The Self–Concept of Students with Learning Disabilities: A Meta–Analysis of Comparisons Across Different Placements

Although placement in less restrictive settings is generally believed to be associated with more positive social outcomes for students with disabilities, the empirical research has yielded equivocal findings. The purpose of this study was to synthesize the empirical research comparing the self–concept of students with learning disabilities (LD) in different educational placements. Meta–analysis revealed no overall association between self–concept and educational placement for four out of five comparisons: regular class vs. resource room, regular class vs. self–contained class, resource room vs. self–contained class, and regular class vs. special school. Students with LD receiving instruction in self–contained classrooms in regular schools exhibited lower self–concept compared to students with LD attending special schools. Follow–up analyses were conducted to explore whether the variability of effect sizes in regular class–resource room comparisons was associated with any of several potential moderator variables; the only variable for which the association approached significance was whether students in the regular classroom were provided with appropriate special education supports and services. The findings are discussed in light of documented individual variation in students’ placement preferences.     

融入通用学习设计理念：学习障碍APP的研究与实践

学习障碍在特殊学生中十分常见,目前虽无治愈方法,却可通过辅助技术在教学中的运用降低其影响。具有辅助技术功能的教育APP为学习障碍学生提供了多样化的参与、表征和表达方式,这正好与通用学习设计的理念相契合,有助于他们在融合班级中获得平等的受教育机会。这些学习障碍相关APP可划分为文字转语音、语音识别、单词预测、文字处理、计划与组织、数学运算等6种类型。一方面,作为能力补偿工具和学习支持工具,学习障碍相关APP能够在阅读、写作和数学学习中为学习障碍学生提供多元化、可参与的学习环境;另一方面,作为一种新型的教学工具,学习障碍相关APP也可能给学习障碍学生带来诸如注意力分散、学习情绪消极等负面影响。因此,其作用机制和在教学中的有效性仍有待明确。未来我国在学习障碍相关APP的研究与实践方面还需做到:推进通用学习设计理念在学习障碍学生教育中的应用与实践,为其学习提供适宜的环境和支持;完善特殊教育辅助技术相关法律和政策,确保各类特殊学生能够获得更专业的支持;加强学习障碍相关APP的开发与研究,使其能够更有效地应用于现实教学情景;建立教育APP的评价体系和支持系统,提升学习障碍相关APP的应用效果。     

Learning Disability Identification Criteria and Reporting in Empirical Research: A Review of 2001–2013

This review documents the learning disabilities (LD) identification criteria and procedures utilized in empirical research including students with LD published from 2001 to 2013 in three journals dedicated to the study of LD. Results reveal several troublesome findings related to transparency in reporting and the coherence of the LD construct. Nearly one‐third of all empirical studies investigating LD did not describe who identified the participants as having LD or how they were identified. Information on the specific area of LD was similarly lacking. Across studies, identification criteria varied widely. Moving forward, we contend that greater transparency and consistency with regard to the definition and operationalization of the construct of LD in empirical research is necessary if solidification of the scientific construct of LD is to be achieved.     

Science Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Meta‐Analysis

Although science has received much attention as a political and educational initiative, students with learning disabilities (LD) perform significantly lower than their nondisabled peers. This meta‐analysis evaluates the effectiveness of instructional strategies in science for students with LD. Twelve studies were examined, summarized, and grouped according to the type of strategy implemented. Effect sizes (ES) were calculated for each study. Across all studies, a mean ES of .78 was obtained, indicating a moderate positive effect on students with LD science achievement. Findings also align with past reviews of inquiry‐based instruction for students with special needs, indicating that students with LD need structure within an inquiry science approach in order to be successful. Additionally, results suggest that mnemonic instruction is highly effective at increasing learning disabled students' acquisition and retention of science facts.     

English Language Learners and Learning Disabilities: Research Agenda and Implications for Practice

Although little is known about learning disabilities (LDs) in English language learners (ELLs), there is a substantial knowledge base about the identification, assessment, and intervention of and for LDs in monolingual native English‐speaking students. Building on this knowledge, participants at an October 2003 National Symposium on Learning Disabilities in English Language Learners were asked to suggest research questions, priorities, and suggestions on how to build the necessary infrastructure to address critical research needs. In the discussions that took place, important themes emerged: (1) identification and assessment of LD and/or reading disabilities (RD) in ELLs (ELL/Ds), (2) understanding of the language and literacy developmental trajectories of ELLs, (3) understanding of the individual and contextual factors affecting outcomes, (4) the intersection of all of these areas with neurobiology, and (5) developing and testing the effectiveness of interventions for learning disabilities in ELL/Ds. These themes, and the research agenda that was forged around them, are presented. In addition, the practice implications of this agenda are presented, along with some suggestions for current practice while we await future research findings.     

探究式学习的内容分析研究

新一轮基础教育课程改革大力倡导在各学科中,面向全体学生,开展多样化的探究式学习。很多的教育专家、一线教师对探究式学习进行了积极的探索研究。探究式学习在我国研究、实施的现状究竟如何?又有怎样的变化、发展趋势?还存在哪些主要的问题?怎样解决这些问题?针对这些疑惑,作者使用内容分析法对教育技术领域具有代表性的三种杂志近几年来关于探究式学习的论文进行了认真的分析、研究,并尝试着给出了解决问题的答案和策略。     

Narrative Research Methodologies: Learning Lessons From Disabilities Research

Presenting research well with regard to persons with disabilities is as important as conducting research well. Disembodied, technical writing does not accurately represent the dramas of athletes, fans, and people who are trying to exist in damaged or violated bodies. Our stories are left incomplete if we omit the metaphoric and symbolic codes we use in narrating our subjective and personal realities. We invite kinesiology scholars to present the fragmented stories that abound in sport and physical activity through narrative research: realist tales, autoethnographies, poetry, fictional representations, and ethnodrama. We present examples and explanations of a variety of narratives that attempt to draw the reader into the subjective experience of others. They conclude that professionals in the sub-disciplines can learn lessons from disabilities researchers. They also posit that narratives provide avenues for multiple realities to be shared, people who would most likely never read social or behavioral research in kinesiology can be introduced to other ways of being in the world, and students who are interested in sport and physical activity can become better professionals.     

Instructing Adolescents with Learning Disabilities: A Component and Composite Analysis

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, and/or weekly reviews).     

基于CLIL理念的高职ESP教学实践例谈

江苏省专业现代化建设试点专业课程体系构建的思路是以＂能力为本位＂,以英语为工具获得专业所需要的信息或职业技术,是应用型技能人才的一项重要素质,也是专业英语教学的目标环节之一。CLIL的内涵是语言与内容的融汇式学习理念,针对高职生专业英语学习状况,探索借鉴CLIL理念把英语语言教学和专业学科知识相兼顾、衔接,增强专业英语教学效果,为提升毕业生就业竞争力的作个有益尝试。