Behavioral Rehearsal

Description of the Strategy

Behavioral rehearsal evolves from social learning theory, which began to gain professional attention in the 1940s and 1950s. Other terms used in connection with this procedure include social modeling theory and observational learning. Observational learning involves some behavioral display by a model, followed by a reproduction of this behavior by the observer under controlled conditions. Behavioral rehearsal is the process of reproducing the modeled behavior according to explicit and specific guidelines. The underlying principle is that students can effectively acquire novel behaviors through observation, especially if they have the opportunity to try out the target behavior. The reproduction may be covert (i.e., imagined) or overt (i.e., verbal and or physical). With cognitive or covert enactments, students imagine themselves performing ...