Modelling Up

This is an approach to guide your teaching and help your learner understand the meaning of buttons. Modelling up is also a great way to encourage multi-button presses.

So what’s Modelling Up about?

‘Modelling Up’ is about keeping in mind what your learner understands and not rushing too far ahead of them.

Modelling up means speaking and pressing buttons at a level that is one step more complicated than the button communication your learner is currently capable of. You’re showing them that the words can be used in a more complex way, but not so much so that they can’t follow along.

Think about a baby. The baby doesn’t know the word “bottle.” Maybe they can make a “ba” sound but it’s not a word yet. So you say “Bottle!” and hold up the bottle. That’s modeling a step up. Once the baby can say “Bottle” (or more likely “ba ba” but it’s clear that it means something this time) you might say “Want Bottle?” You wouldn’t say “Oh, Franklin are you feeling a bit peckish? I have your bottle here for you if you would like to partake.” Or you might say that, but not with an expectation that Franklin would understand most or any of it.

In the beginning learners don’t understand what the buttons do or what the sounds on the buttons mean. Even if it’s a voice they recognize, saying a word they know, they still don’t necessarily make the leap that the noise coming from the speaker means the same as a specific person saying a familiar word. They are communicating at zero button words. So modelling one word at a time is a step up.

We want to make sure you took that point in, because it’s crucial.

Even if you record a button in a voice your learner will recognize, saying a word they know, they still won’t know that the noise coming from the speaker means the same as a specific person saying a familiar word until you teach them.

Your learner almost certainly understands more spoken words than you’ll ever have buttons for but it’s still good to keep this idea in mind when speaking to your learner verbally as well. Trying to confine our speech as much as possible to the words our learners have access to can really help us understand the limitations they’re operating under. We’re asking them to communicate in a second language in which they will only ever have a handful of words available.

Once your learner is making it clear that they do understand some of the words on the board either by pressing themselves or by responding appropriately when YOU press (for example if you press Outside they go to the door) then you can start combining words into combinations like “Play Outside.” Or if an activity is over you might go from simply modeling “All Done” to pressing “Outside All Done” instead.

What’s the goal of modelling up?

We’ve described Modeling Up as a sort of linear progression. But this isn’t a goal, or an expectation. You shouldn’t assume that once you model two words together that eventually your learner will too. They might certainly! But it probably won’t be with all words all the time, and that’s OK. Modeling Up is about making sure your learner can follow what you’re saying, not about setting goals.

We do this to try and make our modelling as clear as possible. If your learner isn't using the buttons consistently yet, is still not sure how they work or what the words on them mean, then combining two words is probably going to be extra confusing. Right now they need to understand that each button represents a certain word, and that when it’s pressed, the thing related to that word happens each time - anything more is running before they can walk.

Remember, this is about teaching your learner to understand, and then communicate with, words on buttons. Focused simplicity in the beginning makes it easier for them to work out what is happening.

So, if your learner doesn’t understand what buttons do or that each one has a different meaning, then model one word at a time. When they’re understanding and pressing one word, model two words together, and so on. You’re going to use more complex sentences in between and that’s fine, but try to think about that rule of thumb when you can, especially when actually pressing the buttons.

Here’s an example:

Let’s take the word “Outside” as an example, which we’re going to use for the concept of ‘anywhere not in the house’.

When your learner goes outside to play you press “Outside.”

When you go outside you press “Outside.”

Then when she’s pressing outside and understands it you’d say two word phrases like -

“play outside” “ball outside” “Ginger outside”

Then when your learner is starting to combine two words -

“Play ball outside” “Ginger Mom play outside” “Ginger fetch outside.”

Then once your learner is using two and three words together, start using more complex sentences like -

“Ginger play ball outside, happy Ginger” “Mum outside eat, Ginger play ball.”

Should I model up verbally?

The best way to show your learner what the buttons do is to model as much as you can, right before the activity and throughout, but verbal modelling is important as we can use buttons words when we’re not with the buttons or when going to them is going to delay an activity and make our learner feel frustrated.

It’s fine to just model verbally in times when stopping at the buttons would make them a barrier to fun.

Sometimes you’re completely away from the buttons, but you should still be talking to your learner using button words as much as you can.

Just like with baby Franklin, it’s really helpful to keep in mind the words and concepts your learner knows and try to keep your language consistent and simple.

Are you saying I have to stop speaking in sentences around my pet?

No! Modelling Up is an approach that should help your learner more easily pick up on how button communication works. Using it when you can is really helpful in the beginning. It’s also a useful thing for teachers of experienced learners to do when they’re introducing new words their learner isn’t sure of. Model that word more simply than you might do normally to make sure you are as clear as possible about the new word’s meaning and minimise confusion.

It’s definitely not practical to model up all the time, and as any dog owner who has to spell out W.A.L.K. will tell you, animals pick up language from your general speech all the time. Once you’re confident that your learner understands a word or phrase you don’t need to worry so much about this hierarchy and you can use phrases like “Mom Outside Now, Ginger Home Now, Mom Home Later,” even though that’s a much more complicated sequence than your learner is likely to ever use.

Modelling up helps, but the most important thing is using words consistently.

Try to speak to your learner as much as possible using the words that you have on buttons or hope to introduce, simply, in ways that are consistent with the meaning - so if “treat” means ‘training treats we use to reward good behaviour’ then don’t call a chew “treat” or say “Here you go, this is your treat” when you give them their regular food.

A reminder on broad modelling

Don’t forget to model broadly and creatively, using button words and pressing buttons for any applicable situation your learner experiences or observes. It will help your learner understand the meaning of the word you’re modelling if they hear it applied in lots of contexts they understand. Pressing the buttons at all those times helps your learner see what buttons can do. Use your words when talking about yourself, when out of the house, and apply them to other animals and humans.

Think about the words you have on the board and what the concept behind that word is.

Let’s go back to our “outside” example.

“Outside” isn’t just when your learner is actually let outside, it’s the whole time you’re there - so keep saying “outside” while you’re there. It’s when you play in the garden “outside play”, or go for a walk “outside walk”, it’s when you go outside “Mum outside”, when you look out of the window, see a bird “bird outside” etc etc.

Takeaway points

If your learner doesn’t understand what the buttons do or isn’t pressing them, mostly model single words. Once they are pressing one word at a time, model two, and so on.

Trying to verbally model up when you can will be helpful. You won’t always speak to your learner in very simplified language, but simplifying your language when you can will make the meanings of the words you use clearer.