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Teaching Gift Wrapping Skills in a Quadruple Instructional Arrangement Using Constant Time Delay

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Abstract

This investigation evaluated the use of a quadruple instructional arrangement in teaching gift-wrapping skills to four students with functional mental disabilities. The targeted gift wrapping skills included boxing the item, wrapping the box, and decorating the box. The trainer divided each skill into four parts. For each of the three targeted skills each student received direct instruction on one part of the task analysis during each instructional session, rotating through each of the four parts during subsequent instructional sessions. This allowed each student to have direct instruction on the entire chained task over the course of four instructional sessions. Students received instruction using a constant time delay. A multiple probe design across skills and replicated across four students evaluated the effectiveness of the response prompting procedure within this teaching arrangement. The results indicated that three of the four students acquired the gift wrapping skills. In addition, the three students generalized the skills across settings and materials with at least 94% accuracy.

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Stonecipher, E.L., Schuster, J.W., Collins, B.C. et al. Teaching Gift Wrapping Skills in a Quadruple Instructional Arrangement Using Constant Time Delay. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 11, 139–158 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021847104580

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