USE OF COMPUTER-DELIVERED AND TEACHER-DELIVERED PROMPTS IN DISCRIMINATION-TRAINING WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE MENTAL-RETARDATION

Individuals with mental retardation received training on a series of 1 6 visual discrimination problems. Eleven subjects received computer-de livered instruction with a stimulus-fading procedure and 11 were train ed with verbal and nonverbal prompts delivered by a human teacher. We found that(a) the teacher's prompts were effective with more subjects than was the computer-based fading procedure; (b) transfer of stimulus control to task stimuli was poor with the teacher's prompts but nearl y perfect when fading was effective; and (c) subjects learned more dis crimination problems with the computer-delivered fading procedure. The se results suggest that the computer could be a useful tool to assist in discrimination training in special-education settings.