Instructional Demonstrations are More Effective Than Consequences Alone for Children with Naming

In Experiment 1, a demonstration study, I first tested the number of exposures to incidental learning conditions (naming experiences) required for 4 typically developing preschool-aged males with the naming developmental cusp and capability, to master the names of novel 2D non-contrived stimuli (i.e., symbols for pound, lira, tilde, percent, omega, and ampersand). Each stimulus required 1 to 5 naming experiences to master as both listener and speaker (with more needed for the speaker responses). Prior research found that without the naming cusp, children did not learn from instructional demonstrations presented before the opportunity to respond, however, following the establishment of naming, they could. In Experiment 2, using an ABAB (BABA) reversal design counterbalanced across two dyads, I compared the same participants’ rates of learning under two different instructional methods: 1) instructional demonstrations presented before the opportunity to respond through learn units (IDLUs) and 2) standard learn unit instruction (SLUs). The children learned at an accelerated rate (cumulative correct responses to mastery of objectives) under the IDLU conditions and with between 30% and 50% accuracy on first presentations following a model. The IDLU condition was more efficient (fewer trials to criteria). In this case, the degree of superiority for IDLUs, compared to SLUs alone for children with naming was tested for the first time in Experiment 2. These findings, together with prior findings, suggest more effective teaching procedures for children with the developmental cusp and capability of naming.