Small-Group Massed-Trial and Individually-Distributed-Trial Instruction With Preschoolers

Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of using a small-group-massed-trial instructional format to an individually administered distributed-trial format in teaching preschool children with and without disabilities to name pictures. The trainer identified three pairs of pictures for each of 8 participants (37-59 months). Students learned the first pair in a small-group instructional arrangement with a massed-trial format and the second pair individually with a distributed-trial format. The third pair served as a no-instruction control set. Training included a constant time delay procedure with both formats, and an adapted alternating treatments design evaluated the effects. All children acquired the naming behaviors regardless of the instructional format; however, for 6 of the 8 children, distributed instruction was slightly more efficient. The procedures resulted in errorless learning for 3 children, and the embedded instruction resulted in fewer errors and lower error percentages for 3 of the 5 remaining children. These findings are discussed in terms of designing effective and efficient instructional programs in mainstreamed contexts.