Utilizing a Discriminate-Generate-Operate-Demonstrate Framework for Instructional Design

Abstract

Behavior analysts are frequently responsible for teaching concepts and operations. Whether teaching in academia, training employees within corporations, working with young learners, or serving disabled learners, behavior analysts primarily find themselves in an instructional position relaying information from themselves to others. They often design how this information is transmitted to the learner so that the person can operate upon the world proficiently with the new concept or operation. As a result, behavior-analytic instructional design has spent much time piecing together optimal ways of making instruction effective. Nevertheless, these instructional design practices are not widely disseminated or adapted to everyday clinical practice. Therefore, the current article proposes a comprehensive framework where a learner contacts different hierarchical instructional levels while establishing proficiency on each level before progressing toward the ultimate goal of the concept or operation. These levels include Discriminate, Generate, Operate, and Demonstrate. By progressing through this framework, the learner will apply and generalize the instructional concept or operation regardless of context and nuance.