Can you train a CHILD like a DOG? [dolphin, horse, or bird]
Well, I guess that depends on what you define as the "training"Tonight on FOX, the show HOUSE will have Hugh Laurie, the gifted, curmudgeonly Dr. Gregory House try some clicker training of his own on his girlfriend’s toddler in an effort to give her an edge over her toddler competition in preschool. Knowing the House character, I can’t comment on the veracity of what will be put forth, but I’m just happy to see a representation of it in back in popular media, not a dog show, not a science broadcast or special interest piece in a nighttime televesion news magazine.
The episode called “the carrot or the stick” seems to be a reference to the ongoing debate about Punishment Vs. Reinforcement as a means to shape behavior.
The first time I was exposed to CLICKER TRAINING was in a movie from the 80s called THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, you might remember Geena Davis played a dog trainer and [well before her time] she’s walking dogs and clicker training them. This was practically science fiction for dog training at the time-1988. Since then those of us familiar with Clicker Training have rarely seen it pop up outside of dog related shows.
Clickers on humans? We’re not Dogs! I hear this A LOT. Let’s say that this is not the same clicker training of yore. NO WAIT! Actually it is. It’s not re-invented, it’s repurposed, and beautifully so. For more than a decade markers/clicker training has been used to teach/train for precision and accuracy in pursuits from Gymnasts to Fighter Pilots to children with Autism and Attention Deficit.
TAG TEACHING
Perhaps the bit on HOUSE is a nod to a more recent education and learning movement called TAGteaching
From the Tag Teaching BLOG "TAGteach is a revolutionary science-based technology that enables educators and coaches to teach efficiently and helps students learn effectively. TAG is an acronym for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. The focused, positive nature of this method yields immediate and stunning results that are clearly evident to teachers, students and parents."
RESOURCES [Learn More about Clickers & TAGteaching]
In her new book, Reaching the Animal Mind, Karen Pryor provides a detail and compelling retrospective of how animals learn through positive outcomes as well as uses for clicker training and many avant-garde uses that even some seasoned animal trainers might be unfamiliar with.
A section on DO-IT-YOURSELF suggests teaching your cat to hi-five and your gymnastics coach to TAG you for better form and performance. Basically T.A.G [teaching with acoustic guidance] is teaching humans, adults and children alike with a “marker” whether it be a clicker, a touch, or a phrase [ not completely dissimilar to pneumonic device-but not really the same either.
Just check out this video of
Teaching Skipping with TAGteach
