The Effects of CAI and Time Delay: A Systematic Program for Teaching Spelling

Abstract

This study describes a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program that implemented a constant time delay procedure to teach the spelling of 15 state names to a student with a history of spelling disabilities. A multiple probe design across words sets demonstrated that the near-errorless program was effective in teaching the student to type the correct spellings with less than a 5% error rate during instruction. Generalization to written spelling occurred, and maintenance probe data ranged from 94% to 100%. The time delay procedure includes proven principles of learning based upon stimulus control techniques and was found to be highly adaptable to CAI programs.