Explicitly Teaching for Transfer: Effects on the Mathematical Problem‐Solving Performance of Students with Mathematics Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to explore methods to enhance mathematical problem solving for students with mathematics disabilities (MD). A small‐group problem‐solving tutoring treatment incorporated explicit instruction on problem‐solution rules and on transfer. The transfer component was designed to increase awareness of the connections between novel and familiar problems by broadening the categories by which students group problems requiring the same solution methods and by prompting students to search novel problems for these broad categories. To create a stringent test of efficacy, we incorporated a computer‐assisted practice condition, which provided students with direct practice on real‐world problem‐solving tasks. We randomly assigned 40 students to problem‐solving tutoring, computer‐assisted practice, problem‐solving tutoring plus computer‐assisted practice, or control, and pre‐ and posttested students on three problem‐solving tasks. On story problems and transfer story problems, tutoring (with or without computer‐assisted practice) effected reliably stronger growth compared to control; effects on real‐world problem solving, although moderate to large, were not statistically significant. Computer‐assisted practice added little value beyond tutoring but, alone, yielded moderate effects on two measures.     

Effects of GO FASTER on Morpheme Definition Fluency for High School Students with High‐Incidence Disabilities

Although vocabulary plays an important role in literacy and content instruction, there is a paucity of research identifying effective methods for teaching vocabulary. One promising strategy is morphemic analysis, which involves breaking words into morphemes, the smallest meaningful parts of words, and teaching students the meanings of those parts. The current study used a multiple probe across morphemes experimental design to determine the effects of an intervention package, GO FASTER (G raphic O rganizers; F lashcards A dded up and S elf‐graphed to T rack progress; E rrors R eviewed). Findings showed that with three to four instructional sessions, three high school students with high‐incidence disabilities successfully defined morphemes at a predetermined fluency rate and generalized these definitions to untaught words. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Extended Test Time and postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities: A Model for Decision Making

The most frequently requested accommodation among students with learning disabilities (LD) in postsecondary settings is extended test time. The frequency with which this accommodation is requested and granted compels disability service providers to become knowledgeable about the factors that influence the need for, and appropriateness of, the accommodation. Moreover, the synthesis of these factors becomes the basis for determining if the accommodation is reasonable under federal law. The purpose of this article is to present a step‐by‐step model to be used as a decision‐making process when considering the accommodation of extended test time for postsecondary students with LD. The model is designed to assist disability service providers in the analysis and synthesis of information collected from (1) the student's diagnostic evaluation, (2) the course or classroom test to be accommodated, and (3) student interviews. A list of diagnostic tests from the four most frequently administered test batteries used with adults is provided, along with a concise explanation of how characteristics of LD impact reading, writing, and math, and relate to the need for extended time. This information can be used to determine if extended test time is a reasonable accommodation and to estimate how much additional time to provide.     

Developing Design through a Creative Problem‐Solving Process: A Group Community Art Project

For the past few years, creativity has gradually become an important element in the national cultivation of talent in Taiwan. Although traditionally art education is closely linked with creativity, the academic research on general art education is very insufficient. Therefore, the goal of this research is to investigate how creativity could be cultivated in curriculum planning for general art education at technology universities as well as what students’ learning process was when they participated in a course's creative activity. The research applied the theory and steps of creative problem‐solving (CPS) on a general art course to design a group practical activity combining with the local community. This involved converting the steps of creative problem‐solving into different stages of group design activities with the goal of constructing a design process equivalent to the process of problem‐solving. The main research results revealed that students could experience the problem‐solving process through group design activities and develop their divergent and convergent thinking at the same time. Moreover, the cooperative learning model is the most appropriate teaching strategy for students from non‐art‐related departments when cultivating their creativity.     

Misconceptions Regarding Accommodations on High‐Stakes Tests: Recommendations for Preparing Disability Documentation for Test Takers with Learning Disabilities

The process of submitting documentation to testing agencies as proof of a disability can be time consuming, expensive, and even intimidating to test takers with learning disabilities. Misconceptions about the accommodations review process employed by testing agencies add to the anxiety that many test takers feel around obtaining approval for high‐stakes test accommodations. The objective of this article is to clarify some of these misconceptions as well as shed more light on the accommodation decision‐making process employed by testing agencies.     

A New Parameter Estimation Algorithm of Multivariable Time Series Model

ＡＮｅｗＰａｒａｍｅｔｅｒＥｓｔｉｍａｔｉｏｎＡｌｇｏｒｉｔｈｍｏｆＭｕｌｔｉｖａｒｉａｂｌｅＴｉｍｅＳｅｒｉｅｓＭｏｄｅｌＺｅｎｇＰｅｎｇ（曾鹏）ＷａｎｇＳｈａｏｄｉ（王绍棣）（ＮａｎｊｉｎｇＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｏｆＰｏｓｔｓａｎｄＴｅｌｅｃｏｍｍ...     

Inclusion of Children with Disabilities: The Philippines Experience

In striving to educate as many children as possible and with limited funds to build a separate special education infrastructure to cater to the needs of children with disabilities, inclusive education was officially adopted in 1997 by the Department of Education in the Philippines as a viable educational alternative. This article reports on the current state of affairs for including children with disabilities within regular schools in the Philippines. The ‘Silahis Centres’ (‘school within the school’ concept) is presented as a feasible model for implementing and promoting the inclusion of children with disabilities within regular schools throughout the Philippines. Other aspects related to inclusive education such as teacher education, policies as well as lessons learned so far from inclusion efforts and future challenges are also described.     

The Test‐Taking Strategy Intervention for College Students with Learning Disabilities

Limited research exists related to empirically validated strategies to assist college students with learning disabilities (LD). Given that students with LD demonstrate both fewer test‐taking skills and higher levels of test anxiety than their peers without LD, and poor test‐taking skills contribute to higher levels of test anxiety, such research is critical. The present study examines the effectiveness of the test‐taking strategy on test performance (timed/untimed), degree of strategy usage, and time on test‐taking task, with a sample of university students with LD. This strategy has been successful with adolescents with LD, but has not been studied with postsecondary populations. Results of a multiple baseline design suggested that the strategy was an effective intervention for these students. Implications are discussed.     

The Effect of Visual‐Chunking‐Representation Accommodation on Geometry Testing for Students with Math Disabilities

Students who struggle with learning mathematics often have difficulties with geometry problem solving, which requires strong visual imagery skills. These difficulties have been correlated with deficiencies in visual working memory. Cognitive psychology has shown that chunking of visual items accommodates students’ working memory deficits. This study investigated the effects of visual‐chunking representation as a testing accommodation for improving students’ geometry problem‐solving performance. Participants were four third‐graders with difficulties in mathematics. An adapted reversal design was employed to examine the students’ performance changes during standard testing conditions and accommodated testing conditions. During the accommodated condition, students were presented with visual‐chunking images. Results suggested that the visual‐chunking representation accommodation improved students’ performance on geometry problem‐solving tasks, and an interview confirmed students’ preference for the visual‐chunking representation approach.     

Co‐Teaching in Middle School Classrooms Under Routine Conditions: Does the Instructional Experience Differ for Students with Disabilities in Co‐Taught and Solo‐Taught Classes?

Co‐teaching is a popular strategy for implementing the inclusion of students with disabilities within secondary general education classrooms. However, we have little data regarding its effectiveness under routine conditions of educational practice. This study examined whether there was an “additive effect” of the special education teacher on the instructional experiences of students with disabilities as compared with the experiences of the same students taught by only the general education teacher under routine conditions. Observers used time sampling methods to document how students with disabilities spent their time in 11 middle school co‐taught classes. Statistically significant differences were found for targeted students in terms of general education teacher interaction and individual instruction. General education teachers spent significantly less time with students with disabilities when the special education teacher was present. In addition, students with disabilities received significantly more individual instruction when the special education teacher was present. However, these differences were of limited practical significance.     

Making Every Child Matter: A Model for Good Practice in Counselling Children and Young People with Learning Disabilities

This paper is set against the backdrop of new policies and legislation regarding the health, welfare and education of children and young people in England. In response to these policies, the Department for Education and Skills has developed an increasing number of strategies to support the psychological health and well-being of children and young people and thereby signalled greater recognition of the value of improving mental health in relation to children's learning, achievement, attendance and behaviour. Counselling is increasingly seen as an effective strategy for addressing the psychological needs of children and young people with social, emotional, behavioural and academic problems. The aim of this paper is to explore the inclusion of children and young people with learning disabilities (13–19 years) in mainstream counselling services. The nature of learning disabilities is examined in relation to accessing counselling services and a model for inclusive counselling practice is developed from the research findings. Findings are based on data collected from a quantitative survey ( n =396) of 3000 counsellors and analysed using SPSS, along with qualitative data from the survey, which was analysed using a thematic approach.     

Second‐Generation Research on Resilience: Social‐Emotional Aspects of Children with Learning Disabilities

The goal of this commentary is to focus attention on the various protective factors examined by the four studies of this special issue, in order to predict resilient functioning. These factors include internal factors (cognitive information processing, affective information processing—the attachment/proximity conceptualization) as well as external factors such as teacher perceptions and classroom ecology. By bringing together major themes from these studies, this commentary aims to explicate core elements of resilience in order to enhance the conceptual clarity of the construct within empowerment models, and to point out major directions for future research. Questions emerging from the results yielded by these studies will also be presented.     

Social‐Information‐Processing Skills of Kindergarten Children with Developmental Learning Disabilities

The study examined the social‐information‐processing skills of kindergarten children with developmental learning disabilities (LD) utilizing Crick and Dodge's (1994) model of children's social adjustment as a theoretical framework. Participants consisted of 20 kindergarten children with developmental LD who attended three integrated kindergartens and 20 children without developmental LD from the same kindergartens. Participants were assessed on social‐information‐processing skills, feelings of loneliness, sense of coherence, and teachers' ratings of behavioral problems and positive resources. The results indicated that girls with developmental LD performed significantly lower on two information‐processing steps—the response decision and the enactment steps—than did girls without LD. Such differences were not found for boys. The results also showed that the social‐information‐processing skills of children with developmental LD were correlated with teachers' ratings.     

Individualized Course‐Specific Strategy Instruction for College Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Lessons Learned From a Model Demonstration Project

Abstract. This 3‐year Model Demonstration Project involved the development and field testing of an individualized course‐specific strategy instruction model with college students with learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The 46 participants received individualized semester‐long strategy instruction by graduate students in special education. A variety of data sources were used to evaluate the implementation of the model as well as the academic success of students who received individualized strategy instruction. Quantitative analyses indicated that the group as a whole as well as the subset of students on probation and suspension significantly improved their grades and sustained this improvement over time. Qualitative analysis identified two factors related to improvement: independent use of strategies and the supportive nature of the strategy instructor–student relationship. Qualitative analysis also identified two factors related to nonimprovement: academic/cognitive skill deficits and emotional/medication‐related issues. Implications of the model for postsecondary education and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The Effectiveness of a Color‐Coded,Onset‐Rime Decoding Intervention with First‐Grade Students at Serious Risk for Reading Disabilities

This study was an investigation into the effectiveness of a color‐coded, onset‐rime–based decoding intervention with first‐graders at serious risk for reading disabilities using a single‐subject multiple probe design. Students increased their ability to decode instructional words on average 73% over baseline. For novel words from instructed rime patterns, scores increased by an average of 56%. Transfer at the vowel level to uninstructed rime patterns was limited, with scores improving by an average of 29%. Students maintained decoding gains at 1‐week and 1‐month maintenance. While acknowledging the difficulty in predicting reading disabilities based on first‐grade performance, the effectiveness of the early intervention is a promising step in finding an instructional approach that is successful with the most at risk or disabled students who often do not respond to effective remedial programs.     

Evidence‐Based Accommodation Decision Making at the Postsecondary Level: Review of the Evidence for Foreign Language Learning

Abstract This article reviews empirical evidence related to college students classified as learning disabled (LD) and foreign language (FL) learning by examining whether there are differences between: (a) students classified and not classified as LD enrolled in FL courses; (b) LD students with and without IQ‐achievement discrepancies and FL aptitude, proficiency, and achievement; and (c) students classified as LD who pass FL courses or receive course substitutions. Findings show that there are no cognitive and achievement differences between students classified as LD and non‐LD students enrolled in FL courses or between students classified as LD who pass FL courses or receive course substitutions. Findings have shown that there are no differences in FL outcomes between students classified as LD with and without discrepancies. Research findings over several years show that classification as LD is unimportant for determining whether or not a student will exhibit FL learning problems or fail FL courses.     

多目标决策评价模型在红小豆育种中的应用

运用基于熵权的多目标决策分析模型,结合模糊数学和熵的思想,运用多属性决策分析中的双基点法,对红小豆品种进行定量评价,结果表明,这种评价模型运算简便,易于掌握,切实可行。     

Evidence‐Based Strategies for Reading Instruction of Older Students with Learning Disabilities

Over a quarter of 8th‐grade students and more than one‐third of 4th graders do not read well enough to understand important concepts and acquire new knowledge from grade‐level text. For students with learning disabilities, the numbers are more troubling. This article describes features of evidence‐based instruction for students who continue to struggle with reading in late elementary, middle, and high school. Recommendations are organized into 5 areas that are critical to the reading improvement of older struggling readers: (1) word study, (2) fluency, (3) vocabulary, (4) comprehension, and (5) motivation. Much of the content in this article reflects our efforts with the Special Education and Reading Strands at the National Center on Instruction, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Two reports, both available at http://www.centeroninstruction.org/ , have particular relevance—Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta‐Analysis with Implications for Practice and Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents: A Guidance Document from the Center on Instruction.     

Note‐Taking and Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities: Challenges and Solutions

As more secondary students with learning disabilities (LD) enroll in advanced content‐area classes and are expected to pass state exams, they are faced with the challenge of mastering difficult concepts and abstract vocabulary while learning content. Once in these classes, students must learn from lectures that move at a quick pace, record accurate and complete notes, and then demonstrate their mastery of the content on tests. This article provides an overview of the challenges faced by students with LD in content‐area classes and discusses the problems that students have learning from lectures and recording notes. Further, the article discusses theory and research related to note‐taking and presents note‐taking interventions that teachers can use to help students improve their note‐taking skills, and ultimately, improve their achievement in these classes.