Effects of active student response during error correction on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of sight words by students with developmental disabilities.

Six kids with developmental delay practiced sight words at school.

Each error got one of two corrections: the teacher said the word alone, or the child had to repeat it out loud.

Sessions alternated every day so each child tried both styles.

The team tracked new words learned, words kept after one week, and words read in a new pile of cards.

When kids said the word themselves, they learned more words, kept them longer, and read new cards better.

The repeat-it-out-loud method beat the listen-only method every time for every child.

Jessel et al. (2020) took the same idea—make the learner active—but swapped the repeat step for a fun shift from rich to lean reinforcement. Their autistic boys learned even faster and said they liked it more.

Kisamore et al. (2016) also used error correction in DTT, but for tricky intraverbal questions. They added a prompt delay and a look-at-the-picture step when simple repeat corrections stalled.

Catagnus et al. (2020) used the same quick-switch classroom design, yet aimed at group instructions instead of single words. All three studies show: keep the learner doing something right after the mistake.

Next time a child misreads a word, have them say the whole word aloud before moving on. This one-second move can double retention and helps the skill pop up in new stories. No extra prep, no fancy materials—just add the child’s voice to the fix.