Summary: DTT teaches a skill by breaking it into small steps and running them one trial at a time, each with a clear start and stop. You give an instruction, the learner responds, you reinforce or correct, you pause, you do it again. Learn the parts of a trial cold, because the exam tests them constantly, and learn prompt fading, because that's where DTT either works or quietly fails.
DTT is probably the teaching method you'll spend the most table time on, especially with younger learners early in a program. The idea is simple. Take a skill, slice it into the smallest teachable piece, and teach that piece through a lot of short, clean repetitions. Each repetition is a trial. Each trial has a clear beginning and a clear end, which is where the word "discrete" comes from.
You'll hear people call it "table time" or "drill," and that's not wrong, but don't let the casual name fool you. Done well, DTT is precise. Done sloppily, you teach the learner to depend on your prompts instead of the actual instruction, and that's a hole you'll spend weeks climbing out of.
What one trial actually looks like
Every discrete trial has the same skeleton. Memorize it. The exam will hand you a scenario and ask you to name a part, or hand you a part and ask what comes next.
A trial runs in this order:
That's the free preview of Discrete Trial Training. The complete guide, plus all 851 practice questions and 3 full exams, is in the study pack and the book.