The influence of observations and ratings on implementation of discrete trial instruction
Having staff watch and rate DTI videos can teach them to run trials accurately without a trainer in the room.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Romer et al. (2021) asked staff trainees to watch short videos of discrete-trial instruction.
After each clip, trainees rated how well the teacher ran the trial.
No coach stood in the room; the video and rating sheet did the teaching.
What they found
The trainees soon ran DTI with near-perfect accuracy.
When new skills appeared, they kept the same high quality.
The simple watch-and-score routine taught them to teach.
How this fits with other research
Sump et al. (2018) used full behavioral-skills training—model, rehearse, feedback—and got the same strong results. Romer shows you can drop the live coach and still win.
Giambrone et al. (2020) had dancers watch and judge their own videos to fix dance moves. The same self-evaluation trick works for teachers fixing trial delivery.
Whelan et al. (2021) ran a one-day seminar and hit 87 % fidelity. Romer’s video method reaches the same goal without asking staff to leave the site.
Why it matters
You can train new staff without pulling a senior therapist off the floor. Queue five short DTI clips, hand over a rating sheet, and let the trainee learn by looking. Monday morning, try it during down time—no travel, no overtime, just accurate instruction.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are often taught using discrete trial instruction. Because of low trainer-to-staff ratios commonly found in human service settings, research is needed to find an efficient method to train staff to implement discrete trial instruction with little to no in-vivo training by a qualified trainer. One such technique is observing and rating the behavior of another individual. The resulting improvement in the observer's own behavior is referred to as the observer effect. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of conducting behavioral observations and ratings on staff implementation of discrete trial instruction. Staff trainees viewed videos of the implementation of each step, rated the accuracy of implementation, and conducted the procedure with a confederate consumer. The procedure was effective, and the effects extended to novel skills.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2021 · doi:10.1002/jaba.868