Implementation Phases

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Social skills training is implemented in the following steps:
Step1. The teacher becomes aware that there is a problem. This typically occurs naturally through daily contact with and informal observation of individual students. Teachers initially view the student's problems in general terms, such as, “doesn't get along with others” or “is a troublemaker.” However, once this awareness becomes conscious, an attempt should be made to define the behavior of concern in concrete, observable terms in preparation for the more formal assessment procedures to follow.

Step2. There should be valid reasons for selecting behaviors to be targeted for social skills training. It is often tempting for teachers to target for change a behavior that is personally irritating or disturbing. While it is possible that such annoying behaviors are also the most appropriate behaviors upon which to focus, the final selection of a target behavior should be contingent on more general social validation. Whether the goal is to decrease a behavior or develop a new skill, there must be a clear benefit to the student over that gained by the teacher. Examples of social validation reasons that relate directly to the student are increasing the student's future employability through improvement of interaction skills and improving communications skills that are highly correlated with a successful academic experience.

Step3.  The behavior targeted informally should be more formally assessed before further steps in the process are undertaken. The teacher has at least three options to use individually or in combination to assess the extent to which a given social skill is part of the student's behavioral repertoire: direct observation, sociometrics, and teacher ratings. Each type of data collection yields a different type of information: observation results in precisely measured information about the level (for example, frequency or duration) of a student's skill; sociometrics reflect peer perceptions; and teacher ratings provide a more global, subjective opinion.
• Observation yields useful data for social skill development, Data collected by looking at what students do are particularly sensitive in reflecting changes as a result of intervention, thereby enabling the teacher to sample behaviors across a period of time to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Additionally, with observation the use of operationally defined behaviors as opposed to global measures assures greater accuracy and results in a clearer picture of what is occurring in the student's classroom performance.
• Sociometric assessment is used to indicate peer acceptance and popularity. Data derived fro sociometric methods differ from those obtained through observation and therefore have a different applicability. Two types of sociometric data are used in social skill assessment: nomination and rating scales. With the former, peer nominate classmates who fit a particular sociometric criterion (for example, “Name three classmates you most enjoy working with”). The score or result for each student is the total number of nominations received. These results are often represented graphically through the use of a sociogram or visual representation showing the number of times each student is selected, whom each student selects, and who selects each student. A rating scale is a sociometric procedure by which students numerically rate (rank order) classmates on a sociometric criterion. The advantage of this method over nomination is that all students in a class are evaluated, not just a few “favorites.” This permits the teacher to determine if a student is actually rejected for merely neglected. In doing any sociometric assessment, consider the following guidelines:
a. Increase validity by administering the assessment to a class in which students have had an opportunity for both social and intellectual interaction and for observing each other in a variety of classroom situations.
b. Repeat administration over the school year to permit assessment of the stability of student attitudes.
c. In addition to requesting favorites, ask the students to select one or two other students whom they would not want to work with in various activities.
d. Administer the assessment in a manner that permits privacy and collect the responses from the students in a manner that permits secrecy.
e. For nonreaders, use snapshots of students with their names printed on the front. The student may then, in private, copy the name or put the photo in a special envelope coded with a sociometric criterion. Conduct this activity in a secluded corner of the room.
• Teacher ratings are indications of the extent to which a classroom teacher believes a particular student is experiencing selected social problems. Teachers may simply indicate those students they believe demonstrate the problems, or they may complete more formal scales on which large numbers of behavior are rated relative to the frequency of occurrence of each for the target students. One advantage of this type of data collection method is that large amounts of data can be obtained in relative short periods of time (for example, 10-15 minutes to complete a 50-item rating scale). Of course, the best assessment practices involve collecting data by at least two different methods from at least two different sources of information.

Step4. Once the extent of the problem has been assessed, a behavioral objective should be developed to aid the teacher in establishing a clearly defined goal for the social skills training. A behavioral objective has three components that make it useful in social skills training: a positive statement of the expected, observable skill; the conditions under which the skill will occur; and the criteria for determining acceptable performance of the skill. Restating the problem as a behavioral objective permits the teacher to determine where the student should “go,” to select interventions consistent with the objective, and to evaluate the student's progress toward the desired outcome.

Step5. To facilitate decisionmaking relative to the selection of appropriate interventions, teachers often characterize the type of problem being targeted for social skills training. A deficiency deficit occurs when the student completely lacks a particular social skill; the skill does not exist within the student's repertoire. This implies that the student does not know how to behave in a given manner. When a student possesses only rudimentary knowledge of a skill or has the skill but uses it infrequently or inappropriately due to anxiety or low motivation, the deficit is termed one of insufficiency. Generally, in such cases, the problems exist because there has been little or no reinforcement for exhibiting the appropriate behavior, hence the skill has not become integrated in the student's social behavior repertoire. A social skill problem falls into the omission deficit category when the student possesses the skill but does not use it due to inadequate self control.

Step6. After completing the previous steps, the teacher should identify appropriate interventions. Four types of interventions are commonly used in the direct teaching of social skills (Gresham, 1981): manipulation of antecedents, manipulation of consequences, modeling, and cognitive behavioral techniques. As noted previously, each specific category of deficit warrants a particular type of intervention; however, the teacher is in no way limited to the options presented here.
• In the manipulation of antecedents, the teacher “sets up” or initiates situations that involve the student in an activity that is structured to promote the desired social skill. The teacher should already have determined that the student is capable of exhibiting the social skill, so that providing the stimulus will create the opportunity for the skill to be performed and reinforced. Examples of this type of intervention are cooperative games and tasks, sociodrama, and the use of peer initiators. Cooperative activities involve the students in task-oriented games that require cooperation of team members in order to be successful. Sociodrama involves students in roleplaying situations based on classroom experiences or material from media, such as stories from books. The use of student peers to initiate interaction with the target student can also be very effective i working with students who demonstrate insufficiency deficits in social skills.
• Generally, manipulation of consequences in implemented through the use of contingency management involving behavioral strategies, such as token economies and contingency contracting. Reinforcement of skills in the categories of insufficiency or omission is the goal of this type intervention; the techniques provide a structure through which appropriate social skills are reinforced in an attempt to increase the level at which they are performed.
• Modeling can be used appropriately with the student who does not exhibit a desired behavior (insufficiency deficit) and/or who must be taught the behavior (deficiency deficit). At a basic level, modeling involves having another person (teacher, student, parent) exhibit the desired social skill in a manner that is observed by the target student. This is also referred to as live modeling (Gresham, 1981). Gresham argues that symbolic modeling, which makes use of filmed media (movies, television, videotapes) for the student to view, is an acceptable alternative to live modeling in social skills training programs.
• Cognitive behavioral techniques may be indicate for students who have a particular social skill in their repertoire but rarely exhibit the skill due to low impulse control (omission deficit). These techniques are designed to help restructure the student's thinking in a manner that permits the student to subvocalize in a specific social or academic situation. With subvocalization comes control from within the student, as opposed to external controls characteristic of the interventions discussed above. Meichenbaum (1977) indicated the steps necessary for the promotion of self-control through subvocalization:
a. The teacher exhibits behavior while vocalizing what the behavior is.
b. The student practices the behavior with the teacher, and both verbalize the process.
c. The student then practices alone while vocalizing.
d. Finally, the student practices the behavior alone while thinking about it (subvocalization).

Step7.  While it is possible for generalized responses to occur without special programming, it may be unwise to assume that a skill will automatically be exhibited in a setting other than the one in which it is systematically taught and reinforced. Consequently, in addition to planning specific interventions, the teacher must also give consideration to procedures that encourage generalization and include them in the social skill training.

Step8. Assessment of the student's progress toward the behavior specified in the objective should occur prior to initiating training of another skill. The assessment techniques used in the initial assessment strategies are, in general, appropriate for use in evaluating progress, with observation being the strongest measure.
       Social skills training is a systematic decision-making process, much like that involved in teaching any academic subject. It is comprised of assessment and intervention stages, each of which has several steps. The steps do not always follow a specific sequence and in some instances are interchangeable. The criteria points are that each step be included in the process and that assessment steps precede intervention steps. Assessment involves targeting the behavior, identifying the rationale for selecting the behavior, performing initial data-collection procedures, formulating a useful behavioral objective, and identifying the specific category of social skill deficit. The steps of the intervention stage are (1) selecting and implementing an appropriate intervention strategy, (2) planning generalization procedures, and (3) completing final data-collection procedures. A worksheet reflecting these steps is presented in Exhibit 2–8. This worksheet is designed to assist teachers in structuring social skill training.

   
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