Learning disabilities: A piagetian perspective

Research findings in learning disabilities based on Piaget's theory were reviewed. Superimposing the findings of research on Piagetian stages of cognitive development, it appears that during the sensorimotor stage the diagnosis of learning disabilities is difficult. The research findings suggest that there is a delay in cognitive development of learning-disabled children during elementary school years, which corresponds to preoperational, concrete operational, and transition to formal operational stages. From a genetic epistemological perspective, research evidence supports a “developmental lag” approach to learning disabilities. Implications for assessment, curriculum planning, and education are discussed.     

Reading Disability Secondary to Attention Deficit Disorder: A Neglected Syndrome

Schemes for classifying reading disabilities have focused too narrowly on deficiencies in reception, analysis and storage of sensory information. An expanded view of the cognitive deficits that may produce reading disabilities is proposed. A case is made for recognising the possible role of primary deficiencies in attention in the production of reading disabilities, particularly in young children in the initial stages of learning to read. A simple taxonomy of reading disabilities based on the underlying cognitive deficits causing the disorder is proposed. Diagnostic criteria are presented for differentiating reading disabilities due to sensory information processing deficits from disabilities due to attentional deficits, including: standardised tests, qualitative analyses of performance on reading and non-reading tasks, behaviour observations, and response to remediation.     

Social service utilisation patterns among children with mild intellectual disability – differences between children integrated into mainstream classes and children in self-contained classes

The role of supporters in facilitating access to and use of technology by people (adolescents and adults) with learning disabilities has not been the primary focus of much of the research that has been undertaken to date. The review of literature presented in this paper suggests, however, that issues of support, risk and safety are emerging as factors that have a significant influence on the quality of technology access and use that adults with learning disabilities experience. There is a need for more research into how the relationship between supporters, technologies, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities is mediated by risk, and this paper offers an original perspective on how positive risk-taking might be a useful conceptual framework to aid in the exploration of this relationship.     

斯尔文绘画测验述评

本文从对儿童绘画的发展阶段与儿童认知、心理的发展阶段进行比较入手,介绍了一种可以用于临床评估语言障碍、听力障碍和学习障碍儿童的认知能力与情感状态的工具——斯尔文绘画测验,以及相关研究成果与对该测验的评价。同时分析了绘画测验运用于特殊儿童的优点。     

A Piagetian-Based Programme for Learning “Elements and Symbols”

Piaget's learning theory on cognitive development has had considerable impact on science education (Piaget, 1964; Inhelder and Piaget, 1958; Craig, 1972). The theory classifies cognitive learning into four successive stages: (a) sensory-motor, (b) pre-operational, (c) operational, and (d) formal. Various programmes and instructional strategies have been developed based on the theory (Batt, 1980; Karplus, 1977; Renner and Stafford, 1979; Ryan, et al., 1980; Herron, 1978; Good et al; 1978). An application of this theory for teaching and learning scientific concepts is the Piagetian learning cycle (Karplus, 1977) which is of growing interest among science educators. This article intends to introduce briefly the learning cycle in general and suggest a learning cycle for teaching a topic in chemistry: “Elements and Symbols”.     

Teaching Criminological Theory: Using a Piaget Platform to Support Higher Level Learning

This paper proposes that higher level learning of criminological theory can be accomplished by having students express a theory creatively through an art form (i.e. a drawing, a dance, a poem, or role play). This type of constructivist assignment would empower undergraduate students to be theory co-creators and allow them to be actively engaged in building knowledge off of a Piagetian platform. While Piaget’s theory was formulated to explain the cognitive development in children, neuroscience has revealed its potential for expanding cognitive capacity in adults. When students are presented with a novel task requiring fuller focus, such as being required to build new knowledge onto existing schema in a uniquely creative way, deeper levels of learning are more likely to occur and be retained.     

Role of cognitive theory in the study of learning disability in mathematics

Gersten, Jordan, and Flojo (in this issue) provide the beginnings of an essential bridge between basic research on mathematical disabilities (MD) in young children and the application of this research for the early identification and remediation of these forms of learning disability. As they acknowledge, the field of MD is in the early stages of development, and thus recommendations regarding identification measures and remedial techniques must be considered preliminary. I discuss the importance of maintaining a tight link between theoretical and empirical research on children's developing numerical, arithmetical, and mathematical competencies and future research on learning disabilities in mathematics. This link will provide the foundation for transforming experimental procedures into assessment measures, understanding the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of children with these forms of learning disability, and developing remedial approaches based on the pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses for individual children.     

Variables related to the decision of young adults with learning disabilities to participate in postsecondary education

This article examines the relationship between specific factors and the decision to participate in postsecondary education by young adults with learning disabilities. Data concerning 539 subjects with learning disabilities were included in this study. T test and chi square indicated that involvement in extracurricular activities while in high school, use of community resources, intelligence quotient, and reading and mathematics grade equivalent scores were important factors that differentiated between subjects choosing to participate or not to participate in postsecondary education during the year after high school. Implications and recommendations for secondary school curriculum are discussed.     

Perceptual organization,phonological awareness,and reading comprehension in adults with and without learning disabilities

It is not clear from research whether, or to what extent, reading comprehension is impaired in adults who have learning disabilities (LD). The influence of perceptual organization (PO) and phonological awareness (PA) on reading comprehension was investigated. PO and PA are cognitive functions that have been examined in previous research for their roles in nonverbal LD and phonological dyslexia, respectively. Nonverbal tests of PO and non-reading tests of PA were administered to a sample of adults with postsecondary education. Approximately two thirds of the sample had previously been diagnosed as having LD. In a multiple regression analysis, tests of PO and PA were used to predict scores for tests of reading comprehension and mechanics. Despite the nonverbal nature of the perceptual organizational test stimuli, PO strongly predicted reading comprehension. Tests of PA predicted decoding and reading speed. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that integrative processes usually characterized as nonverbal were nonetheless used by readers with and without disabilities to understand text. The study’s findings have implications for understanding the reading of adults with learning disabilities, and the nature of reading comprehension in general.     

PASS理论在数学学习困难研究领域中的应用

注重内部认知过程分析的PASS理论及其认知评估系统DN:CAS,为动态评估学习困难儿童的认知过程提供了系统的理论依据和有效的操作工具。国外近年来展开的基于PASS理论的数学学习困难研究主要集中在:PASS认知过程与数学成就的关系、不同类型数学学习困难儿童的认知特征与缺陷模式、及针对计划的干预研究。这些研究虽还不够深入,但却为数学学习困难领域的进一步系统化研究奠定了基础。     

A report of cognitive, academic, and linguistic profiles for college students with and without learning disabilities

A comparison of cognitive, academic, and linguistic profiles for 74 college students with learning disabilities and 37 college students without learning disabilities resulted in significant differences in achievement for reading, writing, listening, and speaking. No significant differences were found for gender or the presence of a Verbal-Performance split in cognitive ability. Instruments for measuring academic and linguistic skills were similar in their ability to classify students with and without learning disabilities. These findings support the importance of using measures of multidimensional attributes, including language, for making decisions concerning the criteria for learning disabilities.     

Role of cognitive prompts in video caregiving training for older adults: optimizing deep and surface learning

Enhancing the cognitive functionality of digital technology can be critical in learning complex topics like caregiving for older adults. This study examines the deployment of cognitive prompts in video-based training to optimize older adults’ cognitive information process in both deep and surface learning. The path analysis revealed the relationship among cognitive prompts, crystallized knowledge and learning outcomes showing crystallized knowledge as a significant mediator between cognitive prompts and learning outcomes. Additionally, cognitive prompts were shown to be significant in activating older learners’ prior knowledge, rendering the learning process more meaningful and purposeful for older adults.     

数学学习困难儿童的多媒体教学策略

如何对数学学习困难儿童进行有效干预是很多教育工作者关心的问题。已有研究表明,工作记忆的缺陷是数学学习困难的根本原因。而基于认知负荷理论的教学设计正是针对人的工作记忆容量有限这一特点,利用多媒体来促进意义学习的完成。文章试图以工作记忆为桥梁,结合认知负荷理论,提出几条针对数学学习困难儿童的多媒体教学的干预措施,并指出了将来的研究方向。     

Differential ability scales: Profiles of preschoolers with cognitive delay

This study examined the cluster profiles obtained using the Differential Ability Scale (DAS, Elliott, 1990a) for preschool children diagnosed with cognitive delay and for those without cognitive delay. Cluster analyses resulted in distinctive profiles for each group. Profiles for preschoolers diagnosed with cognitive delay were compared with DAS profile patterns previously reported for school‐aged children diagnosed with learning disabilities (McIntosh & Gridley, 1993). Cluster comparisons indicated profiles of cognitively delayed preschoolers were not the same as those found in school‐age children with learning disabilities. Implications for prediction of school‐age learning disabilities from preschool DAS cognitive cluster profiles are discussed. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Learning disabilities and vocational rehabilitation.

Students with learning disabilities have received services in special education programs for many years. Unfortunately, many of these students continue to need services after they exit high schools. Vocational rehabilitation has begun to provide services for young adults with learning disabilities; however, there continues to be a discrepancy between the number of adults with learning disabilities who need vocational rehabilitation services and those who are receiving them. This article describes the definitions and eligibility criteria used by vocational rehabilitation agencies to serve adults with learning disabilities. By understanding the vocational rehabilitation system, teachers, it is hoped, will be better able to access these services for their students with learning disabilities.     

An investigation of the K-ABC,WISC-R,and W-JPB,part two,with learning disabled children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), the WISC-R, and the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery (W-JPB), Part Two, with children who experience learning disabilities. Correlational analyses were used to examine relationships among the WISC-R, K-ABC Mental Processing and Achievement scales, and the W-JPB Achievement scales. Thirty-four children with learning disabilities (mean age 8–11 years) received all three measures. Correlation coefficients indicated stronger and more consistent relationships between the WISC-R and W-JPB Achievement tests than between the K-ABC and W-JPB Achievement tests. Significant relationships between the WISC-R Full Scale IQ and the K-ABC Mental Processing Composite (MPC) revealed evidence of validity for this learning disabled sample. However, correlation coefficients among the K-ABC Achievement subtests and the W-JPB Achievement clusters indicated both convergent and discriminant validity. Thus, it is suggested that both the K-ABC MPC, for assessment of cognitive abilities, and the W-JPB Achievement clusters could be employed in discrepancy formulas for special education placement of children with learning disabilities.     

Application of cluster analysis to the study of piagetian stages of intellectual development

The purpose of this study was to reexamine Piagetian stages by way of the application of cluster analysis and to seek information concerning the occurrence of stages and the influence of different tasks and gender on cluster patterns. Six Piagetian tasks were administered to 182 males and 176 females ages 9 through 18 years old. Analysis and interpretation of the data suggested the following conclusions: (1) Piagetian stages exist as a general sequence through which intellectual development progresses; however, the males in the study conformed more to Piagetian stages than did the females; (2) deviation from Piagetian stages was influenced by gender and the type of task; (3) lack of synchronization of substages across several tasks suggested that Piagetian tasks were more situation-specific than indicated by Piaget, and it also helped to explain why strong, correlations among tasks at a given level have been difficult to obtain; (4) for the males, the greatest discontinuity occurred between substages IIIA and IIIB, not between IIB and IIIA as stated by Piaget; and (5) the group of 13-year-old females tended to cluster with the 17- and 18-year-old female groups, but it was not known why.     

韦氏儿童智力量表第四版对学习障碍评估和干预的价值

学习障碍儿童在基本的听、说、读、写、算等认知加工过程上存在困难,不同类型的学习障碍儿童在韦氏智力量表上的表现具有特异性,这是由于韦氏智力量表的内在结构与一些特定的认知加工过程有关。为加强韦氏智力量表的临床效应,第四版(WISC-IV)在结构、内容、功能等方面进一步优化调整,更加突出了量表对特殊学习者和情绪及行为障碍儿童的临床辨别力不同类型的学习障碍儿童在韦氏智力量表第四版特定分量表及特定的合成指数和认知加工指数上有特异性表现,这既可以成为临床辅助评估的出发点,同时也可以为不同类型的学习障碍儿童的个体化认知加工训练提供参考。