Abstract
Many educators are reluctant to use scripted instruction, reporting that scripts are mechanical in nature and only appropriate for low-level skills. This study sought to investigate the impact of a supplemental program’s script on the rate of on-task and off-task instructional opportunities offered by the instructor for students to practice the specific skills targeted in lesson exercises. Using a multiple-baseline across-participants design, four paraeducators delivered daily instruction, first in a nonscripted version of an explicit supplemental program and then in the scripted version of the same program, to 12 first-grade students identified at risk for reading failure. Upon introduction of the script, the rate of on-task instructional opportunities for student practice was substantially higher, and the rate of off-task instructional opportunities diminished. Both paraeducators and student participants preferred the scripted instruction.
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