Included:

Session 1 & 2

Shaping Part 1 and 2 – Steve Martin 

Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of behaviors toward a goal behavior and is the most common form of positive reinforcement training in the animal field today. This seminar takes a deep dive into the intricacies of various strategies of shaping behavior with a wide variety of animals. Topics covered in the seminars include:

Part 1

  • Shaping overview
  • Reinforcement theory
  • Creating motivation
  • Capturing/Scanning
  • Shaping
  • Extinction/Extinction Burst
  • Cues
  • Bridging stimuli

Part 2

  • Prompt shaping
  • Fading prompts
  • Adding the cue
  • Chaining
  • Generalization training
  • Reinforcement strategies
  • Shaping challenges

Session 3

NEI TEC in Conversation: Steve Martin, Chris Jenkins, and Marty MacPhee

 A panel discussion of NEI TEC faculty members gather to have a conversation about their thoughts on the presentations and questions from the previous sessions. The panelists share their final thoughts and answer attendee questions.