Improving spelling performance by imitating a child's errors.

Abstract

Various self-correction procedures have been used to improve spelling performance oflearning handicapped students, but few studies have been concerned with qualitative changes in spelling attempts during intervention. This study focused on both the qualitative and quantitative changes in spelling performance of a learning disabled student whe a contingent imitation and modeling procedure was used. Sufficient number of trials were allowed to assure learning. Results indicated significant improvement in the number of correctly spelled words. On a test for transfer, using orthographically and phonetically similar words, performance was slightly improved over pretest performance on the training list. However, analysis of error quality revealed substantial improvement in ability. Effectiveness of the imitation and modeling procedures was replicated. The data also extended previous work by providing a basis for explaining effectiveness of these procedures for spelling instruction. The usefulness of a problem-solving model of spelling acquisition in learning handicapped students is discussed. However, caution is advised when using this procedure since some students may view contigent imitation and modeling as punishing.