Anxiety and stress can create uncomfortable situations and make learning a challenge. Even in traditional teaching situations, one-on-one interactions can cause anxiety and stress in a child. If your child already suffers from anxiety and stress, they have to overcome these emotions before they can begin to learn.
Video modeling, or the use of a video recording to teach, provides these benefits:
- Reduced stress
- Includes multi-sensory teaching
- Fun
- Familiar format
- Self-paced
- And a variety of more benefits
The real secret behind video modeling is to create a fun atmosphere while teaching multiple things in a variety of ways. Teaching will come alive for your child while they learn, imitate, watch, and have fun.
How Video Modeling Works
Video modeling is a teaching strategy that shows people engaging in desired behaviors. Learners watch these videos and copy the behaviors displayed. An example would be your child watching others on the video play a game called, ‘Duck, Duck, Goose.’ Your child will watch as those on the video play the game, and afterward, they will be able to replicate what they saw and play with others.
Video modeling is a technique that can provide an alternative to one-on-one teaching, which removes the stress and anxiety from your child who struggles with one-on-one interactions. Your child can focus on the video with fewer distractions and learn from the modeling shown.
Benefits from Video Modeling
There are a lot of children who can learn better from seeing a skill performed rather than having someone talk to them and explain it in words. Board games are an example of one activity many people try to explain how to play with a lot of words. Video modeling removes this need to explain verbally as your child can watch others play the game to learn the rules. This benefit applies to many social skills that are better explained and easier to learn by watching them in action.
Children with autism spectrum disorder benefit significantly from video modeling because:
- They need repetition to learn a skill as it is easier to carry out a skill that is familiar. Repetition makes actions more familiar to the brain, and easier for them to repeat. Video modeling makes it possible to repeat the same lesson over and over in exactly the same manner.
- The content in video modeling is always repeated exactly as your child heard it the first time. Many times when people re-explain a task, they tend to use different verbiage. Even though the meaning of words is the same, the words can be different, causing some confusion and frustration to those with a learning disability.
- Video modeling stimulates the visual senses. Children with autism spectrum disorder are visual learners and will learn easier from visual modeling teaching.
How to Use Video Modeling
Video modeling is most effective in teaching conversation and play skills. If you are teaching behavior on how to greet someone, your child would watch a video of other kids using appropriate greetings. You will want to use kids in your video that are the similar age as your child, and use role-playing in the lesson. Show both appropriate and inappropriate ways to greet someone so your child can learn the differences.
Another great way to use video modeling is to videotape your child performing an appropriate task. Try to catch them performing a skill the right way and even some that are not acceptable. By showing their own actions in a video, they will be able to relate more to what they should have done or receive praise for having done a skill appropriately.
Video modeling is easy, but it has to be watched to become effective. You can use this method of teaching to teach skills, and once you start seeing success, it will naturally progress to different daily environments to expand on the learning experiences.
Where to Learn More on the Benefits of Video Modeling
ABA Pathways has clinicians who design and personalize treatment plans to develop your child’s or other individual’s unique skills to make their daily life better. We are here to help teach social skills, collaborate with your teachers, train and increase interactions, and help your child get ready for the school or community environment. With our skilled behavior technicians, we can help you and your child enjoy the world around you together.