Tagteach study group questions

I posted on a local home school list that I'd like to start a Tagteach study group. I received several positive emails from people wanting to learn more about the methods, a few hostile ones wanting to know why I'd use "dog training" on children and a couple of questions.

I am not looking for more "research" subjects to tag. I am looking for adults interested in learning to use positive reinforcement to teach their children. I am looking for people interested in learning to do task analysis and teach their children to do things step by step without nagging.

The tagger or clicker, positive reinforcement, shaping, and rehearsal are all components of both TAGteach for human and Clicker Training for non humans. TAGteach also uses TAG phraseology, personalized tagpoints, debriefing, instructions, feedback, modeling, and focus points. Both methods use positive reinforcement, shaping, and rehearsal.

Here are some studies to read if you are interested:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33974647/Morien-ABAI-2010s
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33977977/LLSmr2010LLoar
http://tagteach.blogspot.com

Here is a playlist of You Tube Videos
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AEA42891825AD74F

Here is some research for using the methods with autistic children:
http://www.tagteach.com/autism/

TAGteach is a focused, positive method that yields immediate results that are clearly evident to the teacher and the learner. TAG stands for "Teaching with Acoustical Guidance." The method relies on a distinctive sound made to mark or "TAG" a moment in time. This sound becomes an acoustical binary message, a sort of "snapshot" that is quickly processed by the brain. Regardless of age or application, the TAG trained student learns when they are correct while building muscle memory and confidence.

A tag point is a response, action, or position that when accomplished wins a reward. The reward for performing a tag point correctly is an audible signal, often made by a handheld clicker. The click, or tag, marks the exact moment the tag point is executed correctly and gives immediate and clear feedback to the student or athlete. TAGteach works on the principle of identifying correct behavior and making it stronger while ignoring mistakes and allowing them to disappear.

The tag becomes a positive reinforcer through pairing with tangible rewards (a sticker for example) or as a result of good feelings of success. Younger students trade their tags for other prizes. Older students and higher level athletes often do not require a tangible primary reinforcer, since they are reinforced just by receiving the immediate and clear feedback from the tag.

Clarity and simplicity are key aspects of TAGteach. A tag point is defined so that the teacher can easily judge whether the tag point is achieved and can mark it with a tag. For example, a teacher might say to a student who is being taught to draw the letter O, “The tag point is placing your pencil tip at the place where the top of the letter will be.”

Once this has been done correctly several times the teacher can move on; “The tag point is movement of the pencil tip to the left to start the letter.” If there is any difficulty and the student does not succeed after three tries, the teacher will break the skill down into smaller parts and go back to a previous point of success.

With some students it may be necessary to place a dot at the place where the letter should start, or to trace letters or to use other prompts to help the student succeed at first. These prompts can be gradually faded out as the student improves.

There is no scolding or negativity associated with TAGteach. If the student hears the tag he knows that the tag point was achieved. If he doesn’t hear the tag he knows to try again. There is no “better, but…” in TAGteach. If the tag point is “point your toes during the handstand” and the student points her toes, but her legs were apart, the student receives the tag and the teacher does not say “That was better, but next time try to keep your legs together.”

Instead, the teacher awards the tag for pointed toes and after a few repetitions says to the student, “Now the tag point is legs together at the top of the handstand.” The student may forget to point her toes while thinking about keeping her legs straight. In this case the pointed toes tag point can be revisited a few times and eventually the student will achieve a toe point with straight legs without ever being told that something was wrong. The student learns to self-assess and think for herself without relying on corrections from the teacher.