Individualized Instructional Strategies

Intensive, individualized teaching practices are structured, specific, and designed for use with a child who needs extra help to learn a particular skill or concept. This level of support can be used if a child has a unique goal or is making very slow progress after less intensive strategies, such as curriculum modifications and embedded teaching practices, have been tried.

Each of the six short videos in this series focuses on one of these key instructional teaching strategies:

•    Discrete trial

•    Gestural prompt

•    Error correction

•    Graduated guidance

•    Modeling

•    Time delay and expectant look

Disabilities services coordinators can share these videos with the educators they work with to increase understanding of what the strategies look like in action. The videos can be used to guide conversations with educators and the child’s support team. Together, they can choose a strategy based on the child’s unique needs, developmental level, learning characteristics, and goals.

Discrete Trial

Download the video [MP4, 26MB] Download the transcript

This video shows three key steps for using a discrete trial. Watch how the educator gives an instruction, waits for the child to respond, and provides positive feedback when the child responds correctly.