Fluency Training Overview

Fluency Training Module

What is Fluency?

  • Fluency is defined as both accuracy and speed in performing a skill.
  • It involves how many correct responses a learner can demonstrate in a specific amount of time (rate).

Importance of Fluency

  • Social Significance: Fluency helps learners function socially, such as answering questions in social situations.
  • Environmental Navigation: Fluent skills enable learners to navigate their environment and community effectively (home, school, community).
  • Foundation for Complex Skills: Fluency in foundational skills allows learners to acquire more complex skills.
  • Second Nature: Core skills should be second nature to facilitate building upon them.

Fluency and Data

  • Accuracy: Data shows how many responses were correct or incorrect (e.g., 80%, 90%, 100%, nine correct responses, five words read).
  • Speed: Data indicates how long it took to demonstrate the skill (e.g., 90% accuracy in 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes).

Features of Fluency

Retention
  • Retention is the ability to retain and demonstrate a skill over time.
  • Related to maintenance schedules and generalization across instructors, environments, and materials.
  • Defined as the relationship between behavior frequencies at two points in time without opportunity to emit the behavior in between.
  • Skills can be tested on a predetermined, individualized schedule (e.g., one month, three months, six months).
  • Retention checks involve maintenance drills to ensure consistent speed and accuracy; adjustments are made if needed.
Endurance
  • Endurance is the ability to perform a behavior at a given level over time.
  • Examples:
    • Timed math tests.
    • Timed reading comprehension tests (reading a passage and answering questions accurately within a time limit).
Application
  • Application is combining one element behavior to a compound behavior.
  • Examples:
    • Math Applications: Using single-digit addition to learn two-digit and three-digit addition.
    • Gross Motor Applications: Learning individual gross motor skills to participate in activities with peers.

Defining Characteristics of Fluency Training

  • Focus on total correct responses (accuracy) over time.
  • Short, timed practice sessions without breaks.
  • Instruction is presented with no breaks in between trials.
  • Reinforcement given after a set number of trials (e.g., after every 10 flashcards).
  • Self-monitoring and progress reporting (individualized; may be done by the learner or instructor).

How to Teach Fluency

  • Mastery of Skill: Fluency instruction starts after the learner has mastered a specific skill (e.g., via shaping).
  • Session Time: select a session time for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes whatever is appropriate for that skill.
  • Counter: Counter or clicker to count the number correct
Responding with Fluency: Level 1
  • Timed Trials: Repeated timed practice to complete tasks quickly and accurately.
    • Provide a task (e.g., math worksheet) and a recording sheet.
    • Set a time limit and have the student complete as many problems as possible.
    • Provide answer sheets for self-correction.
    • Allow time to review errors and provide repeated practice.
    • Reward System
  • Flashcards: Use flashcards and time trials to memorize basic facts.
    • Use a timer, recording sheet, and flashcards.
    • The students answer before he turns it around
    • Separate correct and incorrect answers into piles.
    • Have students practice and record results, providing assistance as needed.
  • Helpful Hints: Have students write their own fluency flashcards (e.g., vocabulary).
Responding with Fluency: Level 2
  • Repeated Readings: Assess the student's current reading rate, set a higher goal, and model the target passage.
    • Have the student read the passage multiple times (three to five).
    • Provide assistance with difficult sections.
    • Praise and encourage.
  • Peer Models: Pair the student with a peer model to observe fluency exercises.
    • Allow the peer to complete the exercise first, then have the student take a turn.
    • Provide praise and encouragement.
  • Review: Support staff reviews exercises to ensure understanding.
    • Model responses and describe each step.
  • Helpful Hints: Keep timed practice sessions short with fun transitional activities.
Responding with Fluency: Level 3
  • Timed Practice: Break tasks into steps and teach each step more quickly.
    • Take a baseline of how long it takes to complete the task.
    • Gradually decrease the time limit for each step.
    • Remind the student of the goal and provide opportunities for practice.
  • Peer Models: Have the student imitate a peer, allowing the peer to provide feedback and encouragement.
  • Motivation System: Use token economies (motivation systems).
    • Create tokens representing rewards.
    • Use a number line to indicate how many responses the student must complete.
      • Cues
    • Review the motivation board with the student.
    • Provide praise and rewards.
    • Gradually, increase the number of responses to get rewards.
  • Embed into Fun Activities: Integrate games that require task completion within a time frame (e.g., puzzles).
  • Helpful Hints: Observe a peer to determine how many responses a student should complete within a time interval.

Skills to Teach Using Fluency Training

Expressive Language
  • Skills: Colors, feature/function/class (FFC), categories.
  • Teaching Recommendations:
    • Use flashcards of known categories.
    • Set a timer for a desired amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute).
    • Use a clicker to track correct responses for each category.
    • Instruct the learner to name an item in the category (flashcard presented).
    • Increase the number of required items over time.
Receptive Language
  • Skills: Identification/selection of colors, FFC, categories, common items, locations, safety symbols, money, letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers (single, two, three-digit).
  • Teaching Steps:
    • Place picture cards on the table.
    • Set a timer for a desired amount of time.
    • Use a clicker to track correct responses.
    • Present the name of the picture, and the learner selects it.
    • Increase the number of correct responses over time.
Fine Motor Skills
  • Skills: Placing buttons in open/closed containers, picking up items with tweezers, buttoning buttons.
  • Teaching Fluency:
    • Identify known fine motor skills.
    • Select a motor skill to teach to fluency.
    • Set a timer for a desired time.
    • Use a clicker to track correct responses.
    • Click the clicker when the answer is correct.
    • Record the total number of correct responses and the time.
    • Increase the number of correct responses in the set amount of time reward.
Math Skills
  • Identify math facts to teach to fluency.
  • Select the instruction type and skill to teach to fluency (e.g., addition flashcards).
  • Set a timer for the desired amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute).
  • Use a clicker to track the number of correct responses.
  • Record the total number of correct responses and the time.
  • Increase the number of correct responses in the set amount of time to earn reinforcement.
Imitation Skills
  • Skills: Gross motor imitation.
  • Teaching Steps:
    • Identify known imitation skills.
    • Select the desired skill set.
    • Set a timer for the desired amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute).
    • Clicker to track the number of correct correct responses, and the time that they demonstrated that.
    • Each time, increase the set amount of time to get rewards.
Completing Tasks Within a Time Period
  • Select the instruction type and skill to teach fluency.
  • Set a timer for a desired amount of time (e.g., 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute).
  • Use a clicker to track the number of correct responses.
  • Record the total time to complete all needed steps within the task.
  • Over time, decrease the set amount of time to earn reinforcement.
Reading Skills
  • Skills: Letter identification, sight words, phonemic sounds, reading sentences/passages.
  • Teaching Steps*
    • Select the instruction type and teach to fluency (letter identification, reading a passage, reading a sentence).
    • Set a timer for the desired amount of time.
    • Clicker to track correct responses.
    • Record the time needed to complete the steps
    • Over time, increase the number of corrected responses to reinforce.

Fluency Training and Graphing

  • Display fluency data using a standard acceleration chart or a simple graph.
  • For self-monitoring, use a simple graph showing achievements over time.
  • Include a goal line to show the target for fluency training.
  • Example: Math fact fluency for one minute, showing the number of correct math facts over time.

Review: What is Fluency?

  • Fluency involves both accuracy and speed for a particular skill.
  • Ensure the skills are second nature to the learner.
Components of Fluency
  • The client is able to function socially with answering questions and with peers.
  • Learners can learn increasingly complex skills.
  • Foundation skills have become natural, and are easy to build onto.
Features of Fluency Training
  • Retention: Clients retain skills over time.
  • Endurance: Clients demonstrate skills at a high level of accuracy within a specific time period.
  • Application: Learners apply foundation skills and build fluency in those skills to demonstrate more complex levels.