Assessing learning style through game

No clicker, just a sturdy glass and treats.

It may seem like a simple game. Yes, the set up is very simple: a treat is placed under a sturdy glass on a floor without rugs. The glass has to move without obstacles.

My aim with this game was to find out about Kavat’s paw preference. What was his preference paw, left or right?

However, the memories I keep from this game are all the subtle information Kavat shared with me about his learning style. In any learning environment his first behaviours are always to observe and assess, looking for known set up and objects that give him clues about what behaviour we will work on. In this exercise, however, there is nothing familiar to him so he hesitates rather than just trying any behaviour and see if he choose the right one.

Data collection from the video tells me what behaviours to look out for in future learning/ teaching sessions, they are all signs of Kavat’s frustration and anxiety. It is crucial for his learning that I learn to recognise them and, if they appear, I also need to support his learning by offering some sort of comfort.

• walking away from his learning environment ;
• sitting ;
• approaching me ;
• looking at me for information.
• etc.
• etc
• etc.

Kavat was 4 years old at the time we made this video and we had mostly clicker trained behaviours through microshaping. In microshaping the learning environment, set up, reinforcer and criteria are planned in great detail, to ensure the dog is confident and successful in its learning. Clicker training always strives for error less learning.

In this game my aim was not to teach but to observe spontaneous choice of paw: I placed a treat under a sturdy glass, thinking that would initiate a spontaneous paw touch to get the treat. A few repetitions would show his paw preference. When he touches the glass with a paw, the glass is lifted and he gets the treat. A new treat is placed under the glass to initiate another paw touch.

But Kavat apparently shows signs of anxiety and frustation. Why is that? Re-watching the video I understand he is only being true to his learning history, which tells him to do nothing unless cued, either visually or verbally. But nothing is directly cued, the only indirect cue he gets is when I draw his attention to the glass by moving it. He then hesitates but tries a gentle paw scratch and gets the treat. Nevertheless he is confused, presumably because there was no click, he is perhaps thinking the paw touch was not correct so better not repeat it..?