Trial tracking

When I am working with my students, sometimes they really need to know how many items are left in an activity.  This is especially true for any kind of work with cards.  I have found a great visual way to help with this.  Peg boards!  You know those boards that they use for fine motor or in OT?  Well they work great for this!

I usually count out how many trials of the activity I want to complete and then put that many pegs on the board.  I also set out something to put the pegs in.  You can use a washed Lean Cuisine tray or a meat tray. I got my meat trays for free at Kroger.  I asked and they donated a bunch to me.  So don't worry, there was never raw meat on my trays!

As we start working, I take a peg out for each trial of the activity and put it on the tray.

When we are done with the trials all of the pegs are in the tray.  This is a great visual way to show the student that they are all done.  Some students may need some time to get used to this system, so you may want to start small.  You could start with two or three trials at a time, give a reinforcer, and then try a few more trials.