Previous research has demonstrated that the conditional-only method (starting with a multiple-stimulus array) is more efficient than the simple-conditional method (progressive incorporation of more stimuli into the array) for teaching receptive labeling to children with autism spectrum disorders (Grow, Carr, Kodak, Jostad, & Kisamore, 2011).…

This investigation evaluated the use of conditional discrimination (CD) instruction and multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) to establish derived relational responding in accordance with hierarchical frames with school aged children. The first experiment used a multiple probe design to evaluate the effectiveness of MEI to teach participants to…

Learning styles in capuchin monkeys were assessed with a computerized reversal-learning task called the mediational paradigm. First, monkeys were trained to respond with 90% accuracy on a two-choice discrimination (A+B-). Then the authors examined differences in performance on three different types of reversal trials (A-B+, A-C+, B+C-), each of…

The steps involved in teaching multiple discrimination to disabled students are listed for ecological, performance, functional, and stimulus analyses. Additional considerations, including stimulus modification and design of the instructional sequence (successive or cumulative approaches), are reviewed. (CL)

Errorless learning refers to a variety of discrimination learning techniques that eliminate or minimize responding to incorrect choices. This article describes experimental roots of errorless learning and applied errorless strategies. Specifically, previous research on stimulus fading, stimulus shaping, response prevention, delayed prompting,…

Efficiency was compared between three procedures for sequencing examples with minimal stimulus variation between adjacent positive and negative examples: dynamic, static, and static with maximal differences between pairs. For young children, increasing relevant feature saliency and altering a single stimulus to generate examples reduced training…

Four studies compared static versus dynamic presentations of examples and nonexaples of the concepts "diagonal" and "conves," with nonhandicapped preschoolers, mildly handicapped primary students, and severely handicapped adults. Ss taught with a dynamic presentation learned the discrimination in significantly fewer trials, with performance either…

Five preschool children at risk for mental retardation were taught to choose an odd stimulus which varied in one important dimension (e.g., form, color, or size) from other stimuli in a set. Oddity responding was shown to transfer across stimulus types, and learning was maintained for a minimum of six weeks. (Author/JW)

A stimulus equivalence procedure for the acquisition of English and Spanish words was evaluated with two adolescents having head injuries. Following training on one task, subjects attained and maintained high scores on all matching-to-sample tasks. Results suggest the procedure is effective for teaching foreign language skills to head-injured…

Two time-delay conditions for teaching complex visual discriminations to 14 normal preschoolers, 12 with mild mental retardation, and 11 with moderate mental retardation were compared. Results indicated that for all populations and stimuli, time delay of multiple dynamic distinctive-feature prompts produced learning, while time delay of the single…

Sixteen individuals (ages 7-18) with moderate or severe mental retardation were taught to identify 2 comparative discriminations by a static or dynamic presentation procedure. No differences in percentage of unprompted correct responses were found between the two procedures in training, generalization, or maintenance. (Author/JDD)

Teachers and teacher educators seem to be little aware of some major concepts about instruction that provide important insights into the central requirements for learning. A common misconception is that motivation has to do with wanting or desiring. It is instead attention to stimuli that is influenced by two powerful agents--(1) suspense,…