The effect of modifying the cognitive tempo of reading disabled children on reading comprehension

The present investigation was concerned with teaching poor readers to use a reflective cognitive style. It was hypothesized that such a strategy would facilitate the reading ability of poor readers. To test this hypothesis, approximately half the poor readers and half the average readers were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group of children was taught to delay their responses and to use more efficient search and scanning techniques. All groups were tested before and after training on the Matching Familiar Figures test and the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. Poor readers' vocabulary and comprehension scores and level of reflectivity improved following training. It was concluded that imposing slow reading strategies on impulsive children is an important factor in developing educational programs for children with reading disabilities and that teaching poor readers a reflective cognitive strategy may have important consequences on the child's reading performance.     

Format changes in reading achievement tests: Implications for learning disabled students

It has been seen that children's scores on reading achievement tests vary not only with knowledge of content, but also with the differing formats of test items. Teachers working with learning disabled children or children with attention problems may wish to choose standardized tests with fewer, rather than more, format changes. The present study evaluated the number of format and direction changes across tests and grade levels of the major elementary standardized reading achievement tests. The number of format changes varies from one change every 1.2 minutes on the Metropolitan Achievement Test Level E1 to one change every 21.3 minutes on the P1 level of the Stanford Achievement Test. Teachers may wish to take this evaluation into account when considering use of standardized reading achievement tests for their students.     

Gifted learning disabled students

Abstract

Up to 30 per cent of gifted students display a learning disability, with 10 per cent reading at two or more years below their grade level. They are referred to as being ‐gifted learning disabled’ or as having the dual exceptionalities of giftedness and learning disabilities. For these students, their learning disability is more likely to be recognised and targeted in teaching than their gifted ability.

The present study reviews their learning characteristics and explains these in terms of an information processing model of learning. Nine characteristics are addressed: their superior general intellectual ability in at least some domains of knowledge, a global wholistic preference in thinking, a negative academic self‐concept, low resilience in learning, patterns in motivation to learn orientation, their use of metacognifion, their ability to show what they know, their uneven rates of development, their high standards and goals, and the quality of their interpersonal interactions.

The paper uses these characteristics to recommend a set of procedures for identifying these students. It examines the influence that a learning disability can have on the display of gifted knowledge and describes how dynamic assessment procedures can be used to obtain a more accurate diagnosis. It describes the two main types of general ability profiles that emerge. Procedures for assessing creativity and divergent thinking, a learning disability, aptitude in particular areas, an intrinsic motivation to learn, self‐concept, metacognition and self management of learning are discussed.

To his teachers, Adam was a conundrum. He was a very quick thinker, but not in the ways that would help him excel academically. He had excellent knowledge of a range of subjects but this didn't seem to help him achieve academic success. His answers to questions were unexpected, although, when analysed, creative. On excursions he could be relied on to see ways around obstacles that arose; his teachers valued his ‘native intelligence’ on these occasions. It was less valued in classroom contexts in which they were developing a topic with a group and Adam would interject with ideas and questions that were either ‘marginally relevant’ or ‘further down the track’. They wished he would put his energy more into improving his spelling and writing ability, that were extremely low, and bis recall of the times tables.

Ann, an eight year old, was also perplexing to her teachers. In class she was ‘off task’ and daydreamed a lot. She did not finish most tasks, frequently lost her place and made many careless errors. Her distractability meant that she was frequently disruptive. As a consequence, her level of academic achievement was low. Her teacher interpreted her inattention and impulsivity as a lack of interest in learning and her preference to avoid tasks. As well, however, her teacher noticed her comparatively high level reading ability and her advanced oral language capacity and had difficulty reconciling the two sets of observations.     

Developing reading comprehension through collaborative learning

The present study explores the development and promotion of reading comprehension in primary school students, in the context of the implementation of an educational programme called ‘Learning Together’ (LT). The programme, which centred on collaborative learning activities, was designed to promote oral and written communication in primary school Mexican children. Analyses revealed that children who participated in the LT programme, in comparison with students in a control condition, produced higher‐quality written summaries of texts they had read, both when working in teams and when working individually. This suggests that the LT participants appropriated and transferred the text comprehension strategies promoted, so that they could apply these strategies effectively not only in collaborative contexts but also independently, that is, in a self‐regulated and autonomous fashion. The theoretical and practical implications of the work are discussed in relation to understanding and promoting oracy and literacy processes in primary school students.     

Effects of the TWA strategy on expository reading comprehension of students with autism

High‐functioning students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to have significant reading comprehension difficulty. This multiple baseline study examined the effect of the think before reading, think while reading, and think after reading (TWA) strategy on expository text comprehension of four boys with ASD. Following baseline, each student received six sessions of TWA instruction. Data were collected on retell and comprehension question accuracy during the baseline, intervention and maintenance phases. Results supported the effectiveness of TWA as a reading strategy to increase the expository text comprehension of students with ASD. Effects during the intervention phase were immediate and consistent for comprehension questions, with greater variability observed for retell. Data collected at maintenance suggested that the gains were sustained for both comprehension questions and retell.     

The criterion-related validity of psychoeducational tests for actual reading ability of learning disabled students

Although norm-referenced educational tests are used widely to identify children with learning disabilities, there have been few studies examining how performance on these tests relates to actual classroom functioning. This study examines the criterion-related validity of a battery of six educational diagnostic and achievement tests for actual reading level of a group of 155 learning disabled students enrolled in grades 4 to 7 and a subgroup of 46 learning disabled students enrolled in grades 5 and 6. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that six subtests from the battery accounted for over 70% of the variance in reading for the larger group. When type of reading curriculum used was controlled, five subtests accounted for over 76% of the criterion. The theoretical and applied implications of these results for diagnostic assessment are discussed.     

Psychometric classifications of learning disabled students

The psychometric test results of a sample of 100 LD students with severe achievement problems were cluster analyzed. The variables included in this analysis were the subtests of the WISC-R, the Bender Gestalt, the Benton Visual Retention, the Purdue Perceptual-Motor, and the Lindamood Auditory Conceptualization tests. Using K-means iterative clustering procedures, three clusters were obtained. The first cluster was defined by low scores on attention and concentration subtests; the second was defined by low scores on subtests of verbal-associative intelligence; the third was defined by low scores on visual-spatial and motoric subtests. Limitations of the study, in the scope of the psychometric testing and the lack of pediatric and neurologic diagnoses, are discussed.     

Effects of a peer-mediated phonological skill and reading comprehension program on reading skill acquisition for middle school students with reading disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a peer-mediated instructional approach on the teaching of phonological skills and reading comprehension for middle school (sixth- to eighth-grade) students with reading disabilities. All students (n = 38) were identified as having learning disabilities and reading at the third-grade level or below. One group was taught using a peer-mediated phonological skill program, Linguistics Skills Training (LST), and a peer-mediated reading comprehension program, Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS). The contrast group was taught in the more traditional whole-class format using a widely implemented remedial reading program. The results showed significant differences between conditions, with students receiving the LST/PALS instruction outperforming the contrast group on Letter-Word Identification, Word Attack, and Passage Comprehension using the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement-III. Furthermore, large effect sizes for growth were found on Letter-Word Identification, Word Attack, and Passage Comprehension for the LST/PALS treatment group. No differences were found between conditions for reading fluency. Findings are discussed in regard to instruction delivery format (peer tutoring vs. whole class) with respect to best practices for middle school students with reading disabilities.     

Teaching learning disabled students goal-implementation skills

Eight learning disabled (LD) junior high school students were taught goal-setting and self-regulatory skills in a resource room setting. The training program was designed to help students set realistic goals, develop plans to achieve these goals, monitor and evaluate their own behavior, and accept responsibility for the outcome of goal-directed activities. The goal-implementation strategy was effective in increasing some students' rates of assignment completion in the resource room and the regular classroom. Following the training program, students attributed success to effort; failure was attributed to effort, luck, and task difficulty.     

The effect of extra time on reading comprehension scores for university students with and without learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of extra time on the ability of university students with and without learning disabilities to complete a reading comprehension test under timed and extra-time conditions. The participants were 16 students identified as having learning disabilities and 15 normally achieving students, all attending the University of California. The Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension and Reading Rate Test was used. Percentile ranks were obtained for reading rates on individuals, and for comprehension scores under timed and extra-time conditions. The major findings of this study were that there is a significant difference between scores obtained by students with learning disabilities and by normally achieving students under timed conditions and that there are no significant differences in test performance between students with learning disabilities and normally achieving university students when students with learning disabilities are provided extra time. Normally achieving students did not perform significantly better with extra time.     

Metacognitive strategies and reading comprehension in elementary-school students

The aim of this study was to explore comprehension monitoring and perceived use of reading strategies as factors of reading comprehension. Participants were elementary school students from the fifth to the eighth grade. Error correction and text sensitivity tasks from the Metacomprehension test (Pazzaglia, De Beni, &; Cristante, 1994). and the cloze-task were used as measures of comprehension monitoring during reading. A Strategic reading questionnaire (Koli?-Vehovec &; Baj?anski, 2001b) was applied as a measure of perceived use of strategies during reading. Girls had better results than boys on text comprehension, all measures of comprehension monitoring, as well as on the Strategic reading questionnaire. Significant developmental improvements in comprehension monitoring occurred after the fifth grade and between the sixth and the eighth grade. A similar change was evident in reading comprehension. All measures of comprehension monitoring were significantly related to text comprehension in all age groups. However, perceived use of reading strategies was significantly related to reading comprehension only in eighth-grade students.     

Referral reasons for learning disabled students

Referral information for 269 LD students in grades one through five was examined. Referral reasons were classified according to three major types: (a) academic, (b) behavior, and (c) academic and behavior. These major referral types also were analyzed according to particular concern (e.g., reading deficits, attentional problems, etc.). The results indicated that the majority of students were referred for either academic (42%) or both academic and behavioral (41%) reasons; referrals initiated solely for behavior problems accounted for only 17% of the total. The grade level analysis revealed that academic concerns were less likely to be noted in the first and fifth grades, and that the number of referrals diminished as grade level advanced (51% of the sample was diagnosed by second grade). Referral statements within each major referral type tended to be general, as opposed to specifying particular concerns to be explored in the evaluation. Preservice and in-service training recommendations are given.     

Comprehension monitoring and reading comprehension in bilingual students

This study explored comprehension monitoring, use of reading strategies and reading comprehension of bilingual students at different levels of perceived proficiency in Italian. The participants were bilingual fifth to eighth‐grade elementary school students from four Italian schools in Rijeka, Croatia. Students' reading comprehension was assessed. Their comprehension monitoring skill was measured on the Metacomprehension test and through use of a cloze task. The Strategic Reading Questionnaire (SRQ) was used as a self‐report measure of strategic reading. A questionnaire investigating Italian language use and perceived proficiency in the Italian language was also administered. Perceived proficiency in Italian was not clearly determined by early or late preschool age of second language acquisition. Bilingual students with high perceived proficiency in Italian (high PP group) had better meta‐cognitive reading skills than those with low perceived proficiency in Italian (low PP group). Comprehension monitoring was the most important predictor of reading comprehension in all students.     

大学英语学困生学习心理障碍研究

英语学习是个很漫长的过程,需要付出艰辛努力并且持之以恒。但在中学阶段,一些学生便出现英语障碍,以至于逐渐地转变为学困生。文章从多种角度分析了大学生英语学习心理障碍的表现及其相应策略,希望能够与相关学界同行共勉。