Computer Technology,Science Education,and Students with Learning Disabilities

The ways computer technology could be used to teach science to students with learning disabilities (LD) are explored. Science is for all students and that includes students with LD. Learning science has both cognitive and affective implications for students with LD. In this context, computer technology provides cognitively engaging and motivating instructional tools for individualizing the mode of delivery; developing expert tutors; anchoring instruction; integrating science with other subjects; reducing cognitive load on working memory; and motivating students to stay on task. These applications are discussed with implications for teaching science to students with LD.     

Directive versus facilitative peer tutoring? A view on students’ appraisal,reported learning gains and experiences within two differently-tutored learning environments

The present study aimed to shed light on students’ appraisal and reported learning gains in two differently-tutored learning environments (i.e. directively and facilitatively tutored). In order to investigate this, a quasi-experimental study was set up in the context of a clinical skills learning environment. Not only were participating students asked to rate their appraisal of the tutored learning environment, but they were also interviewed in-depth about their learning gains and experiences within both tutored learning environments. Results showed that directively-tutored students were more positive about the tutored learning environment. With regard to experienced learning gains, it was found that, although both groups of students experienced practical learning gains, only facilitatively-tutored students acknowledged gains in their clinical understanding. Also, in terms of deep-level learning and self-efficacy beliefs, different trends between both groups emerged. Finally, diverse approach-specific strengths and drawbacks were experienced by students. While directively-tutored students were generally more positive about their learning environment, facilitatively-tutored students were more critical about their peer tutors’ approach to tutoring because this led to a lack of clarity and overview. Nevertheless, these latter students reported more deep-level learning and thinking. The current results urge educators to take into account several practical implications, both with respect to peer tutors and to students.     

Representations of single and compound stimuli in negative and positive patterning

In four experiments, rats were trained on different patterning discriminations before being tested with compounds composed of novel combinations of the trained stimuli. In Experiment 1, rats were trained on a negative-patterning schedule (A+ B+ AB-) intermixed with reinforced presentations of a second compound (CD+). On a subsequent test, the rats responded more to two novel compounds, AC and BD, than to A and B, but less than to CD. In Experiment 2, rats were trained on two concurrent negative-patterning discriminations (A+ B+ AB-, C+ D+ CD-). On test, they responded more to AC and BD than to AB and CD, but less than to the single stimuli. In Experiment 3, rats were trained on two concurrent positive-patterning discriminations (A-B- AB+, C- D- CD+). On test, their response rates to AC and BD were not different from the response rates to the trained compounds (AB and CD). Finally, in Experiment 4, rats were trained on a positive- and negative-patterning discrimination concurrently. Once again, on test, response rates to AC and BD were not different from responding on reinforced trials of the trained discriminations (A+, B+, and CD+). We discuss the implications of these findings for elemental and configural models of stimulus representation.     

College Students With ADHD and LD: Effects of Support Services on Academic Performance

Two relatively common disabilities reported by college students are attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD). Many questions remain regarding how best to support these students and whether services such as advising, coaching, and tutoring lead to significant academic gains. The current study examined the effect of support services on the GPA of students with LD and/or ADHD at a campus that specifically serves this population by tracking students’ support service usage and GPAs over a 5‐year period. Results indicate that although most students who choose to receive coaching support experience academic gains, it is students with ADHD who obtain the greatest gains in GPA as a result of this support. Additionally, although tutoring can be of benefit to all students, significant GPA gains were obtained only for students with an LD diagnosis. Thus, there is a need to provide targeted supports aimed at addressing students’ specific areas of challenge.     

Differences in Performance Between Students with Learning Disabilities and Mild Mental Retardation: Implications for Categorical Instruction

We reviewed eight studies that described learning differences between students with learning disabilities (LD) and students with mild mental retardation (MMR). A total of 639 students, 6–20 years old, participated in these studies. Study authors examined students' inductive reasoning and their performance during guided inquiry and more lengthy interventions in reading and math. Students with LD and students with MMR were assessed in terms of learning ease, pre‐ to posttreatment gains, and the maintenance, transfer, and application of knowledge acquisition. Students with LD statistically significantly outperformed students with MMR on both inductive reasoning and guided inquiry tasks. They made reliably larger gains following interventions in reading and math. Across all learning tasks and contexts, students with LD displayed greater consistency transferring and applying conceptual knowledge to new tasks. Regarding maintenance, results were mixed. Implications for categorical instruction are discussed.     

Peer tutoring in writing: a school systems approach

In this study seven 10‐year‐old to 11‐year‐old students peer‐tutored seven six‐year‐old students in writing over a 10‐week period. Tutoring took place over 20‐minute sessions four times per week in the six‐year‐old students' regular classes during their usual writing time. The first author trained the tutors to assist tutees to (1) produce a writing plan, (2) use the plan to develop a piece of writing with help from the tutor, (3) proof‐read writing samples for meaning and accuracy, and (4) prompt tutees to make editing changes to their writing by asking appropriate questions. Samples of the writing of tutors and tutees were compared at baseline, intervention and follow‐up phases and the attitudes of participants towards the programme were evaluated. Unlike most peer tutoring programmes the study relied largely on intrinsic motivation for student participation, and utilised a procedure that required responsive feedback by tutors and a problem‐solving approach rather than a constrained linear methodology. Results indicated gains in terms of writing rate, accuracy, and audience ratings of clarity of message and enjoyment of writing, for tutors and tutees. Issues of programme maintenance and generalisation within the school system are discussed in addition to the implications for inclusive educational practice.     

College teachers' perceptions of English language characteristics that identify English language learning disabled deaf students

Deaf individuals typically experience English language difficulties at all levels of linguistic knowledge. Hearing individuals with English language learning disabilities (LD) can exhibit the same kinds of English language difficulties as deaf individuals. Although the existence of deaf individuals who also have LD has long been recognized, no definite criteria for identifying them exist, partly because of the confounding effects of deafness and LD on English language development. Despite the confound, previous surveys suggest that teachers believe atypical English-language behavior is a potential diagnostic marker for LD in deaf individuals. In the present study, a survey solicited the intuitions of experienced teachers and tutors of English to deaf college students regarding the degree of difficulty deaf students with and without LD might be expected to have in dealing with 30 specific English language phenomena. Spelling knowledge and a variety of English discourse, lexical syntactic, and morphological phenomena emerged as candidates for further study as potential markers of LD in the deaf population.     

The Effects of a Strategic Writing Program for Students with and without Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Fifth‐Grade Classes

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a comprehensive writing program for students with and without learning disabilities (LD) in inclusive general education classrooms. The program incorporated research‐based components including instruction in a prewriting planning strategy, narrative text structure, writing strategies, and the process approach to writing. The study was conducted in five fifth‐grade inclusive classrooms with 113 students (including 14 students with LD). A quasi‐experimental comparison‐group design was utilized, whereby three intact experimental classes received the writing intervention, and two intact comparison classes received traditional writing instruction. Measures included several writing indicators as well as state writing competency test scores. Results indicated that the students with and without LD in the experimental group made significant gains from pretest to posttest on several writing measures. Although students in the comparison group made some gains, the gains were related to fewer measures than the measures associated with experimental‐group gains, and the effect sizes were smaller.     

Cognitive Tutors: Lessons Learned

This article reviews the 10-year history of tutor development based on the advanced computer tutoring theory (J. R. Anderson, 1983, 1993). We developed production system models in ACT of how students solved problems in LISP, geometry, and algebra. Computer tutors were developed around these cognitive models. Construction of these tutors was guided by a set of eight principles loosely based on the ACT theory. Early evaluations of these tutors usually, but not always, showed significant achievement gains. Best case evaluations showed that students could achieve at least the same level of proficiency as conventional instruction in one third of the time. Empirical studies showed that students were learning skills in production-rule units and that the best tutorial interaction style was one in which the tutor provides immediate feedback, consisting of short and directed error messages. The tutors appear to work better if they present themselves to students as nonhuman tools to assist learning rather than as emulations of human tutors. Students working with these tutors display transfer to other environments to the degree that they can map the tutor environment into the test environment. These experiences have coalesced into a new system for developing and deploying tutors. This system involves selecting a problem-solving interface, constructing a curriculum under the guidance of a domain expert, designing a cognitive model for solving problems in that environment, building instruction around the productions in that model, and deploying the tutor in the classroom. New tutors are being built in this system to achieve the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards for high-school mathematics in an urban setting.     

The effects of daily homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with learning disabilities

Examined in this two-study investigation was the effectiveness of supplemental homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with diagnosed learning disabilities (LD). In Experiment 1, an adapted alternating treatments design was used to investigate the efficacy of unstructured homework assignments with 6 elementary school-aged students having basic math problems. Although the impact of the homework assignments differed across students, three factors maximized the effectiveness of the homework assignments: rate of homework completion, percentage correct on the homework assignments, and the rate of acquisition of the content being presented. Experiment 2, designed to formally test the effectiveness of homework assignments structured specifically to address these identified factors, confirmed that homework can be employed to increase the effectiveness of direct instruction sequences with students diagnosed as LD.     

Peer Tutoring for College Students with Disabilities

In an exploratory study, peer tutoring in higher education is examined for students with visual impairment and students with learning disability (LD). Data were collected by means of interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate both academic and social benefits for tutees and tutors. Difficulties encountered are discussed, and differences between the two populations are raised. It is suggested that the visibility and complexity of the student's disability affected the tutoring encounter. Professional guidance is suggested as a means of reducing tutoring problems and increasing benefits.     

LEARNING DISABILITIES PROGRAMS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Students with learning disabilities (LD) from selected Midwest colleges and universities participated in a study to determine the differences between LD programs at community colleges and four-year institutions; the level of satisfaction with college LD programming; and the services most important to students. Focus groups were held at five institutions including two community colleges, two independent institutions, and one public university. Focus group participants included male and female students aged 16 to 56 years and enrolled in freshmen through graduate levels. The literature suggests that the focus of LD programs and the types of services vary between two-year and four-year institutions due to differences in missions and the characteristics of the students served. However, results from the data in the present study reveal that the types of LD services offered among the institutions participating in the research were quite similar, but the quality of services varied. Students at the large public university had difficulty getting note takers, books on tape and tutors, and obtaining adequate assistance from LD staff. Participants from the smaller community colleges and private colleges and universities considered the smallness of their institutions to be a benefit. The LD program was easily accessible and LD staff were always available. Although the participants in the study who had received LD services in high school believed the services at their college or university were comparable or better, existing programs need to be evaluated to identify services in need of improvement.     

Neuropsychological profiles of children with learning disabilities and children with documented brain damage

This study sought to identify clusters or subtypes of children with learning disabilities (LD) and documented brain damage (BD) on the basis of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Sixty subjects, 24 with LD and 36 with BD, participated in the study. The standard scores for several measures from the Intermediate Battery of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and other select measures were submitted to Q-Technique factor analysis for the entire sample. Five clusters were determined. No one cluster was composed exclusively of LD or BD subjects, with the proportions of LD and BD varying considerably from one cluster to the next. There were some qualitative differences between the clusters, while quantitative differences also figured prominently.     

Validation of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth edition with exceptional black male students

Standard Age Scores on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SBIV) and WISC-R IQs of 51 urban black males receiving special education services were compared. Correlations between the SBIV Composite scores and WISC-R Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs were 0.803, 0.826, and 0.87 respectively. Correlations between all combinations of scales ranged from 0.612 to 0.888, median r=.723. SBIV Composite mean scores did not differ significantly from the mean WISC-R Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance IQs. Regression analysis of the three subgroups (BD. LD, and EMR) indicated that the SBIV possesses differential validity for each group. Tabular comparison of precision of classification between the SBIV and the WISC-R yielded a 78% agreement. These data suggest that the SBIV possesses utility for assessing the intelligence of black students classified as BD and EMR. However, the use of the scale with LD students is unsupported.     

Cluster analysis of children and adolescents with brain damage and learning disabilities using neuropsychological, psychoeducational, and sociobehavioral variables.

The purpose of the study was to employ psychoeducational, neuropsychological, and sociobehavioral (Conners Rating Scale) variables in determining if definable subtypes exist within a diverse population of subjects with learning disabilities (LD) and documented brain damage. The sample of 95 subjects (27% female and 73% male) had been referred for neuropsychological assessment at a large, Midwestern medical center. Mean age was 10.6 years. Brain damage (BD) was documented for 45% of the sample. The first cluster analysis employed neuropsychological, psychoeducational, and sociobehavioral data and revealed four interpretable clusters. A second cluster analysis excluded sociobehavioral data and yielded two interpretable clusters. In neither analysis did a cluster consist exclusively of BD or LD subjects. Results were interpreted as supporting the importance of the sociobehavioral component in LD subtyping, as well as supporting the contention that parallels may exist in cerebral function and/or structure between the LD and BD classifications.     

Peer tutoring for college students with learning disabilities: perceptions of tutors and tutees

Peer tutoring is a commonly provided support service for students with learning disabilities (LD) in institutions of higher education. A large-scale survey was conducted to evaluate the PERACH peer tutoring project for students with LD at 25 universities, regional colleges, and teacher training colleges in Israel. The purpose of the study was to understand the tutoring process from the point of view of both tutees and tutors with respect to 5 main areas: tutees' needs, focus of tutoring activities, difficulties surrounding the tutoring endeavor, importance of similar study experiences, and satisfaction with the project. It is our supposition that major discrepancies in perceptions are likely to undermine the effectiveness of the tutoring. Similarities and differences in perceptions were identified, and implications that can be useful in guiding service providers are discussed.     

Peer and Cross-Age Tutoring in Math:Outcomes and Their Design Implications

This review of the literature on peer and cross-age tutoring emphasizes programs in mathematics and suggests that such programs have positive academic outcomes for African American and otherminority students as well as for White students who participate as tutors, as tutees, or both. Such programs also appear to have a positive impact on a variety of attitudinal and socioemotional outcomes, such as students' attitudes towards school, their self-concepts, and their sense of academic efficacy. This review also explores whether specific features of the tutoring programs (e.g., tutor training and amount of tutoring) or characteristics of the students (e.g., academic level prior to tutoring and gender composition of tutor-tutee pairs) affect various outcomes. Role theory is used as a theoretical framework to explain some intriguing and surprising findings (e.g., why tutors show academic gains even when they do not receive additional subject matter instruction, whylonger and/or more substantial tutoring programs may not foster greater immediate academic gains than shorter programs, and why mixed-sex pairs do not consistently reap benefits equal to those of same-sex pairs). Finally, implications of the review for the development of peer and cross-age tutoring programs are discussed.     

Students' misconceptions about U.S. westward migration

Fifth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) and their typically achieving (TA) peers participated in an 8-week investigation about 19th-century U.S. westward migration. During their investigations, the students analyzed primary and secondary sources to understand the experiences of these emigrants and Native peoples. The analysis of source material was preceded by teacher-led discussions about the possibility of bias in evidence that affects the trustworthiness of historical documentation. Quantitative analyses showed that these investigations were associated with gains in students' knowledge about the period of westward expansion and a better understanding of historical content and historical inquiry; however, these gains were not always comparable for students with LD and their TA peers. Furthermore, misconceptions about this historical period and the processes of historical investigation were evident in students' responses before and after instruction. We discuss how design features of the instruction and its implementation may have contributed to the development and persistence of these misconceptions.     

Cross-age peer tutoring of science in the primary school: influence on scientific language and thinking

The development of deeper understanding and transferable skills in science requires continuous interactive discussion and feedback and extended practice in various contexts for generalisation. In primary schools, these desiderata are difficult to supply through direct teacher instruction, but might be feasible through interactive peer tutoring. This study aimed to evaluate cognitive and affective gains from cross-age peer tutoring for both tutees and tutors in science, using the “paired science” programme. For the first time this programme was used to focus on peer rather than parent tutoring and on junior school rather than early years pupils, and for the first time an objective measure of cognitive gain in science was used. Experimental peer tutees were a whole class (n=32) of seven- to eight-year-olds; tutors a whole class (n=33) of eight- to nine-year-olds in the same school. A parallel composite class of seven- to nine-year-olds (n=24) served as controls for tutees and tutors. A peer tutoring paired science intervention was implemented for two 30-minute sessions per week for eight weeks. Video and observational data indicated implementation integrity was satisfactory. Pre- and post-project assessments of understanding of scientific concepts and keywords of a random sample of tutees, tutors and their respective controls (4×n=10) were conducted. Additionally, the attitudes of all the tutees, tutors and their teachers towards their experiences were explored by post hoc questionnaire. On pre-post assessments of understanding of scientific concepts and keywords, the experimental group made significant gains while the control group made no gains, yielding effect sizes greater than one. Tutees made greater gains than tutors. The attitudes of the paired scientists and their teachers towards their experiences were generally very positive. It was concluded that cross-age peer tutoring of science using the paired science programme offers an effective pedagogical strategy, with both cognitive and affective benefits for both tutors and tutees. Recommendations for future research are made.     

Peer Tutoring of Comprehension Strategies

Abstract Four low achieving 12‐year old readers were trained to tutor similar age low achieving readers in both general (monitoring) and specific (summarisation and illustration) for strategies reading comprehension. Repeated measures indicated that both tutors and tutees learned to use the strategies successfully. Use of both strategies enhanced comprehension for tutees. For tutors, there was evidence of generalisation of reading gains to their own reading. Gains made by tutors and tutees on two standardised reading tests were superior to gains made by a contrast group. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of increased academic engaged time and increased strategy use on comprehension.