To report massed and distributed practice data, lock the target sets, total planned opportunities, day and session structure, prompts, consequences, supports, mastery rule, and follow-up window. Show planned and delivered trials, independent and prompted responses, errors, minutes, calendar days, partner integrity, access failures, withdrawal, client report, maintenance, and generalization. Equal weekly totals on paper are not equal exposure when sessions are missed or invalid.
Define how to report massed distributed practice data
Version each condition with dates, targets, assigned opportunities, session length, rest, response windows, prompts, and consequences. Record what actually occurred rather than copying the scheduled dose into the outcome table.
Keep denominators aligned
Acquisition uses eligible target opportunities. Delivery uses completed divided by planned opportunities. Integrity uses correctly implemented components divided by components due. Maintenance uses its own due cohort and follow-up date. Client withdrawal stays visible.
Use the research structure
The Haq study compared all weekly opportunities on one day with the same type of opportunities across several days. The verbal review highlights this as an instructional-format comparison, which requires schedule and target detail.
Preserve professional safeguards
The BACB outline covers measurement, design, integrity, and interpretation. The Ethics Code addresses documentation, involvement, and evaluation. ASHA supports AAC availability as a separate readiness condition.
A practical example
Both conditions plan 40 trials. Massed delivery is 36/40 with 20/36 independent; distributed delivery is 30/40 with 19/30 independent because one day is missed. The report gives exposure, accuracy, minutes, errors, client rating, and later maintenance for both.
Questions families can use
Were target sets equal? How many trials were planned and delivered? Are prompts separate? What started and ended each clock? Are missed days, access failures, and withdrawal visible?
Sources
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, BCBA Test Content Outline, 6th edition
- Haq and colleagues, Comparing the Effects of Massed and Distributed Practice on Skill Acquisition for Children With Autism
- DeSouza and colleagues, Empirical Application of Skinner's Verbal Behavior to Interventions for Children With Autism
- Ross and colleagues, Learner Preference Between Massed- and Alternating-Trial Sequencing
- Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Finni resources
