Definition
Prompts can be defined as additional “cues” delivered following an instruction, designed to help a student learn what the appropriate response is in a certain situation (i.e. respond correctly). Prompts are an essential teaching tool; using them supports efficient learning and lowers frustration.
Types of Prompts
Response Prompts |
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Motor Response Prompts |
Verbal Response Prompts |
Full Physical (Hand-over-hand)
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EchoicInstructor states the correct verbal response for the student to echo/repeat |
Partial PhysicalInstructor physically assists the student to initiate the response, but the student completes the target response independently |
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ModelingInstructor demonstrates the target response for the student to imitate |
Partial EchoicInstructor provides part of the verbal response for the student to complete |
GesturalInstructor points to/taps/looks at the target item/limb to help the student initiate the target response |
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VisualA visual (e.g. picture, checklist, written instruction) that shows or reminds the student what to do is provided |
TextualInstructor provides a written/visual representation of the verbal response for the student to read |
Instructional Sequence |
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Stimulus Prompts |
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Positional Prompts |
Redundancy Cues |
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Prompting Strategies
Most-to-Least Prompting |
Least-to-Most Prompting |
Time Delay |
Definition |
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When to use it |
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- Prompt Dependence
- A situation in which a response only occurs in the presence of a prompt instead of the cue that is expected to evoke the response. Prompt dependence usually happens when there are no prompt fading strategies put in place aimed at working towards independence (such as Most-to-Least Prompting and Time Delay).
- Inadvertent Prompting
- A situation in which an instructor provides prompts to a student without meaning to. This can lead the instructor to believe that a student has learned a skill, but in fact, the student has learned to attend to a prompt rather than the appropriate cue. This can result in a premature termination of a teaching program, leaving the student without having acquired the skill.
- Related Resources:
- ES Training Team Video models. (2015, June 30). Prompt fading motor response BITE SIZE. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7ULGeGBaDo
- Mims, P. (2011). Prompting systems. Modules Addressing Special Education and Teacher Education (MAST). Greenville, NC: East Carolina University. Retrieved from https://mast.ecu.edu/Students%20with%20Significant%20Intellectual%20Disabilities/Prompting%20Systems/index.html
- Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2015). Prompting. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/prompting