Precision Teaching Children with Autism: Helping design effective programmes

Abstract

With the increased interest in educational provision for children with autism there has been renewed vigour in establishing educational programmes that allow for greater teaching effectiveness. One educational innovation that strives to bring 'precision' to the teaching-monitoring process is Precision Teaching (PT). PT is a system of tactics and strategies that provides frequent assessment of student performance and related teaching effectiveness. The system is content free and offers professionals a set of tools that can complement existing teaching practice to enhance outcomes for children with autism. This paper offers an analysis of key components of PT and discusses the implications of PT for the programmes of children with autism.

Utilisation d’une version informatisée de la didactique de précision auprès d’élèves ayant un trouble envahissant du développement

“…leurs conclusions que l'utilisation de la didactique de précision permet de maximiser les interventions des intervenants et de favoriser l'apprentissage des élèves ted (Kerr et al, 2002 ;Kerr, smyth & Mcdowell, 2003).…”

“…elle permet de prendre des mesures précises et directes des apprentissages et devient donc une partie importante du processus éducatif ; elle semble améliorer tout programme associé aux élèves autistes (Kerr et al, 2003). Kubina, Morrison et lee (2002) présentent des arguments en faveur de l'utilisation de la didactique de précision auprès des enfants autistes.…”

Plasticity, Neural

“…Therefore, precision teaching emphasizes that the individual learn a skill to fluency, or the level of accuracy or quality and speed required to make a skill functional (Fabrizio & Moors, 2003). Individuals who learn a skill to fluency are more likely to retain the skill following intervention; engage in the skill long enough to complete real-world tasks; and demonstrate that skill in new situations, distracting environments, and in combination with related skills (Fabrizio, & Moors, 2003;Kerr, Smyth, & McDowell, 2003).…”

“…Individuals with autism are heterogeneous in both their needs and response to intervention. Precision teaching's systematic, daily assessments and charting mean that the instructor is continually aware of the learner's progress and can advance or change the individual learner's program as soon as the need arises (Kerr et al, 2003;Merbitz, Vieitez, Merbitz, & Binder, 2004b). Further, these individuals with autism often fail to maintain the learned behaviors over time or apply them to different settings.…”

An investigation of the effectiveness of Behavioral Momentum on the acquisition and fluency outcomes of tacts in three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Furthermore, Behavioral Fluency (BF) involves free operant performance, or responding at a rate controlled by the learner. It can be both a method of instruction (e.g., Fluency Training) as well as an outcome (Kerr, Smyth, & Mcdowell, 2003). Evidence from research using Fluency Training (FT) predicts outcomes of retention, endurance, application and stability (Binder, 1993).…”