Peer-mediated instructional strategies (e.g., peer tutoring) have been effective at teaching academic responses in previous research. This study extended the literature by programming for inference-making, or derived relations. Across two experiments, researchers investigated the use of peer tutoring and inference-making to teach…

This study examined the effects of an experimentally derived, peer-delivered reading intervention on the oral reading fluency of a first-grade student who had been referred for poor reading fluency. Same-grade peers were trained to lead the target student through a structured intervention protocol based on the results of a brief experimental…

This study examined the effects of scripted peer-tutoring reading activities, with and without programmed common play-related stimuli, on social interactions between a kindergartner with autism spectrum disorder and his typically developing peer-tutoring partners during free play. A withdrawal design with multiple baselines across peers showed no…

Hundreds of accidental injuries and deaths to children occur annually in the United States as a result of firearm play. Behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training have been found to be effective in teaching children the skills to use if they find a firearm, but training requires substantial time and effort. The current study examined…

A peer training strategy featuring direct prompting and modeling and involving 16 nonautistic peers (five-eight years old) resulted in immediate and substantial increases in peer trainers' interactions with their four autistic tutees. All four autistic Ss substantially increased their responsiveness to the peer trainers. (CL)

Effects of a peer-mediated versus an antecedent prompt condition on the rate of independent movement and appropriate behavior of five handicapped preschool children during three classroom transition periods were evaluated. Results indicated that the antecedent prompt condition was superior. (Author/DB)

Two autistic children (8 and 5 years old) were paired with normal peers who, after pretraining sessions, taught community skills to the autistic children. Results demonstrated that no identified skills were acquired during baseline and modeling conditions. However, direct instruction of each child by a peer tutor resulted in learning and…

Three studies involving 128 elementary students indicated that classwide peer tutoring, compared to teacher-mediated procedures, produced more student academic responding and higher weekly scores on spelling, arithmetic, and vocabulary tests. Findings were replicated with manipulations of content taught/tested. (CL)

A study of 211 students during their first- and second-grade school years showed that peer tutoring and teacher instructional procedures were both effective in increasing spelling performance above pretest levels. Peer tutoring produced statistically greater gains relative to the teachers' procedures for both low- and high-achieving groups.…

Home-based peer tutoring was used to teach math skills to 4 girls with deficits in mathematics and histories of abuse or neglect. Girls living in the same home formed tutoring dyads, and each participant served as both the peer tutor and the tutee during the course of the study. At the initiation of the tutoring intervention, an expert tutor…

Comparison of teacher-directed and peer-directed instruction in teaching interview skills to two mentally retarded adult females indicated little or no difference in effectiveness of the two procedures. The peer-directed procedure involved considerably less staff time. Instruction, rehearsal, and feedback were found to be effective strategies,…

A study of three children (ages 11-13) without disabilities who served as peer supports for students with disabilities in general education classrooms found that serving as a peer support had positive academic effects on the students without disabilities. Follow-up probes demonstrated that the positive benefits regarding academic engagement…

Two children (ages 7-8) with autism and eight typical peers participated in a study designed to replicate an earlier finding of successful social-skills intervention for children with autism using peer-implemented pivotal response training (PRT). The results of using multiple peer trainers on generalization of treatment effects were assessed.…

Two moderately retarded adolescents received instruction on peer-training skills to teach a vocational task to classmates; subsequently, one peer trainer taught three peers to complete a complex vocational task. Results indicated that peer training can be an effective instructional procedure, with generalization occurring for both the trainers and…

Analysis of reciprocal peer tutoring combined with group reinforcement contingencies on the arithmetic performance of 12 underachieving fifth-graders indicated that the intervention increased the students' arithmetic performance to a level indistinguishable from their classmates during treatment and 12-week follow-up. Students also increased peer…