RBT - Registered Behavior Technician Discrete Trial Teaching Methods 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of the inter-trial interval (ITI) in discrete trial teaching?
- To give the RBT time to consult the behavior intervention plan
- To provide a brief pause between trials so the client can reset attention before the next SD (Correct answer)
- To allow the client to choose the next activity
- To signal that the session is ending soon
Correct answer: To provide a brief pause between trials so the client can reset attention before the next SD
The ITI is a short pause between the consequence of one trial and the presentation of the next SD. It helps prevent confusion between trials and allows the client's attention to reset before the new learning opportunity begins.
Question 2: An RBT begins teaching a child to name pictures by fully completing the response for the child, then later using a gesture toward the correct answer, and eventually giving no assistance at all. This progression describes which teaching procedure?
- Shaping
- Chaining
- Prompt fading (Correct answer)
- Extinction
Correct answer: Prompt fading
Prompt fading is the systematic reduction of prompts over time so that stimulus control transfers from the prompt to the natural SD, building the client's independent responding.
Question 3: During a discrete trial, a client responds incorrectly. The RBT calmly says 'No,' pauses briefly, then re-presents the same SD paired with a physical prompt to ensure the client practices the correct response. What procedure is this?
- Differential reinforcement
- Error correction (Correct answer)
- Planned ignoring
- Stimulus fading
Correct answer: Error correction
Error correction is used after an incorrect response in DTT. The RBT provides a corrective consequence, resets the trial, and re-presents the SD with a prompt so the client practices the correct response and does not rehearse the error.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST describes 'massed trials' in discrete trial teaching?
- Presenting multiple different targets in random rotation within one session
- Spreading practice of a single target across many short sessions throughout the day
- Presenting the same SD repeatedly in succession before moving to another target (Correct answer)
- Running trials without a defined consequence to assess baseline performance
Correct answer: Presenting the same SD repeatedly in succession before moving to another target
Massed trials concentrate repeated presentations of the same SD consecutively, which is useful during initial acquisition to give the client intensive practice with one specific skill before rotating targets.
Question 5: An RBT marks a '+' for each correct unprompted response and a '−' for each incorrect or prompted response on a trial-by-trial data sheet. What is the PRIMARY reason for collecting this data?
- To document the RBT's level of effort during the session
- To track the client's progress toward mastery criteria and inform programming decisions (Correct answer)
- To determine the client's preferred reinforcers
- To satisfy administrative paperwork requirements only
Correct answer: To track the client's progress toward mastery criteria and inform programming decisions
Trial-by-trial data collection in DTT allows the treatment team to objectively monitor whether the client is progressing, determine when mastery criteria are met, and make data-based decisions about modifying or advancing targets.
Question 6: A client has mastered identifying animals during structured DTT at a table. The RBT then asks the client to identify animals in a book in a different room with a different adult present. This practice is designed to promote which concept?
- Extinction
- Generalization (Correct answer)
- Shaping
- Backward chaining
Correct answer: Generalization
Generalization means the client demonstrates a learned skill across different settings, people, and materials beyond the original training environment. Deliberately practicing skills outside the training context helps ensure real-world functional use.
RBT - Registered Behavior Technician Discrete Trial Teaching Methods 1
What is the primary purpose of the inter-trial interval (ITI) in discrete trial teaching?