Teaching Grocery Store Purchasing Skills to Students With Intellectual Disabilities Using a Computer-Based Instruction Program
By Hansen, David L.; Morgan, Robert L.; Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 431-442Publication Date: December 2008
Study evaluated effects of a multi-media computer-based instruction (CBI) program design to teach grocery store purchasing skills to high school students with intellectual disabilities. Participants were 3 male high-school students with moderate intellectual disabilities. The CBI consisted of DVD presentations modeling shopping skills including shopping-list preparation and shopping at a grocery store, and an interactive CD-ROM providing learners with a virtual shopping experience. Following modeling and skills practice, students performed a five-step purchasing sequence at a grocery store: (1) selecting the checkout stand with the shortest line; (2) placing 3 items on the conveyor; (3) providing the right purchasing amount rounded up to the text dollar; (4) responding to question regarding bagging preference; and (5) taking coin change, receipt, and groceries. A multiple baseline design across participants used measures of computer-performance mastery and grocery-store probes to evaluate the CBI. All participants initially performed at low percentages of correct responses in purchasing items at grocery-store checkout stands. After the introduction of CBI, all participants increased correct purchasing skills. Additionally, all participants performed at high levels in generalization probes at 3 different grocery stores and in a 30-day follow-up probe. Participants and parents rated purchasing skills higher following treatment. Study limitations and implications for further research are discussed.
Published by: Council for Exceptional Children (Website:http://www.cec.sped.org)
Division on Developmental Disabilities (DDD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) (Web Site: http://www.dddcec.org )
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J56108
