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TAGteach in Ireland: First case studies wow conference participants
TAGteach founder Theresa McKeon and Karen Pryor traveled to Dublin, Ireland, in June to participate in the conference Opening Doors to Learning, hosted by the Festina Lente Foundation. Festina Lente (”make haste slowly”) provides training in employable skills in equestrianism and horticulture for people throughout Ireland whose needs are not met through mainstream services.
A beautifully restored antique walled garden and an up-to-the-minute riding school and stables provide working environments and learning opportunities for the Festina Lente Foundation’s clients, students, and volunteers.
The conference introduced TAGteaching and reinforcement-based teaching concepts to the equestrian community in Ireland. More than eighty people attended the two-day meeting, including riding instructors, horse breeders, trainers, coaches, equestrian sports competitors, special education professionals, and members of the press. A wide range of well-known speakers from the equestrian, business, and sports worlds in Ireland addressed topics related to learning and teaching, emphasizing and encouraging the acceptance of new ideas.
Theresa McKeon and Karen Pryor spoke to the conference on TAGteach. Pryor also discussed why some people may resist change, and ways to negotiate transitions and develop acceptance.
TAGteach case studies at Festina Lente
Festina Lente Director Jill Carey and two other senior staff members were certified as TAGteach instructors after attending a TAGteach International seminar in Boston, MA, last October. The staff presented four case studies of TAGteach applications and interventions carried out at Festina Lente in 2004-2005. Each presentation included “before and after” video clips, a description of the TAGteach methods used, data related to the study, and discussion.
The case studies
I. Teaching young children to ride
Clodagh Carey, Director of the Festina Lente Riding School and Foundation Director Jill Carey’s sister, presented a TAG-based study of four boys, ages 5.5 to 7, who were taught to ride through TAGteaching. The children learned the basics of marking (tagging) an action as it is happening, through TAGteach games in the classroom. Then they began lessons in riding, each on a pony being led by an assistant. None of the children had previous riding experience.
The goals were:
- Sit well-balanced and secure at the walk and trot.
- Hold the reins correctly so that you are gently “in contact” with the horse at all times.
- Learn the rising trot (what in the US we call posting: rising from the saddle in time with the horse’s gait to avoid bouncing uncomfortably).
- Understand how to signal the horse to stop and go and use these cues aptly.
- Steer the horse easily in any direction without being led.
In ten one-hour lessons, all the boys were riding safely, comfortably, and correctly at the walk and trot, all could start and stop the horse, all could post at the trot, and two of them were off the leadline and able to control their ponies entirely by themselves. According to several experienced riding teachers in the room, for such young children the level of achievement and speed of acquisition was remarkable.
II. Improving riding skills in an adult with autism
Festina Lente riding coach Colm Nolan presented the case of an adult male client diagnosed with autism who had learned to ride but flailed both legs in all directions, trying to kick the horse, instead of gently squeezing the horse to go forward. The difficulty, Nolan suggested, appeared to be that he could not process verbal instruction while trying to accomplish a physical action at the same time. Introducing TAG points for leg position produced very quick results. The client was able to ride normally, signaling the horse gently and keeping his legs in correct position, and the improvement was permanent. The “after” video showed a beaming rider and a much-relieved horse. [photo from Nolan’s ppt in KP’s computer]
III. Coping with an aggressive horse
One of the riding school horses had developed intimidating behavior toward people entering his stall, including laying the ears back, threatening to bite, and, more dangerously, turning the hindquarters toward the person and threatening to kick.
While an experienced horseman might prevent this kind of behavior in its earliest stages, a timid person can accidentally reinforce even small aggressive actions by withdrawing or avoidance, so that such behavior rapidly escalates. Many people in the Festina Lente facility are likely to be novices, including new clients, pupils in the riding school, and a summer volunteer corps of children, ages 10-14, who tend to the daily chores of the stables.
Training all personnel, students, and clients to manage horses skillfully is certainly an ongoing goal but meanwhile changing the behavior of the horse seemed a desirable solution. Staff member Helen Keogh successfully used the tagger and food treats to retrain the horse to stand quietly facing any entering person and to permit haltering and grooming without aggression, even if the person was hesitant. The intervention was successful and a program of reinforcing good behavior is ongoing.
IV. Improving jumping skills in an advanced rider
Riding coach Jim Mernin presented the case of a normal and experienced rider in her teens who tended to lose her balance going over jumps (sometimes referred to as “falling behind”). TAG techniques were used to improve her basic riding position, giving her better balance over fences. Video clips demonstrated the initial problem, the series of TAG points that were selected to restructure her position, and the end results: smooth landings for horse and rider both. The details of the TAG points appeared to be very clear to the riding instructors at the conference, and Karen Pryor reported that this case study elicited perhaps the largest audience reaction in terms of gasps and comments.
Coach Jim Mernin summed up some of the less-evident but equally important advantages of the TAG-based intervention:
- The method immediately established the same expectations between coach and rider.
- The rider received positive feedback (instead of correction).
- The coach used much less language (the process reduced the need for verbal discussion, explanation, reminders, reproaches, etc.)
- The process focused on one task at a time; therefore:
- Both participants had “more time to think” between trials.
- The coach had “quality time” to observe the student’s performance.
After the conference: Tagging at Festina Lente
The American guests also visited the riding school at Festina Lente for a day of practical teaching and demonstration for the staff and volunteers. Theresa McKeon observed TAGteaching by several riding coaches and followed up with discussion and exploration of additional applications of TAG methodology to teaching riding. Reprinted with Permission - Visit: http://www.tagteach.com/ for upcoming events and highlights
