title: Evaluation of the errorless learning technique in children with traumatic brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare errorless learning with trial-and-error (T&E) learning of declarative facts in children with memory disorders secondary to traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective within-subjects concurrent treatment design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants' school or home.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four children, ages 6 to 18 years, with mild, moderate, or severe postacute TBI who met criteria for memory impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Conditions consisted of an errorless learning method and a T&E method. Within a session, half the items were taught with the errorless learning method and half with the T&E method. Each child received two 1-hour sessions a week for 7 weeks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Relative effectiveness of errorless learning and T&E methods for (1) initial learning and (2) retention over time for learned items.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was an advantage for T&E on initial learning. In children with mild, but not moderate or severe TBI, 2-day retention was better with the errorless learning technique; 7-day retention was better with errorless learning in young children with mild TBI. Seventy-seven-day retention revealed an advantage for errorless learning in younger children with severe TBI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings did not support errorless learning as a generalized intervention for learning difficulties after TBI or identify specific age- or injury-severity groups that benefited from this technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA. jalandis@uh.edu
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Landis
authors.forename: Gerri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hanten
authors.forename: Harvey S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: Xiaoqi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ewing-Cobbs
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duron
authors.forename: Walter M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: High
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies