What type of environment does Natural Environment Training (NET) emphasize?

Natural Environment Training (NET) emphasizes natural, less structured environments because this approach aligns with the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) that prioritize teaching skills in the settings where they will be used. The goal is to create learning opportunities that occur organically in everyday situations, making the skills more relevant and transferable to real-life contexts.

In these natural settings, individuals are exposed to spontaneous situations that promote the use of newly acquired skills while engaging in meaningful interactions with their environment and the people in it. This context allows learners to practice and generalize their skills across different scenarios and social situations, reinforcing learning in a way that is more relevant and engaging. By using naturalistic approaches, NET fosters more functional and practical learning experiences compared to structured, artificial scenarios, ultimately leading to better retention and application of behaviors.