# The Brookes Transition to Adulthood Series

## EVIDENCE-BASED Instructional Strategies FOR Transition

by David W. Test, Ph.D.  
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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## Contents
1. Transition-Focused Education  
2. Transition Assessment for Instruction  
3. Teaching Strategies  
4. Data Collection Strategies  
5. Student-Focused Planning  
6. Student Development: Employment Skills  
7. Bound for Success: Teaching Life Skills  
8. Strategies for Teaching Academic Skills  
9. References

## 1 Transition-Focused Education

### Taxonomy for Transition Programming
### Transition-Focused Education and Standards-Based Education
### Overview of This Book
### For Further Information

## 2 Transition Assessment for Instruction

### Transition Assessments: The Key to a Transition-Rich Individualized Education Program
### Definition and Types of Transition Assessment
### Using Transition Assessment to Write Postsecondary Goals
### Using Transition Assessment to Write Present Levels of Performance
### Using Transition Assessment to Write Annual Individualized Education Program Goals
### Using Transition Assessment to Determine Transition Services
### Using Transition Assessment to Guide Instruction
### Transition Assessment and Indicator 13
### Summary
### For Further Information

## 3 Teaching Strategies

### Instructional Content: Finding Balance
### Community-Based and Community-Referenced Instruction
### Simulated Instruction

### The Recommendation: Pair Simulated Instruction with Community-Based Instruction

### Selecting Evidence-Based Instructional Practices for Simulated Instruction and Community-Based Instruction
### Task Analysis with Whole Task Chaining
### Self-Management via Audio Prompting
### Training for Generalization
### Summary
### For Further Information

## 4 Data Collection Strategies

### Dimensions of Behavior
### Data Collection Strategies
### Data Collection Issues
### Summary
### For Further Information

## 5 Student-Focused Planning

### Rationale for Involving Students in Transition Planning
### Steps for Involving Students in the Transition Planning Process
### Summary
### For Further Information

## 6 Student Development: Employment Skills

### Least-to-Most Prompting
### Community-Based Instruction
### Self-Management
### Computer-Assisted Instruction
### Mnemonics
### Response Prompting
### Summary
### For Further Information

## 7 Bound for Success: Teaching Life Skills
### What Are Life Skills?

Life skills are essential to life for all people, including individuals with intellectual disabilities.

### Why Is Life Skills Instruction Different?

Life skills can be grouped into broad clusters:
1. Self-care and domestic living  
2. Recreation and leisure  
3. Communication and social skills  
4. Vocational skills  
5. Other skills vital for community participation, such as postsecondary education

### Importance of Life Skills Instruction

Students with disabilities who exit high school with proficient life skills have better postschool outcomes. Explicit life skills instruction is characterized by breaking down complex tasks into smaller instructional units, step-by-step modeling, guided practice, immediate corrective feedback, and providing multiple opportunities to practice specific skills.

### Evidence-Based Practices in Life Skills Instruction

The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) has identified 48 evidence-based practices that have been used to teach students with disabilities across a range of life skills and instructional approaches.

| Instructional strategy | Skill |
| --- | --- |
| Using backward chaining to teach | Functional life skills |
| Using computer-assisted instruction to teach | Food preparation and cooking skills |
| Using community-based instruction to teach | Communication skills |
| Using constant time delay to teach | Applied math skills |

### Using the One-More-Than Strategy to Teach Purchasing Skills
**Objective:** To teach purchasing skills by using the “one-more-than” technique with 1-, 5-, and 10-dollar bills.
**Setting:** Instruction is conducted in the school library and generalization is measured in the community at stores.  
**Materials:** Each student is given five 1-dollar bills, one 5-dollar bill, and one 10-dollar bill during all instructional sessions.
**Content Taught:**
1. The purchaser listens for the price of an item.
2. The purchaser counts one dollar for the cents pile and puts it aside.
3. The purchaser then pays for the item using all of the bills in the pile.

### Using Constant Time Delay to Teach Banking Skills
**Objective:** To teach students to make a cash withdrawal at an ATM or write checks for cash.
**Setting:** Bank  
**Materials:**
1. ATM card
2. Check writing materials: checks and withdrawal slips

### Instructional Procedures
Assess the students' performances by collecting data on the steps completed correctly, using prompt hierarchies to assist with their responses.

## 8 Strategies for Teaching Academic Skills
### Self-Management
### Technology-Based Instruction
### Academic Peer Assistance
### Visual Displays
### Mnemonics
### How Can Teachers Use These Interventions within One Lesson?

## References

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Excerpted from Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies for Transition by David W. Test, Ph.D. Brookes Publishing

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