Where is the student now? Where do you want him to be? Given the sub-skills you selected within your task analyses (your starting point for instruction), consider how to assure success while moving him toward a long term goal.
For a student working on salad bar preparation in a restaurant before opening, the entire job may involve 1) wiping down the bar, 2) obtaining items stored from yesterday in the cooler in salad trays (soy nuts, croutons, bacon bits, etc.) and placing on salad cart #1(see diagram below), 3) obtaining empty salad trays to fill all slots in the salad bar and placing on salad cart #1, 4) obtaining all items that require simple tray filling (pasta salad from container in cooler, crab salad, olives, lettuce mix, etc.) and placing in designated spot on cart, 5) obtaining all items that must be chopped or sliced (radishes, carrots, cheese, cantaloupe, etc.) and placing on cart, 6) taking cart to prep station, 7) using the correct appliance or utensil to chop/slice each food item, 8) placing each filled tray or container on salad cart #2, 8) returning all unused food stuffs from salad cart #1 to proper storage, 9) placing all trays/containers on salad bar from cart #2 according to photo or diagram, 10) wiping down and rechecking salad bar and 11) wiping down salad prep surface.
In initial job training, the coach determined that the student can use a picture-written list (along with a photo of the finished salad bar) to obtain all items, to fill each tray and to chop most of the vegetables and fruits for the bar. The coach decided that getting the student’s performance to consistent success required ‘structuring out’ the use of the electric slicer for cucumbers at first. The student has good skills in using a knife to chop tomatoes, to slice radishes and carrots and to cut fruit. The coach created a list that had all the steps except for the use of the slicer for cucumbers. While the coach carefully monitors and supports the student in using his list to complete this complex task, she is able to use the slicer to prepare cucumbers since the slicer is at the same prep station that the student will use. Over time, as the student is successful at following his list and making judgments on chopping and filling containers/trays, the coach will then add the steps to the list for using the slicer.
What visual supports (scripts, instructions, reminder cues, etc.) will you use to help the student rehearse the expected behavior or skill?
The schedule and to-do list are often critical to student independence on the job. Carefully prepare these materials so that actual practice of the hard skills occurs around the use of the visual supports. You are teaching the student to use the schedule, the to-do lists and the organization of these tools so that he performs the hard skills independently.
It may be necessary to devise a set of sequenced visual instructions for tasks that are complex for the student. Often, as you have seen, many food service tasks have multiple steps. Considering that multi-step tasks may sometimes become disorganized, it may help the student to consistently refer to a set of visual instructions, possibly checking off each step as completed to assure 100% success in performance. Will the instruction sheet be laminated to support the ‘checking off’?
Will the student benefit from a file box of visual instructions that contains specific instructions for each recipe, for each food prep task, for each task in sustaining the childcare facility? Will this help prevent errors in order or prevent missed steps in the task?
*Keep in mind the length and complexity of a list of instructions that is within the student’s capacity to perform without monitoring or assistance.
The student will need repeated opportunities to practice responding to the visual cues that you arrange, as well as those cues that exist naturally in the work area. For example, as the student learns to use his file box for various food preparation tasks, he may also require direction to other visual cues, including a sign over his workstation to pick up trash when he finishes tasks or to reorganize his workstation according to the cues on the station. Over time, your directives to those visual cues must fade out. The environmental design of the workspace is a crucial element in your visual support.
What type of prompting might you need to provide in the initial learning phase? How do you time and fade the prompt to support the student in initiating the target behavior?
One key is to reduce personal prompts by focusing on a few target skills at a time. Second, assure the presence of visual supports that make it easy to fade your prompts. Of course, initially, you may show the student the step or task, verbally clarifying what to do. However, the student’s processing of verbal information must be considered when providing such prompts. Guided prompting, using physical prompts to support student performance, must be faded quickly to prevent your becoming part of the task. Therefore, fade the physical prompts quickly to gestural prompts to the visual supports and reinforce the student for using those visual supports.
Are you arranging frequent practice opportunities to build fluency through repetition?
Initially, consider how many tasks the student must handle to satisfactorily complete the expected job responsibilities. Repetition with tasks that are expected daily can be beneficial. It is important to consistently expect the student to go to the visual support to find information rather than asking what to do next. As independent employees, we self-start and go about our workdays without asking constantly for guidance. How long would we keep our jobs if we did not self-start? Your goal is to build a routine of the student checking the list or schedule for what to do next. As noted above, you want to build reliance on the use of sequenced visual instructions to prevent mistakes that occur as a result of doing familiar tasks from memory. Thus, build a consistent pattern of using the visual instructions so that 100% success is more likely.
What steps do you need to take to ensure that everyone targeting that skill applies the same level of prompting and fades it out at the same rate to support initiation by the student?