Applied behavior analysis (ABA) focuses on providing socially significant treatments and practices. Recent advancements in ethically-minded research have encouraged practitioners to think beyond the technical skills required for implementing behavior-analytic practices and consider how these practices are delivered. Compassionate care in ABA has…

From immersive simulations to interactive tutorials, Virtual Reality (VR) is transforming the way we learn and practise new skills. Especially for social skills training, a growing number of simulations have been designed in which trainees learn to master difficult communicative situations. One of the factors to which the effectiveness of VR as a…

We introduce the surreal play experience (SPE) as an effective pedagogical method of experiential learning for teaching professional sales. Using a customer's needs assessment as a skill to develop, we describe the method, procedure, and materials needed to implement a surreal play session. We designed three experimental conditions to analyze…

While serious role-play games have been developed for individuals with autism spectrum disorders to learn social interactions and emotions, there is a lack of role-playing games that teach people without autism the necessary communication skills to engage and interact effectively with autistic people. In this research, we present a mobile serious…

Despite clear scientific evidence to support an urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, societal action remains inadequate to meet international climate goals. New approaches in climate change communication are needed to motivate climate action. "World Climate" is an interactive, engaging, and socially rich role-play simulation that…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often find it difficult to communicate using body language and facial expressions to respond appropriately socially. This negatively affects the quality of their everyday social life. Children with ASD can learn to socially interact with virtual three-dimensional (3D) characters in animated games…

Conversational virtual human (VH) agents are increasingly used to support role-play experiential learning. This project examined whether a Virtual Interactive Training Agent (ViTA) system would improve job interviewing skills in individuals with autism and developmental disabilities (N = 32). A linear mixed model was employed to evaluate adjusted…

Conceptual socialization refers to the process second/foreign language learners go through to transform their conceptual system so as "to fit the functional needs of the new language and culture" (Kecskes, 2002, p. 157). Therefore, the present study examined Turkish EFL learners' conceptual socialization by analyzing the similarities and…

Pragmatic competence, or the ability to use language appropriately in a variety of contexts, is a critical skill for communication in a second language (L2). Thus, teaching that focuses on developing students' abilities to communicate effectively in an L2 must also include a focus on developing students' pragmatic competence. This article…

Social interventions during physical education classes can help students increase their appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones. Many educators assume that students develop appropriate social skills as a byproduct of participating in physical education and sport. However, the physical education literature shows that appropriate…

We utilized a cool versus not cool procedure plus role-playing to teach social communication skills to three individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The cool versus not cool procedure plus role-playing consisted of the researcher randomly demonstrating the behavior correctly (cool) two times and the behavior incorrectly (not cool) two…

Using role playing during physical education provides limitless opportunities for intervention and for the demonstration of personal and social qualities. The purpose of this article is to provide easy steps for implementing role playing as a strategy to teach social skills to students in the physical education setting.

Students with autism display challenges acquiring friendships and participating in relationships with typical peers. Social interaction is further impacted in students with low-functioning autism, necessitating consideration of their unique characteristics when designing and implementing interventions. This single-subject study examined the…

This study compared the teaching interaction procedure to social stories implemented in a group setting to teach social skills to three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The researchers taught each participant one social skill with the teaching interaction procedure, one social skill with the social story procedure, and one social…

Children with limited language expression and comprehension abilities are at risk for academic failure, particularly in literacy acquisition. In addition, these children often have poor social outcomes, including difficulty forming friendships, social exclusion, withdrawal, and victimization. The academic and social difficulties that these…