Effects of serial and concurrent training on receptive identification tasks: A Systematic replication

Area of Science:

• * Developmental Psychology
• * Applied Behavior Analysis
• * Special Education

Background:

• * Teaching receptive language skills is crucial for children with developmental delays or autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
• * Previous research has explored various training methods, but direct comparisons of serial versus concurrent training for multiple exemplars are ongoing.
• * This study systematically replicates and extends the work of Wunderlich et al. (2014) in this area.

Observation:

• * Five preschoolers diagnosed with developmental delays or ASD participated in the study.
• * Participants were trained to receptively identify letters or letter sounds using either serial or concurrent training methods.
• * Data were collected on learning speed and generalization of the trained stimuli.

Findings:

• * Receptive language skills were acquired using both serial and concurrent training methods.
• * Target stimuli were learned slightly faster with the concurrent training method.
• * Both training methods resulted in a high degree of generalization, indicating their effectiveness.

Implications:

• * Both serial and concurrent training methods are efficient and effective instructional procedures for teaching receptive language skills.
• * The findings support the use of these methods in educational settings for children with developmental delays or ASD.
• * Educators can select either method based on specific student needs and learning contexts, as both yield positive outcomes.