October 2009 v. 2.

Self-Instruction Manual: Introduction

to Teaching Discrimination Skills to
Children Diagnosed with Autism
Using Discrete Trial Teaching
&
Errorless Learning

Jamie M. Severtson

Trumpet Behavioral Health

(Modified from Fazzio & Martin, 2006)

Page 1 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Table of Contents

OVERVIEW OF MANUAL.……………………………………………………………... P.3

1. GETTING STARTED (filling in the targets on the datasheet) ………………………... P.5

2. PRESENTING FLASHCARDS & SECURING ATTENTION..……………………... P.7

3. PRESENTING THE INSTRUCTION (SD)…………………………………………... P.10

4. CORRECT RESPONSES AND ERRORS..…………………….…………………... P.14

5. PROVIDING REINFORCERS FOR CORRECT RESPONSES .…………………... P.18

6. PROMPTS AND PROMPT FADING….……………………………………………... P.24

7. PRE-SESSION PROBES………………………………………………………………. P.28

8. CONDUCTING TEACHING TRIALS………………………………………………… P.34

9. MORE PRACTICE……………………………………………………………………... P.41

Page 2 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

OVERVIEW OF MANUAL
This manual contains descriptions and examples of some of the
concepts and basic skills that you will need in order to successfully
conduct teaching trials with individuals diagnosed with an autism
spectrum disorder using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). The
approach that you will be learning is referred to as discrete-trials
teaching (DTT) or discrete-trials training. While DTT can be
conducted in a variety of ways, you will be using an errorless learning
(EL) technique to reduce the errors made by the students (actors) that
you will be working with.
You will be learning how to teach children to discriminate among
pictures. Discrimination skills are very important to teach because they
are the foundation for many other skills. Once you master the ability to
use discrete-trials training and errorless learning to teach discrimination
of animal pictures, you will be well on your way to being able to teach a
variety of other skills to children with autism; however, you will need
additional training in order to become a seasoned instructor.
To help you to master the DTT skills, study questions have been
provided the end of each sub-section.
When studying this manual, you should proceed as follows:
• Read a sub-section
• Complete examples as indicated
• Answer each study question at the end of the subsection
• Memorize the answers to the study questions

Page 3 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Practice by yourself (pretend) as indicated

• Proceed to the next sub-section
In two hours, you will be given a closed-book test to assess your
mastery of the study questions. Then, you will be asked to attempt to
demonstrate what you have learned with actor. As you are reading,
when you see a ? next to the text, this means that the answer to a

study guide question is in that block of text. When you see  next to

text, this means that you should practice your skills by pretending by
yourself as indicated.

Page 4 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

1.

GETTING STARTED
Before you start the session, quickly organize your materials. You
should have three animal flashcards, a program sheet, and a datasheet in
your folder. Begin by filling in the target blanks on the datasheet. Take
out one of the practice datasheets, and follow along to practice.

 Start with the blanks for the probes. You will probe each item
? only one time, so a different animal should be written into each blank,
like this:

cow
Target:  Ind  GP  PP  FP

bird
Target:  Ind  GP  PP  FP

dog
Target:  Ind  GP  PP  FP

Now fill in the blanks for the teaching targets. You will run three

? teaching trials of each item. When filling out the datasheet, follow
these rules:

? Page 5 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Do not write the same item in more than two consecutive blanks
(e.g., cow, cow, cow).
• Avoid writing the targets in the same order (e.g., cow, bird, dog,
cow, bird, dog).
Follow the example below, and complete the rest of the datasheet. Make
your datasheet look like this one:

Page 6 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

v.2.0

Discrete Trial Training Datasheet

Participant # Session # Phase: Date:

Key: GP = Gestural Prompt PP = Partial Physical Prompt FP = Full Physical Prompt

Ind = Independent Response (no prompt required)
Probes: Check the prompt level required to bring about the correct response

Target: cow £ Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: bird £ Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: dog £ Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Trials: Indicate whether the student made a correct or error response and check the
highest prompt level used

Target: £ Correct £ Error

1. dog £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

2. bird £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

3. cow £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

4. cow £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

5. dog £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

6. bird £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

7. dog £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

8. cow £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct £ Error

9. bird £ GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Study Questions
1. How many times should you probe each target item?
2. How many teaching trials should you conduct of each target?
3. Is it ok to list the same target Page
three 7times
of 54in a row?
 October 2009 v. 2.1

2.
PRESENTING FLASHCARDS & SECURING ATTENTION
Whether you are conducting probe or teaching trials, you must
begin by securing the child’s attention and presenting the flashcards
approximately 1-2 seconds before you provide the instruction.

? Follow these guidelines when presenting the flashcards for a probe or a

teaching trial:
• Always present all three flashcards for each trial
• Be sure that the flashcards are evenly spaced and in line with
one another
Good example:

Cow Dog Bird  

Bad example:


Dog Bird  

Cow

• Arrange the stimuli IN A DIFFERENT ORDER for each trial

• Be sure that the target of this probe is in DIFFERENT
POSITION than the target in the previous probe.
? o For example, in this trial, cow is the target, and it is
presented in the left position.

Cow Dog Bird  

Page 8 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

o In next trial, bird is the target, so it SHOULD NOT be

presented in the left position. Here are two appropriate
options for presenting the flashcards in this trial:

Good Examples:
? 
Cow Bird   Dog

or

Dog Cow Bird   

These following arrays would be INCORRECT presentations for this

trial:
same order
Bad Example:  as previous
Cow Dog Bird trial  

 target is in
the same
? Bad Example:
Bird   Dog Cow
position on 2
consecutive
trials
only 2
Bad Example: flashcards
Dog Bird   presented

Follow these guidelines when securing the child’s attention:

 Saying the child’s name (e.g., “Sally)
?  Saying “look” or “look at all the pictures”

Page 9 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

 Laying out the flashcards near you and then sliding them in
all at once towards the child such that it grabs his/her
attention

Bird   Cow Dog

?  
 

Bird   Cow Dog

 Presenting the cards in front of the child and moving your

finger along the front of the cards in one fluid motion back
and forth, drawing attention to the cards without pausing at
any one card. DO NOT DRAW ATTETENTION TO ANY
ONE CARD as this might accidently prompt the child to
select that card. You might also say, “look” while doing this.

Bird   Cow Dog

?


 Presenting the cards in front of the child and using a full

physical prompt, move the child’s finger along the front of
the cards in one fluid motion back and forth, drawing
attention to the cards without pausing at any one card. DO
NOT DRAW ATTETENTION TO ANY ONE CARD as this
might accidently prompt the child to select that card. You
might also say, “look” while you do this.
Page 10 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

NOTE: You should only use ONE of these techniques per trial, and you
should mix and vary the methods you use to secure the child’s attention.

DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING TO SECURE ATTENTION

 Touch each individual card
 Name each individual card
?  Snap your fingers at the child
 Say his/her name repeatedly
 Repeatedly say any of the appropriate statements (e.g.,
“Sally. Sally.”

Study Questions
4. Be able to identify “good” and “bad” examples of presenting the flashcards.
5. Be able to provide and identify “good” and “bad” examples of securing the child’s
attention.

3.
PRESENTING THE INSTRUCTION
(DISCRIMINATIVE STIMULUS - SD)
The things (sights, sounds, smells, etc.) in our environment capable
of affecting our behavior are called stimuli (plural of stimulus). When a
specific set of stimuli are associated with a specific response, the stimuli

? are called Discriminative Stimuli (plural of stimulus) (SD). When

implementing discrete-trials teaching, you should ONLY USE the SD
listed on the program sheet. For example, when you are teaching
children to discriminate pictures of animals, the SD is a combination of
the pictures that you present as well as the instruction, “Give me

Page 11 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

_(animal)_.” Other similar instructions are acceptable as well, just

follow these guidelines.
o Be sure to keep the instruction brief

? o Do not use additional descriptors (e.g., “Give me dog. He has a

blue collar.”)

o Do not use instructions like, “Touch the __” or “Point to __”

because those instructions indicate that the child should do
something other than place the card in the hand of the instructor.

The top of your program sheet might look like this:

Discrimination Training Protocol: Animals

Objective: Student will select the correct animal picture from an array of three animal pictures
and place it in the hand of the instructor following an instruction like, “Give me ___,” “Hand
me the ___,” or “Where’s the ____”.

SD: Say, “Give me ______” (or a similar statement)

Response: Student selects a picture and extends hand (holding the picture) towards the
instructor

Target List: Cow Dog Bird

DO SAY DON’T SAY

“Give me cow” “Touch the cow”
? “Hand me dog” “Point to the dog”
“Where’s the bird” “Tell me where the bird is”
“Find the dog” “Show me the little doggie. It’s brown
and has a tail and a blue collar.”
Page 12 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Do not forget, this program requires that an array of three pictures

always be presented. The instruction + the specific card that you are
asking for = the SD for the response that you want to see.
EXAMPLE
Look at the examples below. Check the boxes of the trial in which the
instructor presented the correct SD.

 Box A  Box B

Cow Dog Bird   Bird   Dog

“Give me dog” “Where’s the dog”

 Box C  Box D

Bird   Cow Dog Dog Bird   Cow

“Give me yellow birdie” “Hand me the cow”

Page 13 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

Answers
In the above example, you should have selected boxes A and D.

 Box A  Box B

Cow Dog Bird   Bird   Dog

“Give me dog” “Where’s the dog”

Box A is CORRECT because all 3 Box B is INCORRECT because only

flashcards were presented and the 2 flashcards were presented
instruction was correct.
In Box A the SD was:
“Give me dog,” + the dog flashcard
?
 Box C  Box D

Bird   Cow Dog Dog Bird   Cow

“Give me yellow birdie” “Hand me the cow”

Box C is INCORRECT because the Box D is CORRECT because all 3

instruction included an adjective flashcards were presented and the
(yellow) and the target word was instruction was correct.
incorrect (birdie). A correct In Box A the SD was:
instruction would have been “Hand “Hand me the cow,” + the bird
me the bird” flashcard

Study Questions
6. Define Discriminative Stimulus (SD).
7. Be able to provide and identify “good” and “bad” examples of instructions.
8. Be able to explain why the SD provided correct or incorrect.

Page 14 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

4.

CORRECT RESPONSES AND ERRORS

In general terms, behavior is anything that a person says or does.
Another word for behavior is response. When you are teaching
individuals with autism, the behavior that you are teaching is called the

? correct response because it is the only response that you want to see
after you give an instruction. Any other type of response, or in some
? cases a non-response, is called an error.
When teaching animal discrimination, the correct response is
counted when the learner (actor) selects the card that corresponds with
the instruction provided by the instructor and then extends his/her arm
?
towards the instructor while holding the card. The correct response
MUST occur within 3 seconds of the instruction.

The correct response to “Give me cow” looks like this:

Page 15 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

Errors

As stated above, an error response is anything that the learner (actor)

does that is NOT the correct response. Later you will learn the error
correction procedure to use when learner (actor) errors occur. Many
different errors can occur. Here are some examples of common errors:

• Scrolling: The child touches the wrong picture, but then quickly
selects the correct picture and extends it towards the instructor.
? This is an error because the goal is for the child to
IMMEDIATELY select the correct item.

• No Response: The child fails to respond within 3 seconds of the

? instruction.

• Select the wrong item: The child selects a picture other than the
? one indicated in the instruction provided.

• Select Correct and Hold: This child selects the correct picture,

? but fails to extend it towards the instructor. The child might hold
the card, play with the card, or sets the card back down.

• Select Correct and Throw: The child selects the correct picture,

? but then tosses it towards the instructor or across the table rather
than handing it to the instructor.

Page 16 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Practice Examples:

Read the following scenarios and answer the questions.

1. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally (the learner), and says, “Give me cow.” Sally selects
the cow and holds it in her hands.

a. Did Sally make a correct response or an error? If she made

an error, what kind?

b. Did the instructor make any errors? If so, what were they?

2. The instructor places two animal cards evenly spaced in front of

Sally, and say, “We’re going to work on animals. First, give me
the dog.” Sally selects the dog and hands it to the instructor.

a. Did Sally make a correct response or an error? If she made

an error, what kind?

b. Did the instructor make any errors? If sow what were

they?

Page 17 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

Answers:
?
1. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front
of Sally (the learner), and says, “Sally, give me cow.” Sally
selects the cow and holds it in her hands.
a. Did Sally make a correct response or an error? If she made
an error, what kind?

Sally did make an error. She did not extend the correct
card towards the instructor. This error is “Select Correct
and Hold.”

b. Did the instructor make any errors? If so, what were they?

The instructor did not make any errors.  The instructor

correctly displayed the flashcards, secured Sally’s
attention (e.g., “Sally”), and then presented the instruction
(“give me cow).”

2. The instructor places two animal cards evenly spaced in front of

Sally, and say, “We’re going to work on animals. First, give me
the dog.” Sally selects the dog and hands it to the instructor.
a. Did Sally make a correct response or an error? If she made
an error, what kind?

Sally engaged in the correct response! 

b. Did the instructor make any errors? If sow what were

they?

The instructor made three errors. First, he/she did not

present all three flashcards. Second, he/she did not secure
Sally’s attention, and finally, his/her instruction was too
lengthy. The only instruction that should have been
provided was, “Give me dog,” or something similar.

Page 18 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

Study Questions
9. Define and identify the correct response of the learner when teaching animal
discrimination.
10. Name and identify learner errors.
11. Be able to explain what was correct/errorful about a given learner response.

5.
PROVIDING REINFORCERS FOR CORRECT RESPONSES
Our behaviors are affected by their immediate consequences. In
everyday language, we say that rewards strengthen the behaviors that
they follow. A positive reinforcer is a stimulus that, when presented
immediately following a behavior, causes the behavior to be
? strengthened (more likely to re-occur). In other words, when a positive
reinforcer immediately follows a behavior, that behavior is more likely
to happen again and again. In general terms, positive reinforcers are
things that individuals like or prefer. Candy, for example, is a reinforcer
for many children. Affectionate pats and hugs, praise, nods and smiles
(referred to as social reinforcers) are reinforcers for many individuals.
However, just because an item or activity is preferred does not
necessarily mean that it is a reinforcer. In order for something to be
considered a reinforcer it must be presented following a behavior and
that behavior must be strengthened or increase.
In future trainings, you may learn about other types of reinforcers
(e.g., negative reinforcers) and how to identify reinforcers with children
that you are working with; however, this is beyond the scope of this

Page 19 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

manual. Now, you are going to learn about proper reinforcement

delivery. At some point, you may be asked to practice your skills with a
trainer, and “mock reinforcers” will be provided for you to use.
Delivering Reinforcement
Sometimes and individual (actor) that you are teaching will engage
in a correct response without any help (independently). Sometimes you
might have to provide assistance (prompts) to help them make the
correct response. When using an errorless learning approach, prompts
are provided BEFORE a child has a chance to make an error. When a
child engages in the correct response (i.e., no error has been made), the
instructor should IMMEDIATELY provide the child with a tangible
reinforcer (e.g., toy, snack) + enthusiastic praise (e.g., “Way to go!”

? “You did it! That is awesome!”). This is the case even when the child’s
correct response has been prompted. (Note: You will learn about
prompts later in this manual.)
It is important to deliver the reinforcers IMMEDIATELY after the
correct response and BEFORE YOU mark anything on the data sheet. If
? you wait to deliver the reinforcer, you might actually reinforce some
other behavior that is happening (e.g., nose picking) that you do not
want to see increase or strengthen. Also, remember to REMOVE
?
reinforcers (e.g., toys) before you begin the next trial. If the child does
not hand it to you when you ask or reach for it, just gently remove it.

Page 20 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

Withholding Reinforcement
There are two circumstances under which you do not provide
reinforcers.
• If a child makes an error (e.g., scrolling response), then you DO
? NOT PROVIDE REINFORCERS! No praise, no tangibles. Instead
you will engage in the error correction procedure which you will
learn about later.
• When you are conducting probe trial, you should NOT PROVIDE
? REINFORCERS. This means no praise and no tangibles.
Examples:
Read the examples of teaching trials below. THESE ARE NOT
PROBE TRIALS. (Note: you will learn more about probe trials later)
For each example, answer the following questions:
• What did the instructor do right? If the instructor did something
wrong, what should the instructor have done instead?

• Did the student make engage in a correct response or an error

response?

1. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally (the learner), and says, “Sally, give me cow.” Sally
selects the cow and holds it in her hands. The instructor says,
“Woohoo! Super!!!” and hands Sally her favorite stuffed bear.

Page 21 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

2. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Hand me the dog.” Sally touches the cow,
then selects the dog, and hands the dog picture to the instructor.
The instructor gives Sally a piece of candy and says, “Wow,
you’re really starting to get this! Give me a high five.”

3. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Find the bird.” Sally selects the bird and
hands the bird picture to the instructor. The instructor indicates
on the datasheet that Sally engaged in a correct and independent
response, and then tells Sally, “Super job! Fantastic” and gives
her one of her favorite musical toys to play with.

4. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Give me cow.” Sally selects the cow and
hands the cow picture to the instructor. The instructor says,
“Way to go, superstar!”

Page 22 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

5. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Where’s the bird.” Sally selects the bird and
hands the bird picture to the instructor. The instructor says,
“TERRIFIC!” and hands Sally her favorite toy bear.

? Answers:
1. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front
of Sally (the learner), and says, “Sally, give me cow.” Sally
selects the cow and holds it in her hands. The instructor say,
“Woohoo! Super!!!” and hands Sally her favorite stuffed bear.

• The instructor should not have provided praise or the bear.

He/she should have begun the error correction procedure.
• The student engaged in an error – Select Correct and Hold.

2. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Look. Hand me the dog.” Sally touches the
cow, then selects the dog, and hands the dog picture to the
instructor. The instructor gives Sally a piece of candy and says,
“Wow, you’re really starting to get this! Give me a high five.”

• The instructor should not have provided praise or the bear.

He/she should have begun the error correction procedure.
• The student engaged in an error – Scrolling.

Page 23 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

3. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Find the bird.” Sally selects the bird and
hands the bird picture to the instructor. The instructor indicates
on the datasheet that Sally engaged in a correct and independent
response, and then tells Sally, “Super job! Fantastic” and gives
her one of her favorite musical toys to play with.

• The instructor forgot to secure Sally’s attention, and the

instructor should have IMMEDIATELY provided praise and the
musical toy BEFORE collecting data.
• The student engaged in the correct response! 

4. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Give me cow.” Sally selects the cow and
hands the cow picture to the instructor. The instructor says,
“Way to go, superstar!”

• The instructor provided praise but no tangible. The instructor

should have provided both.
• The student engaged in the correct response.

5. The instructor places three animal cards evenly spaced in front

of Sally, and says, “Where’s the bird.” Sally selects the bird and
hands the bird picture to the instructor. The instructor says,
“TERRIFIC!” and hands Sally her favorite toy bear.

• The instructor did everything right.

• The student engaged in the correct response.
 Take a moment to practice what you have learned so far with the
materials that you have. Just pretend.

Page 24 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

Study Questions
12. Define a positive reinforcer.
13. Identify and explain situations in which you would and would not provide praise +
a tangible reinforcer.
14. How soon after a correct response should you deliver the reinforcer
15. Should you remove the reinforcer (e.g., toy) before the next trial?

6.
PROMPTS AND PROMPT FADING
If a child is unable to respond correctly to an SD, the teacher might
provide some assistance to help the child do so. The assistance provided
to increase the likelihood that a correct response will occur is referred to
? as a prompt. When teaching using an Errorless Learning (EL)
technique during teaching trials (not probe trials), prompts occur just
? after or at the same time as the SD and before the child has a chance to
respond incorrectly. Assistance that comes after a response has already
occurred, is not a prompt, but rather a consequence. Prompts ensure
that the correct behavior occurs following the SD and is reinforced
appropriately, which will result in strengthening the correct response.
Types of Prompts
Full Physical Guidance or Full Physical Prompt (FP)
? Full Physical Guidance (also called a full physical prompt) consists of
the instructor touching the child to guide him through the entire
response. The entire response is prompted. The child does not
independently engage in any part of the correct response. This type of

Page 25 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

prompt can be fairly intrusive and often involves the teacher using one
or both hands to guide the child to make the correct response.
Sometimes, this is called “hand over hand” when the prompt involves
the teacher using his or her hand(s) to carefully guide the child’s hand to
complete a correct response.

This is what a Full Physical Prompt looks like following the

? instruction, “Give me dog.”

The instructor picks up Then, moves her hand She continues to assist
the child’s hand. towards the correct the child all the way
picture and helps her until the card reaches
pick it up. the instructors other
hand, completing the
correct response.
Partial Physical Guidance or Partial Physical Prompt (PP)
? Partial Physical Guidance (also called a partial physical prompt) is less
intrusive than the full physical prompt, and consists of the instructor
starting out lightly touching the child to guide him or her appropriately
through the first part of the response, but stops prompting at some point,
such that the child completes the last part of the correct response
independently.
This is what a partial physical prompt looks like following the
? instruction, “Hand me the cow.”
Page 26 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

The instructor nudges Then, the instructor stops

the child’s arm towards prompting, and the child completes
the correct picture. the correct response on her own.

Here’s another example. This is a different style of a partial physical

? prompt looks like following the instruction, “Where’s the dog.”

The instructor picks up Then, the instructor lets go of her

the child’s hand and arm (stops prompting), and the
moves it towards the child completes the correct
correct picture. response on her own.

BOTH TYPES OF PARTIAL PHSYICAL PROMPTS ARE

CORRECT!
Gestural Prompts (GP)
Gestural prompts are even less intrusive than the partial physical prompt
as they do not require physical guidance. Gestural prompts are certain
motions that the instructor makes, such as pointing to the correct
stimulus or making a motion directed toward the child without touching
him or her.
This is what a gestural prompt looks like following the instruction,
“Find cow.”

Page 27 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

The instructor points to Then, the child selects the correct card and completes
the correct card without the correct response on her own.
touching it.

Here is another example of a different gestural prompt following the

instruction, “Show me the dog.”

The instructor touches the Then, the child selects the

correct card and the child correct card and
moves to select it. completes the correct
response on her own.

BOTH TYPES OF GESTURAL PROMPTS ARE CORRECT!

Study Questions
16. Define a prompt.
17. When does a prompt occur when you are using errorless learning?
18. Define full physical prompt, partial physical prompt, and gestural prompt.
19. Be able to identify all three types of prompts listed above and explain why the
prompts are correct or incorrectly implemented.

Page 28 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

 Take a moment to practice what you have learned so far with the
materials that you have. Just pretend.

7.
PRE-SESSION PROBES
In a discrete-trials / errorless learning procedure, the teacher must

? first conduct one probe trial of each of the teaching targets to determine
which prompt level to start with when he or she begins teaching trials.
1. Prepare the teaching materials and the datasheet as you learned
how to do earlier in this manual.
2. Present the flashcards and secure the individual’s attention.
3. Present the instruction, “Give me ___” then allow the child 3

? seconds to respond. Do not wait more or less time UNLESS THE

CHILD BEGINS TO MAKE AN ERROR.
4. If the child…
 Responds correctly after before 3 seconds expires
o Pick up all of the flashcards
o Record the response on the datasheet (Step 6)
o Begin the next trial
 Begins to make an error or completes an error OR
 Does not respond within 3 seconds
o Pick up all of the flashcards
o Begin Step 5

Page 29 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

5. Begin presenting prompts from least-to-most intrusiveness.

a. Re-present the flashcards in the exact same order and secure
? the child’s attention. Present the exact instruction again + an
IMMEDIATE gestural prompt. If the child does not respond
correctly to a gestural prompt or resists a gestural prompt,
then move to next step (increasing the prompt level).
b. Re-present the flashcards in the exact same order and secure
the child’s attention. Present the exact instruction again + a
partial physical prompt. If the child does not respond
correctly to the partial physical prompt or is resists the partial
physical prompt, then move to next step (increasing the
prompt level).
c. Re-present the flashcards in the exact same order and secure
the child’s attention. Present the exact instruction again + a
full physical prompt to bring about the correct response. Do
not continue until you get the child to make a correct
response.
d. Once the child engages in the correct response, move on to
Step 6.
DO NOT PROVIDE PRAISE OR TANGIBLE REINFORCERS
? DURING THE PROBE TRIALS!
6. On the data sheet, record the prompt level that was required to
bring about the correct response. If no prompt was required (i.e.,
?
Page 30 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

the child responded correctly within 3 seconds of the original

instruction), then mark  Ind. Indicating an independent, correct
response occurred. Your datasheet might look like this after you
complete the probe trials.

Target: cow x Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: bird £ Ind £ GP £ PP x FP

Target: dog £ Ind x GP £ PP £ FP

7. Return to Step 1 to probe the other target items. After you finish
probing the targets, you will begin conducting teaching trials.
NOTE: You should try to complete all of the probe trials as quickly as
possible, aiming for no longer than 1 minute per probe.
Pre-Session Probes Example

 Take out a new blank datasheet and practice as you read. Just
pretend.
You are teaching Sally to discriminate animal pictures from an array of
? three animal pictures when she hears an instruction like “Give me ___.”
You are given this description of the program.

Page 31 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Fill out the probe portion of the datasheet so that it looks like
the one below.
Target: bird £ Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: dog £ Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: cow £ Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Probe Trial 1: bird

• You arrange the stimuli and secure the child’s attention.

“Sally”
Bird   Cow Dog

• Present the instruction for the first probe. “Give me bird.”

o Wait 3 seconds for the child to respond.
 The child did not respond, so you…
o Pick up all of the flashcards
o Present the flashcards in the same order and secure
the child’s attention

“Look”
Bird   Cow Dog

o Then, present same instruction, “Give me bird,” and

IMMEDIATELY provide a gestural prompt.
 The child responds correctly to your gestural
prompt so you…
? o SAY NOTHING and pick up all of the flashcards.
o Record GP on the datasheet.
o You have completed the first probe.

Page 32 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Probe Trial 2: Dog

o Arrange the flashcards and secure the child’s
? “Look”
Cow Dog Bird  

• Present the instruction for the second probe. “Find the dog.”
o Wait 3 seconds for the child to respond.
 The child engaged in the correct response
immediately following the instructions, so
you…
o SAY NOTHING and pick up all of the flashcards.
o Record Ind. on the datasheet.
o You have completed the second probe.

Probe Trial 3: Cow

o Arrange the flashcards and secure the child’s
? “Look at the pictures”
Dog Cow Bird  

• Present the instruction for the third probe. “Where is the

cow?”
o Wait 3 seconds for the child to respond.
 The touched the dog picture (error), so you…
o SAY NOTHING and pick up all of the flashcards.
o Re-present the flashcards in the exact same order and
secure attention

“Sally”
Dog Cow Bird  

• Re-present the same instruction, “Where is the cow?” and

IMMEDIATELY provide a gestural prompt
o The child does not respond to the gestural prompt
within 3 seconds so you…
Page 33 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Re-present the same instruction, “Where is the cow?” and

IMMEDIATELY provide a partial physical prompt
o The child resists the partial physical prompt by
pulling her arm away, so you…
• Re-present the same instruction, “Where is the cow?” and
IMMEDIATELY provide a full physical prompt
o The child completes the correct response with your
assistance, so you.
• SAY NOTHING and pick up all of the flashcards.
• Record  FP on the datasheet.
o You have completed the last probe.
o Your datasheet should look like this:
Target: bird £ Ind x GP £ PP £ FP

Target: dog x Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: cow £ Ind £ GP £ PP x FP

If your datasheet looks different, then practice the example again on a

new datasheet and try to figure out how to correct your mistake.

Study Questions
1. Why is it necessary to conduct pre-session probes?
2. Be able to list the steps of conducting pre-session probes.
3. Be able to complete the probe section of a datasheet.
4. Describe what to do when a child makes an error during a probe trial.
5. What is the order in which prompts are presented during probe trials (hint: least to
most)
6. Should you provide praise during probe trials? What about tangible reinforcers?
7. Be able to demonstrate how you would present the flashcards in a different order with
the target card being in a different location for each probe trial.
8. About howNOW long should
IT ISit FINALLY
take you to conduct
TIME the three
TOprobe
TEACH! trials?

Page 34 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

8.
CONDUCTING TEACHING TRIALS
Once probes have been conducted, you are ready to begin
conducting teaching trials. Conducting teaching trials is very much like
conducting probe trials, except that you will begin by providing the

? prompt level that was determined during the probe and then gradually
decrease prompts over subsequent trials.
1. Prepare the teaching materials.
? 2. Place reinforcers out of reach, but within view of the child.
3. Present the stimuli & secure the child’s attention.
? 4. Present the instruction & immediately provide the appropriate

? prompt. If this is the…

• First teaching trial for this particular target, then…
o IMMEDIATELY provide the prompt that was
required in the probe trial for that particular target
UNLESS no prompt was required.
o If no prompt was required for this target in the probe
trial, then allow the child up 1-2 seconds to respond to
the instruction.

• Second or third teaching trial for this particular target, then…

o IMMEDIATELY provide the prompt that is ONE
LEVEL LESS INTRUSIVE than the prompt that was

Page 35 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

provided in the previous teaching trial. This is called

PROMPT FADING.
 For example, if a full physical prompt ( FP)
was required in the first TEACHING TRIAL for
cow, then the next trial that cow is presented,
you should immediately use a Partial Physical
Prompt following the instruction because it is
one level less intrusive than the full physical
prompt.
o If no prompt was required for this target in the
previous teaching trial, then allow the child up 1-2
seconds to respond to the instruction.

If the learner engages in …

• An ERROR response, move to Step 5
• A CORRECT response, skip Step 5 and move right to Step 6

5. Complete the Error Correction procedure if the child engaged in

an error response (if not, move to Step 6).
• Remove the flashcards for 1 second
• Represent the stimuli in the same order and secure the child’s
attention

Page 36 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

• IMMEDIATELY provide a prompt, increasing the

intrusiveness by one level
o No prompt  Increase to  GP
o GP  Increase to  PP
o PP  Increase to  FP
o FP  provide a more secure FP
• If the child resists your prompt or makes ANOTHER error,
complete the error correction procedure, increasing the
prompt level each time, until the child engages in the correct
response.
Once the child engages in a correct response, move to Step 6.
6. Provide PRAISE + A TANGIBLE REINFORCERS immediately
? (within 1 second) following the correct response, even if that
response was prompted. Even if that prompted response was part
of the error correction procedure.
BE SURE TO PROVIDE REINFORCEMENT FOR CORRECT
? RESPONSES BEFORE YOU RECORD DATA

7. On the data sheet, record

• Whether the child’s first response was correct or whether an
? error was made (e.g.,  correct  error).
• Also, record the prompt level that was required to bring about
the correct response ( GP  PP  FP  Ind). If an error

Page 37 of 54
 October 2009 v. 2.1

occurred, you will be recording the prompt level required

during the error correction procedure.
• If no prompt was required (i.e., the child responded correctly
within 3 seconds of the original instruction), the mark  Ind.
Indicating an independent, correct response occurred.
• Your datasheet might look like this after you complete the
probe trials and the first three teaching trials.

Notes about the Error Correction Procedure

Despite the name “Errorless Learning,” student will still engage in error

? responses from time to time. For example, some students are resistant to
physical prompts initially. When an error occurs, it is important NOT
to provide the child with a great deal of attention. DO NOT provide

? praise tangible reinforcers immediately following an error. In fact, do

not say anything at all. Instead you should simply follow the instructions
above to bring about the correct response following an error response.
Notes about Prompt Fading:
The goal of teaching is to teach a child to respond appropriately to
a variety of instructions without accompanying prompts. However,
abruptly removing prompts often results in student errors. Student errors
during training may result in the student errors later on, even after the
skill has been technically “mastered” by the student. On the other hand,
if prompts are not faded (removed) quickly enough, students may
become dependent on the prompts to engage in a correct response.
Page 38 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Therefore it is important that the prompts be faded gradually, yet quickly

as described in the procedures above.

Accidental Prompts
Sometimes during teaching sessions, an instructor might
unknowingly provide an accidental prompt to a child. To avoid
accidentally prompting a child you should follow these guidelines.
• Always look at the child when you deliver instructions, never look
at the flashcards. You might accidently look directly at the target
that you plan on asking for.
• Maintain a neutral facial expression while delivering instructions.
Only change your expression when you are providing praise. You
can be very animated when providing praise.
• Keep the top of the table organized and display items so that they
are arranged at equal distances from each other and from the child.
• Do not hold your hand out when you give the instruction.
• Do not use any of the unapproved methods of securing attention.
• Do not place one card out in front of the others when presenting
the flashcards.
• ALWAYS pick up ALL of the flashcards between trials. Do not
just leave them sitting out in between trials.

Page 39 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• ALWAYS remove the reinforcer from the child between trials to

ensure that the child is paying attention when you give the
instruction.
Review
 First, pre-session probes are conducted to determine the initial
prompt level to be used during the first teaching trial.
 For the first teaching trial of a given target, use the same prompt
level indicated in the probe trial of that target.
 In subsequent teaching trials, you will try to fade the prompt by
trying to use a less intrusive prompt than the previous teaching
trial.
 Avoid the accidental prompts.
NOTE: You should try to complete all of the teaching trials as quickly
as possible, aiming for no longer than a total of 5 minutes to complete 9
trials.
Study Questions
9. True or False: Errorless Learning means that children will not make an error during
instruction.
10. When you present the first teaching trial of each target, how do you decide which
prompt to use? Do you provide that prompt immediately or wait 3 seconds?
11. Be able to list the steps of conducting teaching trials.
12. During a teaching trial, if you provide the instruction “Give me dog,” and you
immediately use a Gestural prompt which results in the child making a correct
response, do you provide praise only or praise + a tangible reinforcer?
13. What should you do if a child engages in an error during a teaching trial?
14. Be able to describe the error correction procedure and recognize when it should be
used.
15. During the error correction procedure, can you use praise? What about tangible
reinforcers?
16. Be able to identify situations in which no reinforcement is provided, and situations
when praise + a tangible reinforcer should be provided.
17. Be able to complete a datasheet.Page 40 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Study Questions
18. Be able to identify which level of prompt should be provided in various examples.
19. Be able to identify accidental prompts.
20. About how long should it take you to conduct 9 teaching trials (3 trials of each
target)?

Let’s look at an example of some teaching trials:

Take out the datasheet on which you practiced taking data on probe
trials.
• On this datasheet, a full physical prompt was required for the
correct response on the probe trial, so the datasheet looks like this

Target: cow £ Ind £ GP £ PP x FP

• For the first teaching trial for cow, a Full Physical prompt should
be provided immediately following the instruction. If the prompt is
effective, and the child makes a correct response, then the
datasheet will look like this for that trial:
Target: x Correct £ Error
3. cow £ GP £ PP x FP £ Ind

• For the next teaching trial for cow, a Partial Physical prompt
should be provided immediately following the instruction. If the
prompt is effective, and the child makes a correct response, then
the datasheet will look like this for that trial:
Target: x Correct £ Error
5. cow £ GP x PP £ FP £ Ind

Page 41 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• For the third and final teaching trial for cow, a Gestural prompt
should be provided immediately following the instruction.
However, if the prompt is not effective, and the child makes an
error, then the error correction procedure must be used. If a Partial
Physical prompt is effective during the error correction procedure,
then, the datasheet will look like this for that trial:
Target: £ Correct x Error
8. cow £ GP x PP £ FP £ Ind

9.
 MORE PRACTICE
Take out the first practice datasheet that you used to practice simply
writing in targets. Practice all of the steps as they are written.
Probe Trial 1: Cow
• Arrange the flashcards and secure the child’s attention.

“Sally”
Bird   Cow Dog

• Present the instruction for the first probe. “Give me cow.”

o Wait 3 seconds for the child to respond.
 The child did not respond, so you…
o Say nothing and pick up all of the flashcards
• Present the flashcards in the same order and secure the child’s
attention

“Look”
Bird   Cow Dog
Page 42 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Then, present the same instruction, “Give me cow,” and

IMMEDIATELY provide a gestural prompt.
o The child touches dog, but then gives you the cow pictures. This
is an error, so you…
?  Say nothing and pick up all of the flashcards
• Present the flashcards in the same order and secure the child’s
attention

“Look at the pictures”

Bird   Cow Dog

• Then, present same instruction, “Give me cow,” and

IMMEDIATELY provide a partial physical prompt.
o The child gives you the cow, so you….
 Say nothing
 Pick up the flashcards
 Record the data. Your datasheet should like this:
Target: cow £ Ind £ GP x PP £ FP

Probe Trial 2: Bird

• Arrange the flashcards and secure the child’s attention.

“Look”
Dog Cow Bird  

• Present the instruction for the first probe. “Where is the bird?”
o You begin waiting, and the child responds correctly by
handing you the bird
o Say nothing
o Pick up the flashcards
o Record the data. Your datasheet should look like this.
Target: bird x Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Page 43 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

Probe Trial 3: Dog

• Arrange the flashcards and secure the child’s attention.

“Look here”
Bird   Dog Cow

• Present the instruction for the first probe. “Hand me the dog.”
o You wait 3 seconds, the child does not respond, so you…
o Say nothing
o Pick up the flashcards
• Re-present the flashcards, secure the child’s attention by moving
your finger back and forth along the pictures, and say, “Hand me
the dog” while providing a gestural prompt.

Bird   Dog Cow


• The child hands you the flash card.
• You say nothing and pick up all of the flashards
• Then, record the data. Your datasheet should look like this

Target: dog £ Ind x GP £ PP £ FP

Teaching Trial 1: Dog (continue practicing  )

• Before you begin this trial, you review the datasheet to determine
which prompt level to begin with. Because this the first teaching
trial of “dog,” you should begin with the same prompt level that
you ended with on the probe trial for this target.

Page 44 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Arrange your materials

• Secure the child’s attention
• Present a correct instruction for the target: dog ALONG WITH a
Gestural Prompt (because this was the prompt recorded for the
probe trial)
• The child responds correctly so you, provide praise + a favorite toy
• Record the data. The datasheet should look like this:
Target: x Correct £ Error
1. dog x GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

• Gently remove the toy

Teaching Trial 2: Bird

• Before you begin this trial, you review the datasheet to determine
which prompt level to begin with. Because this is the first teaching
trial of “bird,” you should begin with the same prompt level that
you ended with on the probe trial for this target. In this case, no
prompt was required for the probe trial, so you should not begin
with a prompt.
• Arrange your materials
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present a correct instruction for the target: dog, and then wait up to
3 seconds

Page 45 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• The child responds correctly after only 1 second so you, provide

praise + a favorite toy
• Record the data. The datasheet should look like this:
Target: x Correct £ Error
2. bird £ GP £ PP £ FP x Ind

• Gently remove the toy.

Teaching Trial 3: Cow

• Before you begin this trial, you review the datasheet to determine
which prompt level to begin with. Because this is the first teaching
trial of “cow,” you should begin with the same prompt level that
you ended with on the probe trial for this target.
• Arrange your materials
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present a correct instruction for the target: cow ALONG WITH a
Partial Physical Prompt (because this was the prompt recorded for
the probe trial)
• The child pulls his hand away and grabs the wrong picture. This is
an error response, so you
o Say nothing
o Pick up the flashcards
o Represent the flashcards IN THE SAME ORDER
o Secure the child’s attention

Page 46 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

o Represent the SAME INSTRUCTION that you used

previously AND immediately provide FULL PHYSICAL
PROMPT because this is the next higher level of prompt than
you used previously.
• The child selects the cow picture and hands it to you as you are
prompting him, so you
o Provide praise + a favorite toy
o Record the data. The datasheet should look like this:
Target: £ Correct x Error
3. cow £ GP £ PP x FP £ Ind

• Gently remove the toy

Teaching Trial 4: Cow
• Before you begin this trial, you review the datasheet to determine
which prompt level to begin with. Because this is the second
teaching trial of “cow,” you should begin with one prompt level
lower than the one you ended with on the first teaching trial for
this target.
• Arrange your materials
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present an appropriate instruction for the target: cow ALONG
WITH a Partial Physical Prompt (because this is one level lower
than the prompt recorded for the first teaching trial)
• The child responds correctly, so you

Page 47 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

o Provide praise + a favorite toy

o Record the data.
Target: x Correct £ Error
4. cow £ GP x PP £ FP £ Ind

• Gently remove the toy

Teaching Trial 5: Dog

• Before you begin this trial, you review the datasheet to determine
which prompt level to begin with. Because this is the second
teaching trial of “dog,” you should begin with one prompt level
lower than the one you ended with on the first teaching trial for
this target. A gestural prompt was recorded for the previous
teaching trial for dog, so in this case, you will not provide a prompt
immediately.
• Arrange your materials
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present an appropriate instruction for the target: dog and begin
waiting (up to 3 seconds)
• The child select the dog and the cow pictures. This is an error
response, so you
o Say nothing
o Pick up the flashcards
o Represent the flashcards in the same order

Page 48 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

o Secure the child’s attention

o Present the SAME instruction as you just used previously
ALONG WITH a Gestural Prompt (because this is one
prompt level higher than you first attempted).
• The child selects the dog picture, but then begins to play with it.
This is an error, so you
o Say nothing
o Remove the flashcards
o Represent the flashcards in the same order
o Secure the child’s attention
o Represent the same instruction ALONG WITH a Partial
Physical Prompt (because this is one level higher than the
previous prompt)
• The child responds correctly, so you
o Provide praise + a favorite toy
o Record the data.
Target: £ Correct x Error
5. dog £ GP x PP £ FP £ Ind

• Gently remove the toy

Teaching Trial 6: Bird

Page 49 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Before you begin this trial, you review the datasheet to determine
which prompt level to begin with. Because this is the second
teaching trial of “bird,” you should begin with one prompt level
lower than the one you ended with on the first teaching trial for
this target. No prompt was necessary in the first trial, so in this
case, you will not provide a prompt immediately.
• Arrange your materials
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present an appropriate instruction for the target (bird) and begin
waiting (up to 3 seconds)
• The child selected the bird card and handed it to you after only 1
second, which is a correct response, so you
o Provide praise + a favorite toy
o Record the data.
Target: x Correct £ Error
6. bird £ GP £ PP £ FP x Ind

• Gently remove the toy.

Teaching Trial 7: Dog
• Review the datasheet to determine the beginning prompt level
• Arrange the flashcards
• Secure the child’s attention

Page 50 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• Present an appropriate instruction while providing a Gestural

prompt because this is one level lower than the prompt that you
recorded for the previous teaching trial for dog.
• The child selects the dog picture and hands it to you, so you
o Provide praise + favorite toy
o Record data
Target: x Correct £ Error
7. dog x GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

• Gently remove toy

Teaching Trial 8: Cow
• Review the datasheet to determine the beginning prompt level
• Arrange the flashcards
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present an appropriate instruction while providing a Gestural
prompt because this is one level lower than the prompt that you
recorded for the previous teaching trial for cow.
• The child touches the dog picture and then hands you the cow
picture, so you
o Pick up the flashcards
o Represent the flashcards in the same order
o Secure the child’s attention
o Represent the same instruction along with a Partial Physical
Prompt.

Page 51 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

• The child jerks his hand away and does not select a card, so you
o Pick up the flashcards
o Represent the flashcards in the same order
o Secure the child’s attention
o Represent the same instruction along with a Full Physical
Prompt.
• The child hands you the picture of the cow while you are assisting
him, so you
o Provide praise + favorite toy
o Record data
Target: x Correct £ Error
8. cow £ GP £ PP x FP £ Ind

• Gently remove toy

Teaching Trial 9: Bird

• Review the datasheet to determine the beginning prompt level, if a
prompt is necessary.
• Arrange the flashcards
• Secure the child’s attention
• Present an appropriate instruction and begin waiting (up to 3
seconds) because no prompt was required in the previous trial.
• The child quickly selects bird and hands it to you, so you
o Provide praise + favorite toy

Page 52 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

o Record data
Target: x Correct £ Error
9. bird £ GP £ PP £ FP x Ind

• Gently remove the toy.

YOU DID IT! YOUR DATASHEET SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

Page 53 of 54
October 2009 v. 2.1

v.2.0

Discrete Trial Training Datasheet

Participant # Date:

Key: GP = Gestural Prompt FP = Full Physical Prompt

Ind = Independent Response (no prompt required)
Probes: Check the prompt level required to bring about the correct response

Target: cow £ Ind £ GP x PP £ FP

Target: bi rd x Ind £ GP £ PP £ FP

Target: dog £ Ind x GP £ PP £ FP

Trials: Indicate whether the student made a correct or error response and
check the highest prompt level used

Target: x Correct £ Error

1. dog x GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: x Correct £ Error

2. bi rd £ GP £ PP £ FP x Ind

Target: £ Correct x Error

3. cow £ GP £ PP x FP £ Ind

Target: x Correct £ Error

4. cow £ GP x PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: £ Correct x Error

5. dog £ GP x PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: x Correct £ Error

6. bi rd £ GP £ PP £ FP x Ind

Target: x Correct £ Error

7. dog x GP £ PP £ FP £ Ind

Target: x Correct £ Error

8. cow £ GP £ PP x FP £ Ind

Target: x Correct £ Error

9. bi rd £ GP £ PP £ FP x Ind

You made it to the end! If you have any remaining time, please look
over the manual and practice what you have learned. 

Page 54 of 54