Ep49 Learning to Teach Operant Behavior to Pet Parents with Andrew Taylor-Baptiste

“They blinded me with science!”

Many have had the experience of entering a session, excited to impart all the behavior analytic knowledge, only to watch the audience’s eyes glaze over. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand they’ve tuned out completely. The reality is, people go to professionals to get solutions for their problems, they don’t want a science class. It’s on the trainer to determine how to translate from technical jargon to a language that makes sense to the learner.

And in this LIVE talk we’re going to talk about these translations and not just when working with humans, but also with animals! Our guest, Andrew Taylor-Baptiste, KPA CTP, Head Trainer at Operant Animal Training, has been honing this skill throughout his career, from working with dolphins and manta rays, to teaching puppies and their parents to live in harmony. He’ll discuss how he has applied behavioural techniques across a wide variety of settings and animals, along with the importance of exploring and learning about the species- communication methods, sleep and wake cycles, social behaviors are just some areas of curiosity. Knowing the organism inside and out can help make for efficient and successful training programs.

Learning Objectives:

1. Examine the idea of translating the science of behavior programs into language that our learner understands.

2. Describe the importance of learning the communication system of the learner when building new skills and maintaining current repertoires.

3. Describe ways to provide choices throughout training and the short- and long-term value of choices.

Take Aways- your bite-sized educational noms

- When people seek out help from professionals, they are seeking solutions, not a science class. Instructors should actively translate and reword information in such a way that the learner understands. This doesn’t mean that the scientific principles can’t and shouldn’t be taught! It means that instructors need to shape up the verbal and physical behaviors in their learners; set up the environment and learning for success.

- Animal training involves not only learning the communication and learning styles of the human participant but also the unique communication style of the animal, including their breed and specicies characteristics. It’s valuable to research what the animal’s natural inclinations and responses are and incorporate that into training to ensure success.

- Easy choices to provide- what the learner is working for (natural or contrived reinforcement), where the learner wants to work, when the session is over. Providing choices helps to establish trust and rapport between the learner and instructor.

Worth 1.5 Learning CEUs

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