In this paper, we describe our learning progressions approach to early algebra research that involves the coordination of a curricular framework, an instructional sequence, written assessments, and levels of sophistication describing the development of students' thinking. We focus in particular on what we have learning through this approach about…

Mathematics and numeracy are valuable cognitive learning areas that need to be addressed during the early childhood years. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an intervention strategy comprised of creating opportunities, prompting, providing consequences, and prompt fading when teaching preschool children with…

This study used a multiple probe across participants' research design to evaluate the effects of instruction on the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences (LSCs) by three young children with autism spectrum disorder and limited speech. All three children (ages 3-5 years) reached criterion for identifying the LSCs targeted during instruction,…

In this article, the authors focus on issues of instruction in classrooms. Initially, a brief definitional and historic section is presented. This is followed by a discussion of four assumptions about the current state of affairs: (a) evidence-based practices should be identified and used, (b) children's phase of performance should dictate…

Significant number of children in the United States have difficulty learning basic reading skills. The majority of children referred to school psychologists are referred for reading concerns. Unfortunately, the gap between good and poor readers widens over time as more advanced reading skills are built upon basic reading skills. Children with…

For children with autism, acquiring and generalizing new skills can be particularly difficult and may be affected by child characteristics. Forty-one preschool children with autism were recruited from an existing early intervention program and then randomized to one of two treatments, a targeted intervention for symbolic play skills or one for…

This study, involving two three-year-olds with mild mental retardation, found that milieu language intervention can directly enhance the acquisition and generative use of lexical and semantic forms used for varied pragmatic functions and that adult systematic commenting and child spontaneous imitation may interact to facilitate the teaching…

Opportunities for teaching a young child with autism to request more play were created at multiple points on the playground by momentarily interrupting the child's ongoing play using the behavior chain interruption strategy. The intervention resulted in high rates of correct requesting which were maintained with a new teacher and generalized to a…

This article discusses knowledge gaps that exist in the instruction of preschoolers with disabilities, in terms of the curriculum content, procedures used to individualize instruction, instructional procedures designed to ensure acquisition, and strategies used to ensure skill use or generalization. Barriers to generating such knowledge and…

Explores the applied research in which object-related play skills of preschool children with developmental concerns are enhanced through intervention strategies. Guidelines for teaching toy play skills are offered as are strategies to promote generalization and maintenance of those skills. (DB)

This study examined the feasibility of teaching phonemic manipulation skills (auditory rhyming, blending, or segmenting) to preschool children with disabilities. Forty-seven children, 4-6 years old, enrolled in a special education preschool, were randomly assigned to receive training in one of three categories of phonemic manipulation tasks…

Effects of videotaped self-modeling on acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of the contractible copula "is" with preschool children with delayed language were assessed. All three participating students made and maintained clear gains in acquiring the target behavior and applying it in normal conversational usage. (Author/PB)

Five children (27 to 47 months old) with mild to borderline levels of mental retardation were given a milieu language intervention program of 3 or 4 small group training sessions weekly. Results indicated the training had a clear facilitative effect on the acquisition and generalized use of common nouns and verbs by four of the subjects.…

This document presents the final report of a 4-year project (ending in 1991) which conducted six studies of the impact of various peer-mediated interventions on the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of social interaction skills of preschoolers with severe disabilities. The report covers project objectives, the project's theoretical…

Discrete trial training (DTT) is a well-established intervention for teaching skills to children with autism; however, few published guidelines are available for determining whether a child's rate of learning a particular skill is satisfactory and, if not, what to do. We assert that progress within 8-10 teaching sessions usually is evidence of…