Pudding in a Bag
My time doing summer camp and respite are coming in handy these days. I ran this activity to highlight the use of task analysis and photo prompts in a classroom environment. The process of task analysis breaks down a complex chain of behaviours into its smaller steps; much like a recipe. By completing a task analysis, an educator or therapist can now assess which steps a learner can perform independently and which of those would require teaching, prompting.
This particular task was broken down into five steps. In another setting, or with another learner, more or less steps may get outlined. Task analyses vary depending on the complexity of the task, the skills our learner already has and the level of preparation available before the task even starts. For example, we had the materials out and in front of the students before they began.
Once the steps were determined, I then ran through the task myself and had pictures taken of each step. These photos were then used to help cue the students in following the steps of making their own pudding. Staff would show the picture to help the student understand what was expected of them. The nice thing about visual or photo prompts is that the learner can refer to them as needed and staff do not need to repeat their instructions over and over; they simply redirect the learner’s attention to the photo. There is truth in the statement, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
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