The Effects of Various Array Sizes on the Skill Acquisition of Auditory-Visual Conditional Discriminations
Faculty Advisor Name
Sara Snyder
Department
Department of Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities
Description
Common skills frequently taught to young learners in early childhood often include simple and conditional discriminations of stimuli. Research supporting the teaching of skills using AVCDs is extensive (Grow et al., 2011; Grow & LeBlanc, 2013; Wechsung et al., 2023; Wong et al., 2020); however, little research has examined the best size of an array to present when teaching new skills that will promote the quickest and most effective skill acquisition. The current study evaluated the best instructional array size to present when teaching AVCDs to a young learner with IDD. The following research questions guided this examination: When teaching a new skill using AVCDs, what is the best array size to present to a learner with IDD to promote the quickest skill acquisition? In a follow up probe occurring after the discontinuation of instruction, which array size will have a greater effect on the maintenance of the skill learned by an individual with IDD? The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different array sizes presented to a learner when teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations. An alternating treatments design was used to determine which array size led to the quickest and longest maintained skill acquisition. The researcher tested one participant’s ability to identify a shape from arrays of four, six, and nine. During baseline, the researcher observed low levels of responding in each array indicating this was not a skill the learner had in their repertoire. The researcher then taught shape identification by presenting each target shape in a different sized array using massed trials. Results indicated that each array size promoted similar skill acquisition and maintenance when identifying shapes, therefore there were no significant changes in learning when presenting the stimuli in different sized arrays. Once the learner displayed mastery with identifying shapes using massed trials, the researcher tested shape identification using dispersed trials in an array of nine. The results indicated the circle was the only shape that was consistently identified correctly when presented in an array with the other target shapes.
The Effects of Various Array Sizes on the Skill Acquisition of Auditory-Visual Conditional Discriminations
Common skills frequently taught to young learners in early childhood often include simple and conditional discriminations of stimuli. Research supporting the teaching of skills using AVCDs is extensive (Grow et al., 2011; Grow & LeBlanc, 2013; Wechsung et al., 2023; Wong et al., 2020); however, little research has examined the best size of an array to present when teaching new skills that will promote the quickest and most effective skill acquisition. The current study evaluated the best instructional array size to present when teaching AVCDs to a young learner with IDD. The following research questions guided this examination: When teaching a new skill using AVCDs, what is the best array size to present to a learner with IDD to promote the quickest skill acquisition? In a follow up probe occurring after the discontinuation of instruction, which array size will have a greater effect on the maintenance of the skill learned by an individual with IDD? The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different array sizes presented to a learner when teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations. An alternating treatments design was used to determine which array size led to the quickest and longest maintained skill acquisition. The researcher tested one participant’s ability to identify a shape from arrays of four, six, and nine. During baseline, the researcher observed low levels of responding in each array indicating this was not a skill the learner had in their repertoire. The researcher then taught shape identification by presenting each target shape in a different sized array using massed trials. Results indicated that each array size promoted similar skill acquisition and maintenance when identifying shapes, therefore there were no significant changes in learning when presenting the stimuli in different sized arrays. Once the learner displayed mastery with identifying shapes using massed trials, the researcher tested shape identification using dispersed trials in an array of nine. The results indicated the circle was the only shape that was consistently identified correctly when presented in an array with the other target shapes.
