Naturalistic teaching
Teaching that happens within the learner's everyday activities and routines, uses the learner's current interests and motivation, and relies on natural reinforcers.
Naturalistic teaching is a family of procedures in which learning opportunities are built into play, daily routines and real settings rather than presented as structured table trials. The learner's interest or motivation in the moment sets up the opportunity, and the reinforcer is usually directly related to the response: asking for a swing push produces a push.
The RBT Test Content Outline names incidental teaching and natural environment training as examples. Other well-known naturalistic approaches include the mand-model procedure and pivotal response treatment. They share several features: following the learner's lead, arranging the environment to create motivation, using varied materials and people, and accepting reasonable attempts.
Naturalistic teaching often supports generalization because skills are learned in the settings and with the materials where they will be used. It is especially good for teaching manding and social and play skills. Its limits are fewer learning opportunities per hour than discrete trials in some cases, and less control over what comes up.
An RBT running naturalistic teaching still follows the plan's targets, prompts and data rules. It is planned instruction, not just play.
Example and non-example
| Example | During snack time at home, the RBT keeps the crackers in a clear container. When the child reaches for it, the RBT prompts "Open, please," waits for the child's attempt, then opens the container and gives crackers. |
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| Non-example | The RBT sits the child at a table and presents flash cards with the instruction "What is it?" for 10 trials. That is discrete trial teaching. |
Don't confuse it with
| Discrete trial teaching | DTT is teacher-led with planned, repeated trials; naturalistic teaching uses learner-led opportunities in natural activities. |
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Test yourself
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Question 1Which feature is typical of discrete-trial teaching rather than naturalistic teaching?
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A: The adult chooses the target and starts each trial with a planned instruction. Discrete-trial teaching is adult-led and structured: the instructor picks the target, gives a planned instruction, and delivers a planned consequence, often at a table with many trials in a row.
- B: Following the learner's interest is a feature of naturalistic teaching.
- C: Teaching within ongoing activities is naturalistic teaching.
- D: Using the requested item as the reinforcer is typical of incidental teaching; DTT often uses other reinforcers.
Task C.3 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 2In naturalistic teaching, what is a natural reinforcer?
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B: The usual, direct result of the response itself. A natural reinforcer is the usual outcome of the behavior in everyday life, such as getting the ball after asking for it. Using it helps the skill keep working outside of teaching sessions.
- A: Food can be natural or arbitrary; what matters is whether it is the direct result of the response.
- C: That describes noncontingent reinforcement.
- D: Tokens are conditioned reinforcers added to a task, not its natural result.
Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 3An RBT puts a child's favorite toy cars in a clear bin with a lid the child cannot open, and sets the bin where the child can see it. What is this arrangement most likely meant to do?
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D: Set up chances for the child to ask. Arranging the environment so preferred items are visible but need help to reach creates motivation and a reason to communicate, which the RBT then uses to prompt and reinforce a mand.
- A: Seeing the cars without having them tends to increase motivation, not lower it.
- B: The aim is for the child to get the cars by asking, not to keep them away.
- C: This is not an assessment of motor skills; it sets up communication.
Task C.4 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.4 Naturalistic teaching in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.