Think Teaching Stuff is Tough? Start With These 2 Game-Changing Steps
The toughest thing about teaching a new concept to a learner is often figuring out where to start.
And the real trick to making it all work consists of a few steps. Today I’m going to talk about the first two. Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Start with the most basic/recognizable/typical version of the thing you’re teaching
Here’s the thing about concepts—they feel simple to you because you’ve been living with them forever. What do I mean by concept?
I mean teaching something—basically anything—and getting your learner to conceptualize it. To understand it. I know these terms aren’t very ABA-ish. But, we can’t kid ourselves that we want our learners to get it. So when I say teaching a concept, I mean teaching something (anything) to your learner so they get it.
Like: What is a dog?
You know what a dog is because you’ve encountered thousands of them. Big dogs, small dogs, floppy-eared dogs, pointy-eared dogs, even those hairless dogs that look like they belong in a sci-fi movie. But for someone learning the concept of “dog” for the first time, all those variations can be confusing. What actually makes a dog…a dog?
To teach the concept of “dog,” you start with the most basic, typical example you can find. Picture a Labrador Retriever or a Golden Retriever—your classic, poster-child dog. Four legs, furry, floppy ears, a wagging tail. The kind of dog anyone would look at and immediately say, “Yep, that’s a dog.” You might even start with a picture of their dog. That’s your starting point: a clean, clear, unmistakable example.
But here’s the key: don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t use a blurry photo of a dog running in the background of a park. Don’t throw in a Dalmatian with spots that might make the learner think “dog” means “black and white.” Start simple, clear, and obvious. You’re laying the foundation for everything else.
Step 2: Create Contrast
Once you’ve got your simple, basic, recognizable, typical picture of a dog, you need to make it stand out by showing what a dog isn’t. Enter contrast.
Let’s say you’ve got that perfect Labrador picture. Now you build an “array,” which is just a fancy way of saying, “a group of pictures to choose from.” But here’s the rule: the other pictures shouldn’t look even remotely like a dog. Throw in a shark. A lizard. A basketball. The point is to make the contrast so obvious that the learner can’t possibly mistake the dog for anything else.
Why is this important? Because concepts don’t exist in isolation. To understand what a dog is, the learner needs to know what it isn’t. If you fill your array with other animals that look dog-like—like wolves, foxes, or even cats—you risk confusing the learner. At this stage, clarity is king. So keep it simple. A dog against a basketball? A dog against a shark? No contest.
More Examples of Simplicity and Contrast
Let’s try street safety. Teaching a child what a “street” is might seem straightforward, but again, you need to start with what’s familiar. Use a clear photo of the street outside their house—something they’ve seen a hundred times. That’s your “street.” Then, in the array, include non-streets: buildings, cars, playgrounds. Make sure nothing else looks like the street. The contrast makes the street pop, helping the learner lock in the concept.
Or take the concept of “more” versus “less.” My wife recently taught our four year old to receptively ID “more” and “less” using piles of Legos. But, she didn’t start with close numbers like seven versus five versus four. Instead, she created a big, obvious pile of Legos and several tiny ones. “Which is more? Which is less?” In no time at all, he could answer without hesitation. Why? Because the contrast between the stimuli was so stark, it helped the concept “stick out”. And that’s the goal.
When to Introduce Complexity
Starting simple is just the beginning. Once your learner has nailed the basics, you can start to introduce “far-out examples.” For “dog,” this might mean showing a Chihuahua, a Poodle, or even a hairless dog. For “street,” it might mean showing a dirt road or a busy highway. For my kiddo learning “more” or “less”, it might mean making the “big” pile of Legos closer in size to the other ones. These less typical examples help the learner generalize the concept beyond the most obvious cases.
But don’t rush into those far-out examples.
Check out this EPIC journal article by Johnson and Bulla!
Martin Myers is a BCBA with a passion for helping improve the field of ABA. He is the creator of BxMastery, with over 4,000 goal ideas, sequenced, to inspire your programming. With 10+ years of experience in the field, he’s dedicated to empowering others and fostering positive change through effective leadership and communication. Connect with Martin on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more insights and updates.