The functional role of preschoolers' verbalizations in the generalization of self-instructional training.
Kids must actually say the self-instructions out loud in the classroom before the skill generalizes to better work completion and on-task behavior.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team taught preschoolers to talk themselves through tasks. First kids practiced saying the steps out loud in a small training room. Later they returned to their regular classroom.
Researchers used a multiple-baseline design across children. They watched whether the kids actually spoke the self-instructions when they got back to class.
What they found
Academic work and on-task behavior only improved after the children began to say the self-instructions out loud in the classroom. Just learning the words in training was not enough.
Once the overt talking started, gains showed up quickly. The speech itself seemed to be the switch that turned the skill on.
How this fits with other research
Todorov et al. (1984) and Lord et al. (1986) also got big academic gains from self-management, but they did not track whether kids actually talked out loud. Haring et al. (1988) pinpoints that the talking is the active piece.
Glover et al. (1976) looks like a contradiction. Parent training helped kids at home yet failed in school. The difference is place. G et al. ensured the key behavior—overt self-talk—occurred on site, right where it was needed.
Castelloe et al. (1993) warned that generalization is weak unless you program for it. This study shows one clear way: make sure the child emits the cue, out loud, in the target setting.
Why it matters
If you run self-instruction training, build in a step where the learner must say the rules aloud in the real classroom. Do not fade the prompt too soon. Watch for the first clear instance of spontaneous self-talk—once you hear it, you can be confident the academic gains will follow.
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Join Free →After teaching the self-instruction steps, stand in the classroom and prompt the learner to say them aloud at the start of the first assignment; record when spontaneous self-talk begins.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
We examined the functional role of verbalizations in the generalization of self-instructional training with preschoolers. Children learned to overtly self-instruct during classroom work periods prior to covert training. Data were collected on children's acquisition of verbal regulation during training and on overt use of self-instructions in the classroom generalization setting. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects indicated that treatment effects were evident in the training setting but did not generalize to the classroom until children were emitting overt self-instructions in the classroom itself. The production of self-verbalizations in the generalization setting was related to changes in correct responding, on-task behavior, and efficiency in completing academic work.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1988 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1988.21-45