What refers to a situation when a learner continues to rely on a prompt to initiate a response despite having mastered the skill?

The term that describes a situation where a learner continues to rely on a prompt to initiate a response despite having mastered the skill is prompt dependency. This phenomenon can occur when a learner becomes accustomed to receiving prompts and does not independently engage with the task at hand, thereby hindering their ability to demonstrate the skill without assistance.

Prompt dependency indicates that the learner has not fully generalized the skill beyond the prompting context or has not developed the independence needed to perform the skill autonomously. This can be an unfortunate outcome in educational or behavioral interventions, as it suggests that more focus may be needed on gradually reducing prompts and fostering independence.

Understanding prompt dependency helps practitioners identify when adjustments need to be made to the prompting strategy to facilitate greater independence in the learner's performance of the targeted skill.