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Reviewed was a 4 year project in which factors influencing learning in the mentally retarded were investigated by means of comparative studies on guided or prompted learning (P) and confirmation or trial and error learning (C). Previous research on P and C was summarized briefly. Examined were seven paradigmatic studies from the project which failed to show a clear superiority of either P or C. Reported was a subsequently applied study in which Ss were taught basic arithmetic skills under the following training conditions: all P, all C, P followed by C, C followed by P, and alternation of P and C. Data showed a lack of large differences in the effectiveness of various training conditions, all of which were thought to have contributed to an increased rate of learning for pupils. Practical implications for teachers of the mentally retarded were drawn in relation to pace of presentation, set for long retention interval, verbalization, intervening tests, expectancy of success, importance of particular rewards to the learner, interference resulting from similarity within the task, training method as a means of distinguishing tasks, diagnostic nature of training materials, and learner ability. (GW)

Using 48 educable mentally handicapped students (ages 12-18) as subjects, a study investigated the effect of prompted and trial-and-error procedures on the learning of a paired-associate task, when items (concrete nouns of less than six letters) in one list were drawn from the same categories (animals, food) and in a second list, from different categories. Results showed that prompting caused superior performance in the first situation, demonstrating that guided learning mitigates the interference caused by associating categories rather than stimulus response items. Other variables examined included interspersed non-reinforced test trials in the trial-and-error situation, and the order of presentation of the two lists. Related to the design of instructional materials, results suggest that, in the preparation of programed workbooks or similar items for the mantally handicapped, prompting would be an effective means of introducing new concepts for association with already familiar items. (KW)