining experiences and adapting to the materials and context at hand. This strategy can be helpful to prepare students for increasing their problem-solving skills and overall adaptability in a skill or concept.
Ways to Support Students:
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- Before using general case programming, ensure that the student has a good grasp of the skill or concept at the basic sense.
- Use multiple relevant tools to practice the skill (e.g., different writing utensils- pen, pencil, marker, for writing the student’s name)
- Use various cues or prompts to initiate the activity (e.g., point, gesture, or verbalize to indicate that a student needs to tie their shoes)
- Practice skill completion in multiple settings and with various supports (peer, adult, self-monitoring)
Case Study
Student: Grade 12 student
Content: Formal introductions
Problem: The student is preparing for a job interview and has trouble with formal introductions
Solution: After understanding the basics of the task analysis steps for a formal introduction, the teacher arranges for practice sessions with multiple people in the school (e.g., peers, principal, other teachers and school staff) and in various locations (e.g., the office, in the community, on the bus).
Professional Resources:
- Research on teaching social behaviour with general case programming: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8458527/
- Definition and examples of teaching for generalization from the May Institute: https://www.mayinstitute.org/news/acl/asd-and-dd-adult-focused/generalization/
- Research based generalization teaching tips for students with emotional and behavioural support needs: https://publications.ici.umn.edu/impact/18-2/teaching-for-generalization-in-support-of-students-with-emotional-and-behavior-disorders
- High Leverage practice description on maintenance and generalization from CEC: https://exceptionalchildren.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/HLP%2021%20Admin%20Guide.pdf
