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February, 2002
 Effects
of Instruction in an Assignment Completion Strategy on the Homework Performance
of Students with Learning Disabilities in General Education Classes
Charles A. Hughes: Pennsylvania State University Kathy L. Ruhl: Pennsylvania
State University Jean B. Schumaker: University of Kansas Donald D. Deshler:
University of Kansas
Abstract:
Homework is an important activity in the lives of school-aged children,
including students with learning disabilities (LD). Characteristics often
associated with LD (e.g., poor organizational skills) may adversely impact
the rate and quality of homework completion. In this study, a multiple-probe
across-students design (Horner & Baer, 1978) was used to evaluate
the effects of instruction in a comprehensive, independent assignment
completion strategy with regard to homework completion rates and the quality
of products completed in response to assignments given in general education
classrooms. Eight of nine students mastered use of the strategy, and their
homework completion rates and the quality of their homework products improved.
Associated with these improvements were increases in quarterly grades
and teacher ratings of the quality of the assignments. Thus, direct instruction
in a comprehensive strategy comprised of organizational behaviors can
result in independent completion of more homework by students with LD.
Nevertheless, instruction in organizational skills alone appears insufficient
to produce a 100 percent submission rate: student motivation to complete
assignments and mastery of the skills required, as well as the appropriateness
of assignments for students, need to be addressed.
Growth in Precursor and Reading-Related Skills:
Do Low-Achieving and IQ-Discrepant Readers Develop Differently?
Kimberly J. O’Malley: Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization
Studies David J. Francis: University of Houston Barbara R. Foorman: University
of Texas–Houston Health Science Center Jack M. Fletcher: University
of Texas–Houston Health Science Center Paul R. Swank: UT-Houston
School of Nursing
Abstract:
Poor readers who met low achievement and IQ-discrepancy definitions of
reading disability were compared with nonimpaired readers on their development
of eight precursor and reading-related skills to evaluate developmental
differences prior to students’ identification as reading disabled.
Results indicated no evidence for differences between the two groups of
poor readers in the development of the eight skills, with three exceptions.
Students in the IQ-discrepant group demonstrated greater growth in letter
sound knowledge, greater mean performance in visual-motor integration
at the beginning of first grade, and greater deceleration in rapid naming
of letters. When compared to the nonimpaired group, low-achieving readers
demonstrated poorer performance and development in all skills, while the
IQ-discrepant readers demonstrated poorer performance and development
in phonemic awareness, rapid naming of letters and objects, spelling,
and word reading. The largely null results for comparisons between the
two groups of poor readers challenges the validity of the two-group classification
of reading disabilities based on IQ-discrepancy.
“How Come Nobody Told Me?” Fostering
Self-Realization Through a High School English Curriculum
Laura T. Eisenman: University of Delaware Linda Tascione: University of
Delaware
Abstract:
Through collaboratively designed qualitative inquiry, we investigated
the responses of high school students with learning disabilities to a
teacher’s intervention intended to promote self-realization, a fundamental
component of self-determination. Activities were embedded within the general
English curriculum and delivered in a special education classroom over
the course of an academic year. Several themes emerged from analysis of
student interviews, student responses to writing prompts and surveys,
a teacher journal, and student portfolio pieces. Silence and misconceptions
were prevalent in student experiences. However, through the intervention
students acquired information that helped them make sense of their school
experiences, redefine themselves in positive ways, and take small steps
toward greater self-advocacy within their current school setting. The
mediating influence of positive adult voices and concerns about social
stigma were evident in students’ responses, which prompted us to
question teachers’ and families’ responsibilities for engaging
young people in dialogue about special education and disability.
Interactive Influences of Perceived Social
Contexts on the Reading Achievement of Urban Middle Schoolers with Learning
Disabilities
Jane E. Fleming: University of Illinois at Chicago Thomas D. Cook: Northwestern
University C. Addison Stone: University of Michigan
Abstract:
This study examined the effects of social influences in the lives of an
ethnically diverse sample of fifth through eighth grade students with
and without learning disabilities (LD) using survey data and academic
achievement scores collected in 19 Chicago public schools from 1993–1997.
Similarities and differences in student perceptions of school, family,
and peer group contexts were examined. In addition, longitudinal data
were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to identify contextual
influences on changes in student reading achievement over time. Comparisons
of student responses confirm and extend existing findings in the literature
concerning the perceptions of students with LD of their social environments.
In particular, having a learning disability was associated with consistent,
mostly negative, effects on social relations across the contexts of students’
lives, regardless of gender, race, grade, and socioeconomic status. In
addition, student perceptions of their friendship groups were found to
have small, but significant, effects on their growth in reading achievement
over the course of middle school. While students with and without LD had
somewhat different views of their social contexts, the processes working
within these environments appeared to affect their reading achievement
in similar ways. The results suggest that careful attention should be
paid to the social contexts of students’ lives when planning academic
interventions.
Procedural Facilitators and Cognitive Strategies:
Tools for Unraveling the Mysteries of Comprehension and the Writing Process,
and for Providing Meaningful Access to the General Curriculum
Scott Baker: University of Oregon/ERI Russell Gersten: University of Oregon/ERI
David Scanlon: Boston College
Abstract:
A solid, emerging research base exists to inform how we provide meaningful
access to the general education curriculum for students with learning
disabilities (LD). For example, the presentation of challenging content
to academically diverse learners can be demystified using content enhancement
techniques. Additionally, a range of strategies can be taught to enhance
reading comprehension and expressive writing abilities. Examples from
several lines of research in comprehension and writing are used to highlight
the underlying features of these empirically based approaches and to introduce
the reader to the history of this expanding body of research.
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