Using PowerPoint 2016 to Create Individualized Matching to Sample Sessions
PowerPoint 2016 alone can run auto-advancing matching-to-sample trials for kids with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cummings et al. (2019) wrote a how-to guide. They show you, slide by slide, how to build matching-to-sample trials inside PowerPoint 2016.
The guide is for kids with autism or intellectual disability. You add pictures, sounds, and automatic feedback. No extra software is needed.
What they found
This is a methods paper, not an experiment. The authors give the file steps, not outcome data.
They simply prove it can be done: one free Office file can run a full MTS session.
How this fits with other research
Walker et al. (2021) did the same trick for college students. They also used PowerPoint to shape answers and give instant feedback. The idea copies over from kids to adults.
Morris et al. (2018) and Deochand (2017) offer Excel hacks instead. They automate data sheets and phase-change lines. Together these papers build a toolkit: PowerPoint teaches, Excel tracks.
LeBlanc et al. (2020) tested an enhanced data sheet for live matching trials. They showed better staff accuracy with paper cues. Cummings skips paper and bakes the cues right into the slide. The two do not clash; one boosts therapist skill, the other cuts prep time.
Why it matters
You can build a whole discrimination program tonight with software you already own. Drop in the child’s favorite items, set the mastery rule, and let the slideshow run. No internet, no subscription, no printing. Try it during your next table session and watch trials click forward on their own.
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Open PowerPoint, insert three pictures, add a click-to-reveal correct answer, and run five pilot trials with your learner.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Discrete-trial-training procedures, particularly matching to sample (MTS), are often used to teach children with autism and/or intellectual disabilities. An example is touching a picture that corresponds to a spoken word. When conducted in a “tabletop” manner, the teacher must arrange several pictures on a table, provide the spoken word, and present response consequences, all while maintaining procedural integrity and collecting data. Using computer programs can greatly reduce the burden on practitioners, but many do not have the access, funding, or time to use complex and expensive software. This report serves as a guide to making MTS tasks that have many of the benefits of computerization using Microsoft® PowerPoint™ 2016, a program that many practitioners have basic knowledge of, and access to. Past papers have described the use of PowerPoint™ for whole classroom instruction. This report expands the use of PowerPoint™ to present individualized instruction that detects child responses and presents consequences based on those responses.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s40617-018-0223-2