The time delay is used in teaching after the teacher has given a task direction of the skill. It is allowed to pass before a prompt is offered with the major aim that the student will accomplish the task independently without any intervention from the teacher. This is used mainly in helping students with mild mental retardation and learning disabilities having difficulties in reading without the intervention of the teacher. This is because if an intervention is not made then there is the chance that the student will not have the ability to accomplish the task that they have been handed independently and will lead to failure (Risen et al, 2003).
The teacher gives the student an approximate time of 4-5 seconds delay in reading through which they can examine the words carefully and be able to read them clearly. This is enabled by the pre-response prompts that systematically fade by the insertion of time between the presentation of a word card and the prompt for the correct performance. They are allowed time to revisit the words that they are about to read so that they can be able to know what they are doing and what they will say. This time also enables them to remember how the words are spelt from their previous lesson which is paramount. The disabled children are, therefore, able to know how to spell the words correctly both in the present and also in the future.
The importance of time delay is that it gives the students a chance to read words that they find to be challenging for them. In learning especially in pupils that have disabilities, is imperative. They can understand better through the platform in which they can learn and use the words. When its effectiveness was compared with the simultaneous prompting (SP), it was indicated that both the processes were very effective. The simultaneous response was however more efficient has it had fewer errors than the constant time delay. Most participants however did not favor the constant time delay and rather chose to use the simultaneous prompting. The method might be out of favor for many, but it still is very effective and can guide the people that are using it to more prosperity and understanding what they read from the delay. The delay is imperative for some people with disabilities especially those that understand things at a very slow pace.
Time delay is viewed as one of the best instructional tactic that has been devised in teaching students with disabilities. It might seem very hard for them to understand and read but with the help of the teacher they can get to what they are presenting and recognize it better. They gain more confidence than it has been expected of them and can adapt to reading in the future without having to rely on the teachers or the instructors that are taking them through the process. Multiplication facts are one of the biggest methods that rely on the method of time delay. This makes the students to evaluate and understand what they are reading much more effectively as these facts can be contradictory for them. If these facts contradict them then, it becomes much harder for them to understand. The time delay is used to reduce this contradiction and enable them to understand without straining.
Direct comparisons of the constant time delay show the efficiency and efficacy that the method has. It can show the fruits that the constant time delay can reap based on the performance of the students with disabilities who use the method. When it comes to students with disabilities then, it becomes the most useful method to make the students know how they should deal with the presentation after the prompt. Other methods can also be used, but this has proven to be the best in pupils that have disabilities. It might be less effective on pupils that do not have disabilities and beaten by other methods due to errors alone. They however lack key factors that are needed I teaching children that have disabilities and make them understand what they are being taught. All methods are effective, but there are several parts that always need implementation for the whole method to work out as it has been expected.
The errors are mostly related to the understanding of the child in the future. The child might over rely on the method making it very hard to read the words without having to delay first. They grow with the knowledge of having to delay first before they can read the words. This delay will affect them as they grow as at some point it will not be used to teach them anymore, they therefore will have a difficult time trying to find how to read the words at such a fast speed. They will confuse the words and lack the ability to read and understand them. The mentality of a child is always related to that they must be given some time before they can read the words and understand their meanings. These errors cannot be found in other method, and this is the only reason that instructors will prefer other methods of teaching. They have fewer errors when it comes to this and makes the child adapt to reading without having to delay for a long period.
Simultaneous Prompting
This method is a direct alternative to constant time delay. It has the same structure and involves giving instructions to complete the objective for a certain period. The teacher provides the assistance needed for a period but stops giving it when the student can read. The help from the teacher however fades after some time when the teacher gives prompted trials, and the student can read through them without having any trouble doing so. Therefore, this method is not used for long time achievements. When the teacher gives the prompts, and the students can adjust its use fades completely. This makes it more effective than the constant time delay as the teacher continues to use for some time as a teacher involves the children to task. The teacher might not be able to stop the use as the pupils are already adapted to the method. The students will always need to be instructed and given some time to understand the words before they can read them.
The method reduces the complexity that is there to reading of words that prove to be a big challenge to the student and also how the teacher can instruct the students. This makes it a preferable method between the two. The teachers would prefer to use the simultaneous method due to these facts. It's also very easy to get used to more than the constant time delay. Students can understand and interpret through the programs that have been set so that they can improve their understanding on the issues. The students represent a basis in which they can be able to be instructed and also accomplish the same task after some time without any supervision.
Most instructors will, therefore, prefer to use this method as it also very flexible and is not limited to a certain time. The students can learn to accomplish the task at any time and put it into use so that they can be able to do their assignments. The constant time delay is however limited to a certain time. The instructors should wait for a period before they can start another step in the process which will enable them to accomplish the said tasks. This makes the method to be slow as the instructors adheres to a set time and can only adjust at this periods to make sure that they have understood the whole concept on what they are being taught. The limitation to time is, therefore, imperative to.
Comparison between constant time delay and simultaneous response
The time delay is used in teaching after the teacher has given a task direction of the skill. It is allowed to pass before a prompt. Its major aim is that the student will accomplish the task independently without any intervention from the teacher (Walker, 2007). On the other hand, Simultaneous prompting has been used to teach students with disabilities a variety of discrete skills in more traditional instructional formats Studies comparing simultaneous prompting and constant time delay in more traditional teaching formats have found that simultaneous prompting is more effective. Comparing simultaneous prompting and constant time delay procedures in teaching grocery words to elementary students with moderate disabilities (Greer, 2002).
In constant time delay, the teacher allows the student to have a 4-5 seconds delay in reading through which they can examine the words carefully and be able to read them clearly. This is enabled by the pre-response prompts that systematically fade by the insertion of time between the presentation of a word card and the prompt for the correct performance. The students run the task under the observation of the teacher and are led so that they can get to achieve a lot from the prompt. The students follow what their teacher is saying and take a few seconds to evaluate what they are going to do so that they can understand it better and also enable them to ran all the other tasks in the future with less struggle. The students adapt to the method of tackling their tasks in this way ad they are even able to do the tasks on their own after some time but still with supervision of their teachers (Head et al, 2011).
The simultaneous response is similar to this only that the students are given tasks to accomplish by themselves from time to time therefore enabling them to understand the tasks that they are going to handle in the future by themselves. The teacher only supervises these tasks and ensures that the students understand what the prompts need and therefore be able to tackle the tasks that they have been given to accomplish. The instructor will stop using the method when the students can read and take their tasks as they are supposed to. When they start presenting accurately then the instructor can reduce the rate of giving the instructions and ensure that they get to understand even better than the first time.
Conclusion
When its effectiveness was compared with the simultaneous prompting (SP), it was indicated that both the processes were very effective. The simultaneous response was however more efficient has it had fewer errors than the constant time delay. Most participants however did not favor the constant time delay and rather chose to use the simultaneous prompting. Both methods however have great results and when used the instructor can successfully teach the pupils with less struggle (Knight et al., 2003). They are among the best methods that have ever been devised in teaching students with disabilities. This is further reinstated by the fact that they can provide good results after a short while, and they are instructional. The importance of time delay is that it gives the students a chance to read words that they find to be challenging for them. In learning especially in pupils that have disabilities, is paramount. They can understand better through the platform in which they can learn and use the words (Balachandran, Kalmár-Nagy & Gilsinn, 2009).
Direct comparisons of the constant time delay show the efficiency and efficacy that the method has. It can show the fruits that the constant time delay can reap based on the performance of the students with disabilities who use the method. When it comes to students with disabilities then, it becomes the most useful method to make the students acknowledge the tasks they are running. The method should however not be over relied and the instructors should seek to explore other modes and see which ones can work for the time and the group. In this way the students will understand even better than when using one method.
References
Balachandran, B., Kalmár-Nagy, T., & Gilsinn, D. (2009). Delay differential equations: Recent advances and new directions. New York: Springer.
Greer, R. D. (2002). Designing teaching strategies: An applied behavior analysis systems approach. Amsterdam: Academic Press.
Head K, D., Collins B, C., Schuster J, W., & Ault M, J.,(2011). A Comparison of Simultaneous Prompting and Constant Time Delay Procedures in Teaching State Capitals. Print.
Knight M, G., Ross D, E., Taylor R, L., Ramasamy R., (2003). Constant Time Delay and Interspersal of Known Items to Teach Sight Words to Students with Mental Retardation and Learning Disabilities. Print.
Risen T, McDonnell J, Johnson J, W., Polychronis S & Jameson M, (2003). A Comparison of Constant Time Delay Within Embedded Instruction in General Education Classes with Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities. Print.
Walker G, (2007). Constant and Progressive Time Delay Procedures for Teaching Children with Autism: A Literature Review. Print.
