Applied Behaviour Analysis is not without its critics. The most common complaint – not the most valid; just the most common – is that it is mechanical and dehumanizing. Unfortunately, ABA can be delivered in just that way, but that is extremely rare. Like any good teaching, it is a very human enterprise. Of course humans are prone to error! But the point that I want to make here is that ABA does not have to be mechanical and dehumanizing, and rarely is. 

Which brings us to clicker training, which most people associate with dog training and, therefore, feel is not appropriate for use with humans. In fact, clicker training – TAGteach (Teaching with Acoustical Guidance) – has been applied very successfully in all kinds of human endeavours, from teaching surgical skills and workplace safety to training athletes and musicians. It is also being applied to teaching children with autism.

TAGteach has been endorsed by many well-known and influential ABA practitioners. Perhaps the biggest names, to get your attention, are Julie Vargas (B.F. Skinner’s daughter), Mary Barbara (co-author of The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders), Raymond Miltenberger (former President of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and author of Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures), John Eshleman (known for his work in fluency training), and Rick Kubina (co-author of The Precision Teaching Book), to name just a few.

When complex behaviours that we want a learner to master are not already part of the learner’s repertoire, good ABA practice demands that we start small and work our way up. That is, we choose a goal to be achieved, break it down into easily learned steps and/or components, and shape it into the response that we want to get, one small part at a time. For example, in teaching a golfer how to improve his putting skill, we might train for distance and direction separately, and then train the golfer how to do both of them at the same time.

The following is taken from “TAGteach and Autism” by Mary Lynch Barbera, co-author of The Verbal Behavior Approach:

The acronym TAG means Teaching with Acoustical Guidance and was used first with gymnasts, not children with special needs. It all started when Theresa McKeon purchased a horse in 2005 and had difficulty training it. She went on-line and learned about Karen Pryor’s clicker training technology. Theresa used clicker training until the horse was calmer and then sold it. In the process of using clicker training with her horse, Theresa, a national gymnastics coach, decided that clickers might be very helpful to her young students. When a gymnast had difficulty with a handstand, for instance, the skills of the handstand could be broken down and each skill could be taught separately. When one of the students got her feet to the 12 o’clock position or put her arms over her ears, the coach could click to signal that the position was correct.

Comparing Clicker Training and TAGteach, G David Smith, Ph.D., BCBA-D wrote:

Once clicker training begins the trainer clicks and “treats” [i.e., reinforces] each time the learner performs the target response (continuous reinforcement). Complex behaviors are usually broken down into their parts (task analysis) and taught one part at a time until the learner performs the entire behavior from start to finish (shaping by successive approximations). Clicker trainers minimize the use of words. Verbal directions (and other cues calling for the target response) are typically introduced only after the target response is well established. … At its core, clicker training entails designation of a discrete target response and delivery of a click (an audible marker) every time the learner performs the designated response. [Snip] TAGteach employs and further adapts the use of scientifically established behavioral principles and practices … incorporated in clicker training. [But]TAGteach goes beyond clicker training to include the use of modeling and imitation, vicarious reinforcement and learning, and even some cognitive behavioral techniques such as debriefing and self-instruction.

Rather than something that is imposed on a learner, the TAG game is something that both designated teacher and the designated learner can participate in together. For example, if there is a several step behavior for a mature person to learn, the teacher can demonstrate the entire sequence, clicking at each TAG point in the process, then have the learner click whenever the teacher performs the move correctly, followed by the teacher providing the clicks for the learner and then the learner providing the clicks for himself. Depending on the developmental level of your learners, they may or may not be able to participate other than as learners, but it is desirable if they can participate in teaching themselves or other students (since one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it).

TAGteach has many advantages:

1. Feedback is precise.

2. Feedback is always positive.

3. Having to think of successive TAG points helps to define the teaching targets.

4. TAGteach doesn’t invite a social response

5. The TAG eliminates the emotion from the feedback.

6. The TAG’s are easily perceived and counted.

7. There is no condescension involved

8. The trainer gets to shut up.

Whatever skill you are teaching, I hope that you will consider incorporating TAGteach into your teaching repertoir.