Fluency as a means to reach true mastery

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Fluency as a means to reach true mastery

• Chanie Kessler, M.S.
• Shema Kolainu- Hear Our Voices
• October 14th 2004

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Introduction

• Why fluency?
• Does it help?
• Research of using fluency procedures as a means
  to help students reach true mastery.
• ( Binder, 1978)

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What is Fluency?

• accuracy speed
• Quality pace
• doing the right thing w/o hesitation
• automatic or Second Nature
• True mastery
• (Binder, Carl 2004)

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With percent correct we cant tell the difference

• Percent correct handicaps our students, when we
  fail to measure along the time dimension, use
  impose a serious constraint on our expectations
  for students, as well as on the likelihood that
  we will work to normalize their skill
  proficiencies.
• (Binder, Carl 1978)

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With percent correct measures, cant go higher
than 100

• 2 students receive 100 in a program, however one
  completes task in 1 min. and the other in 15 min.
• What does this tell us

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Procedures

• Two 4 yr. old students with severe language and
  communication delays.
• Fluency drills run daily
• Participant A ( 1 minute timings)
• drawing lines across paper (see/write)
• and tact (label)
• Numbers (see/say)
• Participant B (1 minute)
• tap tambourine-right hand (see/do)
• Pinch (pull coins out of playdough) right hand (
  see/do)

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Student L
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Student L
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Student A
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Student A
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Results

• drills were effective in helping students
  increase their performance

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Practice Makes Perfect!

• If you want to get better at it, you have to
  practice. Theres no other way to do it. For me
  practicing is fun I enjoy improving myself, and
  I enjoy developing new skills.
• (Jordan, Michael
  1991)

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Stages of learning

• 1.      Acquiring new behavior
• 2.      Practicing components for fluency and
  endurance
• 3.     Applying and combining fluent components
  (Binder, Carl 2004)

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Things to keep in mind

• Students speed is dependent on instructor
• Use clear worksheets, present quickly etc.
• Not all programs should become fluency drills.