An equivalence class exists if the stimuli that comprise the class are related by the properties of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity. Through these properties, new behavior that has not been taught emerges. For example, when taught to match Set A stimuli to Set B stimuli and to match Set A stimuli to Set C stimuli, if equivalence classes have formed, subjects will (with no explicit instruction) match Set B stimuli to Set C and Set C stimuli to Set B stimuli. Although equivalence classes have been studied extensively, few studies have considered the application of this technology to educational concerns. The purpose of this study was (a) to determine if phonics skills could effectively and efficiently be taught to young children through the formation of equivalence classes and (b) to investigate the generality of those acquired skills. Using a conditional discrimination procedure, children were taught to match printed letters to dictated phonetic sounds and to match the initial sound of pictured items to dictated phonetic sounds. Test results indicated that equivalence classes had emerged and that generalization did occur. The children could match the initial sound of pictured items to printed letters and vice versa and could name letter sounds and initial sounds of pictured items. During generality testing, each child could identify the initial sound of several novel pictured items and could sound out the letters within the words. However, reading did not occur. Only 1 of 5 children could blend the sounds of letters into recognizable words. A significant difficulty encountered throughout the study was maintaining the children's motivation, possibly due to the children's inexperience in attending to academic tasks. This study did, however, demonstrate that the formation of equivalence classes is an effective and efficient method for teaching phonics and that the formation of generalized equivalence classes is effective in extending those taught relations to novel stimuli. / Department of Special Education
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/178484 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Metcalfe, Marta J. |
| Contributors | Ulman, Jerome D. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 177 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds