Discrete Trial Training(DTT)
A structured teaching method that breaks skills into small, discrete steps taught through repeated, clearly defined learning trials.
Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is an instructional method derived from applied behavior analysis in which complex skills are broken down into their smallest teachable components and taught one step at a time. Each step is taught through a discrete trial, a clearly delineated learning opportunity with a defined beginning and end.
A discrete trial follows a consistent structure: an antecedent or instruction (the discriminative stimulus), the learner response, and a consequence such as reinforcement for a correct response or a correction procedure for an incorrect one. A brief pause, called the inter-trial interval, separates one trial from the next. Prompts are often used early and then systematically faded so the learner can respond independently.
Because DTT produces a clear correct or incorrect outcome on every trial, it generates highly granular data. Practitioners typically record performance as a percentage of trials correct across sessions, which makes progress easy to chart and lets teams decide when to advance, maintain, or revise a target.