A Comparison of Simultaneous Prompting and Constant Time Delay Procedures in Teaching State Capitals

This investigation compared the effectiveness and efficiency of constant time delay (CTD) and simultaneous prompting (SP) procedures in teaching discrete social studies facts to 4 high school students with learning and behavior disorders using an adapted alternating treatments design nested within a multiple probe design. The results indicated that both procedures were effective, with the simultaneous prompting procedure being slightly more efficient in terms of errors during instructional and maintenance phases. In addition, when interviewed about their preferences, both the instructor and participants preferred the simultaneous prompting procedure. This investigation extends current research as there are small numbers of studies comparing SP to other response prompting strategies, and to date, SP and CTD have not been compared with high school students with high-incidence disabilities. Future research issues are discussed.