Presenting Chained and Discrete Tasks as Non-Targeted Information When Teaching Discrete Academic Skills through Small Group Instruction

Abstract

Special education teachers often search for effective strategies to teach a variety of skills to students with moderate to severe disabilities through small group instruction. The investigators examined the acquisition of academic skills as well as chained and discrete tasks presented as nontargeted information by a small group of students with moderate to severe disabilities. The investigators assessed each student's acquisition of targeted stimuli, acquisition of discrete and chained nontargeted information presented through instructive feedback, and observational learning of targeted tasks and discrete and chained nontargeted information presented to other students in the group and found that the students each learned their targeted tasks as well as much of the nontargeted information.