Keys to Successful Learning: Introduction to the Special Issue
Steve Graham: University of Maryland, Department of Special Education Karen R. Harris: University of Maryland, Department of Special Education

Prevention and Intervention in Beginning Reading: Two Complex Systems
Michael D. Coyne: University of Oregon Edward J. Kame’enui: University of Oregon Deborah C. Simmons: University of Oregon

Abstract:
This paper addresses two sets of organizing principles to guide prevention and intervention in beginning reading: (a) the complexity in our alphabetic writing system, and (b) the complexity in our schools. The first set is related to instructional design, while the second set is related to a schoolwide model.

Prevention and intervention efforts in beginning reading for students with learning disabilities must attend to 2 systems, our complex alphabetic writing system and our equally complex schools. In this article, we present 2 sets of organizing principles to guide prevention and intervention in beginning reading drawn from the substantial body of converging research evidence accumulated over the past 40 years. The first set consists of 6 instructional design principles focused on teaching reading in our alphabetic writing system. These principles include big ideas, mediated scaffolding, conspicuous strategies, strategic integration, primed background knowledge, and judicious review. The second set includes organizational principles designed to anchor effective reading practices at the school-building level. These principles are structured around 3 interrelated areas: (1) the schoolwide establishment of long-term reading goals and intermediate performance benchmarks, (2) the early identification and frequent monitoring of students experiencing reading difficulties, and (3) the development of coordinated and differentiated instructional interventions for the full range of learners.

Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities
Steve Graham: University of Maryland Karen R. Harris: University of Maryland Lynn Larsen: University of Maryland

Abstract:
This paper presents six principles designed to prevent writing difficulties as well as to build writing skills: (a) providing effective writing instruction, (b) tailoring instruction to meet the individual needs, (c) intervening early, (d) expecting that each child will learn to write, (e) identifying and addressing roadblocks to writing, and (f) employing technologies.

Many students with LD experience difficulties mastering the process of writing. We examine how schools can help these children become skilled writers. Six principles designed to prevent as well as alleviate writing difficulties are presented. These include providing effective writing instruction, tailoring writing instruction to meet each child’s needs, intervening early to provide additional assistance, expecting that each child will learn to write, identifying and addressing academic and nonacademic roadblocks to writing, and deploying technological tools that improve writing performance.

Principles for the Prevention and Intervention of Mathematics Difficulties
Lynn S. Fuchs: Peabody College of Vanderbilt University Douglas Fuchs: Peabody College of Vanderbilt University

Abstract:
Three levels of prevention and intervention in the area of mathematics are addressed: (a) primary prevention focusing on universal design, (b) secondary prevention focusing on adaptations, and (c) tertiary prevention focusing on intensive and explicit contextualization of skills-based instruction.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss principles of prevention and intervention in the area of mathematics. First, we identify research-based principles associated with primary prevention. Second, we turn our attention to secondary prevention, with a focus on prereferral intervention. We identify principles that serve to differentiate primary and secondary prevention and specify instructional variables that are promising for use within a secondary prevention mode. Finally, we discuss intervention. We identify principles of effective intervention, which include individually referenced decision making, instructional intensity, and deliberate contextualization of skills-based instruction.

Ensuring Content-Area Learning by Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities
Donald D. Deshler: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Jean B. Schumaker: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning B. Keith Lenz: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Janis A. Bulgren: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Michael F. Hock: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Jim Knight: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Barbara J. Ehren: University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning

Abstract:
Three factors tied with secondary student success in content-area reading are demonstrated: (a) validated teacher-focused and student-focused interventions, (b) integrated and comprehensive service delivery systems, and (c) well-designed, data-based professional developmental programs.
Difficult challenges face secondary students with LD and their teachers with regard to these students’ participation and success in required general education classes. Recently, instructional methods and materials have been developed and validated for promoting these students’ success. Some of them focus on how general education teachers plan and teach their content-area courses; others focus on giving students the strategies they need to respond independently to the demands of their courses. This article describes these instructional methods, a service-delivery model for implementing these interventions in secondary schools, and professional-development mechanisms and administrative support that must be in place for the model to be maintained effectively.

Instructing Adolescents with Learning Disabilities: A Component and Composite Analysis
H. Lee Swanson: University of California–Riverside Maureen Hoskyn: University of California–Riverside

Abstract:
Instructional components that positively influence performance of adolescents are identified based on a comprehensive meta-analysis of intervention studies for students with learning disabilities. Explicit practice and advanced organization are basic instructional components in a number of successful intervention programs.

The purpose of this article is to identify the components of various instructional models that best predicted effect sizes for adolescents with learning disabilities. Three important findings emerged. First, 8 instructional factors (Questioning, Sequencing and Segmentation, Explicit Skill Modeling, Organization and Explicit Practice, Small-Group Setting, Indirect-Teacher Activities (e.g., homework), Technology, and Scaffolding) captured the majority of intervention programs for adolescents with LD. Second, only the organization/explicit factor contributed significant variance (16%) to effect size. This factor included only 2 instructional components; advanced organization and explicit practice. Finally, the single most important instructional component related to high effect sizes was explicit practice (treatment activities related to distributed review and practice, repeated practice, sequenced reviews, daily feedback, or weekly reviews).

The Realities of Translating Research into Classroom Practice
Russell Gersten: Eugene Research Institute Joseph Dimino: Eugene Research Institute

Abstract:
This paper synthesizes key findings to facilitate the translation of research into classroom practice and provides guidelines for how effective instructional practices might be implemented, supported, and sustained in schools. Excerpts from a case study are presented to show how research-based instructional approach translates into classroom practices in a local school district that tailors the approach to the realities of the local situation.

In this paper, we review what the research suggests are the functions that allow a person in a leadership role to facilitate the translation of research into classroom practice. We describe how these functions were used to translate research into classroom practice in 2 school districts that are part of the Elementary and Middle School Technical Assistance Center (EMSTAC) project, a national research-to-practice effort. Examples of how these principles were put into practice and why different technical assistance approaches were used to implement research-based practices in a primary and middle school setting are discussed. We conclude with reflections on the intricate nature of effecting change at the local level, and the progress that can be made within those intricacies.