Referencing: the cohesive use of pronouns in the written narrative of college underprepared writers, nondisabled writers, and writers with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to explore whether college normally achieving writers (n = 35), writers with learning disabilities (n = 35), and underprepared writers (n = 35) demonstrated any differences in their ability to utilize the semantic roles and syntactic rules needed to apply cohesive referencing in written text. Cohesive referencing (the ability to assign roles to the speaker and addressee in written communication) is a critical aspect of written language. In addition, the study explored the relation between referential cohesion and the quality and coherence of a written text.     

The development of working memory in normally achieving and subtypes of learning disabled children

Working memory has been proposed as an important component of reading and arithmetic skills. The development of working memory was studied in normally achieving and subtypes of learning disabled children. The performance of reading disabled (RD), arithmetic disabled (ARITHD), and attentional deficit disordered (ADD) children, age 7-13, was compared to normal achievers (NA) on 2 working memory tasks, 1 involving sentences and the other involving counting. There was a significant growth of working memory as a function of age. In addition, the RD children had significantly lower scores on both tasks. The ARITHD children had significantly lower scores only on the Working Memory--Counting task, and the ADD group had scores similar to the normally achieving children except at the youngest age level in the Working Memory--Sentences task. Thus, a reading disability appears to involve a generalized deficit in working memory. Children with an arithmetic disability do not have a generalized language deficit but have a specific working memory deficit in relation to processing numerical information. As children with ADD did not have deficits in these tasks, working memory may not have significant attentional components. An important component of the development of reading and computational arithmetic skills appears to be the growth of working memory for language and numerical information.     

The effectiveness of a multisensory alphabetic phonetic approach with college students who are learning disabled

College students diagnosed as learning disabled were studied to determine whether they would make more progress in a summer program if taught by an adaptation of the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) approach. Progress of those exposed to this approach was compared to progress of those exposed to (a) a nonphonetic approach or (b) no educational activity. Pre- and posttest results are reported for the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised and Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests. The subjects were 30 college students aged 17 to 24, who were diagnosed as LD. They were divided into groups of 10 and exposed to the indicated educational intervention. The O-G group was found to achieve statistically significant improvement in reading when compared to the group using the nonphonetic approach or no educational activity. No statistically significant difference was noted between the latter two groups. This study indicates that a modified O-G approach is useful in the teaching of reading to college students who are LD.     

Alpha hemispheric asymmetry in children with learning disabilities and normally achieving children during story comprehension and rehearsal prior to narrative production

Twelve children with learning disabilities attending a remedial summer clinic were compared with 12 normally achieving controls balanced for age, sex, and handedness on alpha amplitude and production of narratives. Specifically, all subjects participated in three conditions. Condition 1 was a vigilance condition, Condition 2 involved listening to a story without an ending that had to be retold, and Condition 3 was an opportunity to rehearse the story mentally and construct an appropriate ending. Alpha amplitudes were monitored during the three conditions to determine any hemispheric asymmetry or differences between groups or conditions in alpha production. The subjects' narrative productions of retelling the story with a novel ending were also analyzed using a cohesion analysis procedure. The results showed no significant differences between the groups in alpha amplitude, but there was a significant task effect with the vigilance condition, story comprehension, and rehearsal showing decreasing alpha amplitudes in both groups of subjects. Analysis of the narratives showed the group with learning disabilities to produce significantly shorter and less cohesive stories. Results are discussed in relation to other studies of hemispheric processing differences in populations with learning disabilities.     

Acquisition of certain grapheme-phoneme correspondences in normally achieving and disabled readers

The present study was designed to assess the development of the understanding of certain aspects of grapheme-phoneme correspondences in normally achieving and disabled readers. The correspondences rules were studied using both English words and pseudowords, the latter designed to contain the same features as the real words. The subjects were 76 normally achieving and 32 reading disabled children aged 6 to 14 years. The stimuli included words and pseudowords that tested the following: consonant blends, final e, r-influenced vowels, regular and irregular words, function words, and consistent and inconsistent vowels. When matched for chronological age, the reading disabled children performed significantly more poorly than normally achieving children on all of the tasks involving pseudowords. A similar pattern was found for the words with the exception of the highest frequency words (cvc, final e, consonant blends) at the oldest age level, 11–14 years. In this case, the performance of the oldest reading disabled children was similar to that of the normals on the words, but was still significantly poorer when the stimuli were pseudowords. Complexity and irregularity were significant determinants of difficulty. Comparisons were also made for groups of children matched on reading grade level. Even when the reading disabled and normally achieving children were matched on reading grade, the reading disabled children had significantly more difficulty, particularly with pseudowords. Reading disabled children had significant difficulty in abstracting the basic rules for grapheme-phoneme correspondences in English, and even when they have mastered these rules in connection with real words, they still had difficulty applying these rules to pseudowords. In normal development, the learning of these correspondences appears to be consolidated by approximately 9 years of age. However, reading disabled children appear to have a significant and persistent problem with the learning of basic grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules.     

Written sentence production error patterns of college writers with learning disabilities

Utilizing a controlled stimulus passage to control for verbosity and topic selection, this research investigated the written syntax of 81 (60 males, 21 females) collegeable individuals demonstrating a specific learning disability. Four models of speech production disturbance (i.e., syntactical, lexical, monitoring, control) were evaluated in light of the errors identified in the rewrite paragraphs of this population. The data from this research supports the control impairment hypothesis, predicting that sentence production errors will be of the same kind as found in the language of writers demonstrating no handicapping conditions. In addition, the study investigated the correlation of specific cognitive and achievement variables to syntactical competence and error type.     

Differences that make a difference: comparisons of metacomponential functioning and knowledge base among groups of high and low IQ learning disabled, mildly mentally retarded, and normally achieving adults

To determine if cognition among persons with learning disabilities (LD) and mild mental retardation (MMR) is similar, we compared metacomponential functioning and knowledge acquisition across groups of incarcerated adults with LD and high IQ (HIQLD), with LD and low IQ (LIQLD), with normal achievement (NA), and with MMR. The Slosson Intelligence Test Computer Report (Nicholson, 1984) formula established criteria for group inclusion. Metacomponential functioning among 77 males and 26 females was measured by a confidence test (Echternacht, Boldt, & Sellman, 1971) designed for the general knowledge subtest of the SRA Achievement Battery (Naslund, Thorpe, & Lefever, 1982). Knowledge base and group membership were significantly related to metacomponential ability (R2 = .84). Persons with HIQLD and LIQLD performed better than those with MMR on both measures. The HIQLD, however, did not outperform their peers with NA. Results show that (a) knowledge base is the best predictor of metacomponential skill, (b) metacomponential orchestration differentiates persons with HIQLD from those with LIQLD and both groups from persons with MMR, and (c) IQ mediates metacognition, but does not explain it. Education should emphasize knowledge acquisition for people with HIQLD; people with LIQLD and MMR require more attention to metacognition.     

Direct and indirect measures of writing for nonlearning disabled and learning disabled college students

Direct and indirect measures were used to compare the written language abilities of three groups of college students: two with learning disabilities and one without learning disabilities. Main effects were found for group, but not gender. Differences between nonlearning disabled students (NLD) and those with learning disabilities (LD) in writing were evident on both types of measures. Performance by LD students with disabilities in an area other than writing differed depending on the type of measure and often was no different from either of the other two groups. The combined use of direct and indirect measures appeared most effective for examining the complexities of writing produced by all groups.     

School psychology and college learning disabled students: Traning and service possibilities

In recent years, increased attention has been devoted to the applicability of school psychological services to the adult population. Despite such attention, few school psychologists currently are being prepared to service adults. This paper argues that, with increasing numbers of learning disabled students entering postsecondary institutions, there exists an opportunity for school psychology training programs to aid in the servicing of these legally handicapped adults, while, at the same time, providing valuable experience to school psychology students in servicing the adult population. Specifically, this paper provides the reader with an overview of services provided to college learning disabled students, discusses the relationship between such services and school psychological services, and identifies numerous and service possibilities that exist for the profession of school psychology.     

Similarities in the social competencies of learning disabled and low achieving elementary school children.

This study sought to examine distinctions in social competencies between children with learning disabilities (LD) and other children who also experience academic difficulties. Eighty-five children with LD (54 male, 31 female) in Grades 3 through 6 from a large urban school district were compared to a group of low achieving (LA) peers matched on achievement as well as sex, race, and grade. The samples were 42% black, 39% Hispanic, and 19% Anglo. Both groups completed two self-concept questionnaires, a loneliness scale, and a measure of their social relationships outside of school. In addition, their classmates completed a peer rating scale and their teachers completed two ratings of the child's social skills. The results indicated that children with LD and LA children were comparable on most measures, although children with LD reported themselves as being less lonely than LA children. In addition, regular-class children rated children with LD as more likable than LA children. The results highlight similarities in the social competencies of children with LD and LA children and suggest that special education classes may offer some social advantages to children with mild handicaps.     

制约大学生英语自主学习能力的因素及对策

自主学习是指学生对自己学习负责、对未来的学习保持一种积极的态度的一种学习方式.     

如何培养大学生自主学习英语的能力

当今社会英语被广泛使用,越来越多的信息通过英语直接传输。学好英语能够直接接受这些信息。本文讲述了在大学阶段如何培养学生英语自主学习的能力,以适应信息社会和终生学习的社会的需要。     

Assessing differences in children with learning disabilities and normally achieving students with a new measure of creativity

This study investigates the creative abilities of children with learning disabilities by employing a new measure designed to assess creativity without the use of verbal or analytic skills. Sixteen normally performing and 16 children with learning disabilities were administered this task and a control task of verbal fluency. The children with learning disabilities scored significantly higher on the nonverbal but not the verbal control task.     

Action learning and executive education: achieving credible personal,practitioner and organisational learning

Action learning involves balancing the often conflicting forces between working knowledge and academic knowledge. This paper explores the experience of executive learners; academics and external contributors involved in action learning at the postgraduate level. The executive learners are members of cohorts on two masters programmes based in Ireland. The programmes adopt an action learning methodology. Action learning supports a reflective culture for the executive learners and an enriched understanding of their workplace. The challenges associated with action learning are explored. The understanding of best practice in the facilitation of action learning for executive learners is enriched for practitioners and academics. The use of narrative structuring provides an insight into the reality of action learning for executive learners. If action learning is to be successfully integrated into executive education, then there needs to be high levels of communication, commitment and trust between the executive learners; academics and external contributors.