Research that served as background to the study reported in EC 604 974 is described, specifically research on use of the system of least prompts and on the rapidity with which various strategies produce skill acquisition. Unresolved issues concerning use of the system of least prompts with small groups are also discussed. (JDD)

Comparison of two strategies for reducing drooling in two adults with moderate mental retardation found both the use of brief cues and the use of flexible cues equally effective for Subject 1 but the use of flexible cues more reliably effective with Subject 2. Neither subject achieved independent skill without the use of cues. (DB)

This investigation examined whether auditory prompting tapes could influence performance fluency in three mentally retarded young people. The musical tapes with embedded, interspersed performance cues successfully increased the participants' vocational task fluency and decreased stereotypic behavior in one participant. (Author/DB)

Effects of time on notetaking and immediate retention, the relative effectiveness of spoken and written cues, and cuing schedules were studied with 160 students. Retention from lecture portions with more or fewer notes was similar, written-cued statements were better retained, and cuing schedules had subtle effects. (SLD)

This study, involving four severely handicapped adults in a community residence, compared two interventions for improving quality of household cleaning. A graduated prompting system showed moderate improvements in three subjects, whereas a self-management package (including sequential picture cues, self-monitoring, feedback, and public posting of…

Students with mild-to-moderate mental retardation (N=3) were taught four independent tasks (making a bagged lunch, playing a matching game, ordering food, and social conversation) in order to analyze the effects of matching the prompting procedure used in training to the specific behavior chain to be taught. Discusses results of prompting methods.…

The efficacy of teaching a 6-year-old with autism to make successful transitions in daily routines in three different school settings through the use of a photographic cue package was examined. Results indicated that providing advance notice of an activity change using combined verbal and photographic cues helped reduce the child's tantrums while…

A study found no differences in the effectiveness of single- and multiple-work auditory prompts in teaching five adolescents with moderate mental retardation to transition through a chain of vocational tasks into work settings. Self-operated auditory prompts were effective for teaching workers to manage their own task change behavior. (Author/CR)

The escape-maintained destructive behavior of an 8-year-old girl with mental retardation persisted during hygiene routines with directive prompting, differential reinforcement for compliance, and extinction as treatment. Using nondirective prompting and noncontingent reinforcement, destructive behavior was reduced to near-zero levels during the…

This study compared three models of adult prompting to promote communication acts of three toddlers. The responsive interaction model avoids the use of explicit prompts, whereas the milieu and didactic approaches encourage explicit prompts. Higher rates of intentional communication were found for the explicit prompt condition, although the minimal…

This study examined the effectiveness of self-operated auditory prompts when used to decrease the off-task and aberrant behaviors of two 19-year-old students with moderate mental retardation. Previous findings were replicated to demonstrate that stimulus control can be achieved through self-operated auditory prompts in school and community…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a treatment package that included video technology (e.g., video modeling and video prompting) to teach 3 self-help skills (cleaning sunglasses, putting on a wrist watch, and zipping a jacket) to 3 elementary students with mental disabilities. Results indicate the treatment package was effective. (Contains…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a prompt versus no prompt condition in combination with a peer-directed intervention package that targeted children with low language or behavior problems. The current study (a) tested two conditions of a multi-component intervention package to increase social interaction between peers, and…

The potential impact of implicit learning on education has been repeatedly stressed, though little research has examined this connection directly. The current paper describes two experiments that, inspired by artificial grammar learning experiments, examine the utility of implicit learning as a method for teaching atomic bonding rules to 11-12…

The basic unit of school based mathematics teaching is the lesson. This article is a contribution to understanding teacher actions that facilitate successful lessons, defined as those that engage all students, especially those who may sometimes feel alienated from mathematics and schooling, in productive and successful mathematical thinking and…