Errorless learning
Prompting the correct response immediately to prevent the learner from making mistakes during acquisition.
Errorless learning is an instructional approach where you provide a prompt immediately after delivering the instruction, ensuring the learner gets it right every single time.
You use this strategy for learners whose escape behaviour is triggered by making mistakes, facing difficult tasks, or experiencing frustration. By preventing the error from occurring in the first place, you remove the aversive event that triggers the desire to escape. The learner experiences a high rate of success and access to reinforcement, which builds their confidence and willingness to participate.
Practitioners often fail to fade the prompts effectively. The goal is not for the learner to rely on you forever; you must systematically fade the prompt (e.g., from physical to gestural to independent) as the learner acquires the skill. Another mistake is using errorless learning for skills the learner already knows. It is specifically designed for the acquisition phase of new, difficult skills, not for tasks they are simply refusing to do.
Implementation
- Identify the target skill and the most intrusive prompt needed to guarantee success.
- Deliver the instruction and immediately provide the prompt.
- Reinforce the correct response heavily.
- Over subsequent trials, systematically fade the prompt (e.g., delay the prompt slightly, or use a less intrusive prompt).
- Continue fading until the learner responds independently.
Common Mistakes
- Failing to systematically fade the prompts, creating prompt dependency.
- Using errorless learning for skills the learner has already mastered but is non-compliant with.
- Waiting too long to deliver the prompt, allowing an error to occur.