Effects of computer-assisted instruction on correct responding and procedural integrity during early intensive behavioral intervention Tiffany Kodak *, Wayne W. Fisher, Andrea Clements, Kelly J. Bouxsein Munroe-Meyer Institute & University of Nebraska Medical Center, United States Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has been used to teach children with developmental disabilities a variety of academic skills (Bosseler & Mossaro, 2003; Moore & Calvert, 2000). For example, Bosseler and Massaro taught children with autism spoken word-to-picture discriminations and grammar skills using computer-based instructional procedures. Children acquired a significant number of vocabulary words with CAI and maintained more than 90% of these newly acquired skills for 30 days following training. Previous research has compared CAI to other methods of instruction (e.g., one-on-one instruction) to evaluate whether CAI produces superior levels of acquisition (Chen & Bernard-Opitz, 1993; Moore & Calvert, 2000; Williams, Wright, Callaghan, & Coughlan, 2002). In these preliminary studies, CAI was associated with decreased levels of problem behavior, but differences in the rate of acquisition favoring CAI were observed in some studies but not others. As such, additional comparisons of CAI and one-on-one instruction are warranted. Computer-assisted instruction has also been applied to staff training (Ingvarsson & Hanley, 2006). Ingvarsson and Hanley evaluated whether CAI would promote preschool teachers use of parents’ names during morning and afternoon greetings. Staff members received training on parent and child picture naming via CAI. Teachers rapidly acquired parents’ names, although an additional treatment package was necessary for some of the teachers in the preschool classroom following Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 5 (2011) 640–647 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 13 July 2010 Accepted 28 July 2010 Keywords: Computer-assisted instruction Early intensive behavioral intervention Generalization training Procedural integrity Staff training Therapist training ABSTRACT Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is used to teach a variety of skills to children with developmental disabilities. However, it remains unclear whether CAI or direct instruction from a therapist produces better learning outcomes. In addition, no studies have evaluated the ease of training therapists to implement CAI versus direct instruction. In the first experiment, the current study compared acquisition of mastered and unmastered targets during generalization training with CAI or one-on-one instruction with a child diagnosed with autism. Although correct responding was similar across CAI and one-on-one instruction, independent responding was higher during CAI. In the second experiment, we compared procedural integrity during teaching trials conducted either via CAI or one-on- one instruction by three inexperienced therapists. The therapists read a protocol and asked questions prior to implementation of the instructional trials. Results indicated that each therapist implemented CAI with 90–100% accuracy by the second session, whereas procedural integrity levels were 60% or lower during one-on-one instruction. The advantages of using CAI to promote independent responding during generalization training and procedural integrity for inexperience therapists are discussed. ß 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author at: Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Munroe-Meyer Institute, UNMC, 985450 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198- 5450, United States. Tel.: +1 402 559 7038. E-mail address: tkodak@unmc.edu (T. Kodak). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders Journal homepage: http://ees.elsevier.com/RASD/default.asp 1750-9467/$ – see front matter ß 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2010.07.011