Effects of Whole Group Instruction and Spaced Practice Teaching Trials to Teach School Readiness Skills to Children with Developmental Disabilities in a Preschool Classroom

The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is a successful instructional approach to teaching typically developing children social and academic skills while also preventing the development of problem behavior. Modifications may be necessary for this program to be made more appropriate for children with developmental disabilities and more feasible for special education teachers to incorporate into classrooms. Previous findings suggest children with developmental disabilities require repeated, direct instruction to acquire and maintain skills taught in the PLS program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using whole-group instruction and spaced practice teaching trials to teach school readiness skills to three preschool aged children with developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline across skills design showed that the instructional method was successful for children to acquire skills. Spaced practice teaching trials were easily integrated throughout the school day, making the program more practical for special education teachers