The efficacy of reciprocal teaching in fostering the reading literacy of students with intellectual disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of strategy instruction on the reading literacy of students with mild and moderate intellectual disability. Students aged 15–21 with intellectual disability (n=35) participated in 24 sessions of literacy strategy instruction (experimental condition) or remedial literacy‐skill acquisition‐ lessons (control condition). The main objective of strategy instruction was to foster comprehension monitoring. Through shared dialogues, students were trained to generate questions about text, to summarise what was read, to clarify difficult words and to make predictions. The strategies were taught using the reciprocal teaching method developed by Palincsar and Brown. This method involves provision of support adjusted to students’ difficulties and peer teaching of strategies. Control subjects were exposed to direct instruction of basic reading skills that were presented sequentially and practiced solitarily by the students. Opportunities were given to respond to questions and to summarise but no strategy instruction was provided to foster comprehension monitoring. Two different measures of comprehension and a measure of strategy use were administered to test for variation across different methods of instruction. Findings on all measures provide support for the claim that strategy instruction is indeed superior to traditional remedial methods of skill acquisition in fostering reading literacy comprehension. These findings challenge the common perception that literacy is an organic impossibility for people defined as intellectually disabled. Moreover, the results add to recent research in sociocognitive instruction that supports the need to modify prevailing methods of reading curriculum and suggests a reconceptualisation of the comprehension process and its instruction to students with intellectual disabilities.     

Selection and evaluation of Internet information by adults with intellectual disabilities

Internet offers people with intellectual disabilities (ID) unique opportunities to access information and to participate in society. But concerns have been raised about the potential risks they face when accessing the Internet (e.g. giving credit to false information, being exposed to manipulative content). As part of the current debate between positive risk-taking and overprotection, our study empirically tested the extent to which 43 adults with ID identified and selected topically relevant as well as trustworthy web pages while searching the Internet for several topics (e.g. Can social networks use your pictures for advertisement?). Participants also justified their search decisions. Results revealed that while searching familiar topics (i.e. social networks), participants selected more relevant and trustworthy pages than irrelevant and less trustworthy ones. Searches of less familiar topics (i.e. daily health), were carried out randomly, that is, without applying a specific criterion. Results point to the importance of topic familiarity on people’s with ID performance on Internet searching tasks. This pattern of results suggests that, first, we should avoid overprotection when people with ID search for familiar topics and, second, they need more support when searching for information about less familiar topics.     

The emergence of reading literacy in post-primary teacher education: from the background to the foreground

While recognising the fact that historically teacher education and adolescent literacy are two fields that have had limited intellectual contact, the development of reading literacy is increasingly now accepted internationally as a core responsibility of all teachers and teacher educators. Adopting a socio-cultural perspective, this paper, drawn from the Learning to Teach Study, focused on the beliefs, knowledge and experiences regarding reading literacy of Irish post-primary student teachers on one initial teacher education (ITE) programme. The data were collected through three interviews with each of 17 student teachers. Results suggest that the surveyed student teachers had some concerns about their own literacy, had narrow conceptions of literacy, tended not to see it as their responsibility, held a minimal threshold view of literacy and viewed new digital technologies as a resource and motivator for their students’ literacy learning. Results are discussed in terms of how student teachers’ knowledge of literacy in ITE programmes could be reframed, extended and deepened.     

Identification of the patterns of Chinese character recognition in students with learning disabilities requiring Tier-2 support: a Rasch analysis

This study investigates the Chinese reading patterns of students with learning disabilities (LD). The performances of students with LD in reading the three categories of Chinese characters were particularly analysed: regular, irregular, and pseudo-characters. Fifty-three students with LD in reading and 44 students without LD of Year 4 were selected from five Hong Kong primary schools. Their abilities for reading Chinese characters were measured using Rasch analysis. Both types of students found regular characters as the easiest to read. Students without LD showed better performance in reading irregular characters than pseudo-characters, whereas students with LD exhibited no significant performance difference in reading these two categories. The implication of these results is that the students without LD might rely on using the orthographic processing than that of phonological processing to read. On the other hand, students with LD might not have the preference of using the orthographic processing.     

Introduction to the special issue ‘How adolescents read and learn on the Web: internal and external factors (Introducción al número especial ‘Cómo leen y aprenden los adolescentes en la red: factores internos y externos’)

ABSTRACT

The World Wide Web has become a major information resource for adolescents (i.e., 10–19 years of age), offering an unprecedented amount of information on virtually any topic. While the Web can potentially offer new learning opportunities, it also presents several challenges. Reading and learning on the Web requires a set of advanced literacy skills that adolescents do not necessarily possess and need to develop in order to effectively deal with the complexity of information encountered online. This special issue brings together five empirical articles and a discussion paper that examine internal and external factors that are beneficial (or detrimental) to adolescents’ reading and learning on the Web, and contribute to explaining how young learners develop complex literacy skills. Theoretically, the special issue contributes to the conceptualization of what researchers refer to as ‘multiple documents literacy’. In practice, it informs researchers and educators of emerging empirical results regarding adolescents’ information behaviour, as well as on instructional strategies that can be effective for developing adolescents’ literacy skills.     

Sources of stress for Greek students with intellectual disabilities attending mainstream schools

Students with intellectual disabilities often experience school‐related stress. As a result, they are confronted with many difficulties in their daily school life. The goal of this study was to assess situations of school life that students attending Greek mainstream settings are likely to experience as stressful. Twenty students with mild intellectual disabilities were interviewed about their feelings and thoughts regarding possible stressful situations in school. Qualitative analysis of the interviews' data was conducted. As a result, five main sources of school‐related stress were mentioned: school achievement and classroom participation; peer interactions; student behaviour and risk of injury; parents' expectations; and teacher acceptance. The findings suggest that children with intellectual disabilities experience school‐related stress mainly to a normal degree. Concerning the stress factors that emerged as crucial, a basic conclusion can be drawn: mainstream schools should be changed into inclusive communities where student differences are fully respected, and wherein all children, with and without disabilities, are supported according to their individual abilities, potentials and needs.     

Conceptualisations of literacy and literacy practices for children with severe learning difficulties

Literacy is traditionally narrowly conceptualised as a set of skills related to accessing and generating written or printed text. For children designated as having severe learning difficulties (SLD), who are unlikely to develop these ‘conventional’ literacy skills, such a conception implies their semi‐literacy or nonliteracy. Although conceptions of multimodal literacy and multiliteracies have rarely been applied to this group, broader understandings of literacy that include a range of activities, modes and media provide greater opportunities for including these learners in literacy practices. Drawing upon our research with teachers of this group of children and young people, we illustrate these literacy practices. We note, however, that such practices are often haphazard, not coherently thought through, and that there is much confusion regarding any distinction between communication and literacy. We argue for literacy as a specific form of communication, but conclude that broader models of literacies should be utilised to guide and support practitioners in developing interactive practice and in making reasoned and principled approaches and decisions about literacy practices, routes and progression for children with SLD.     

学习不良者的工作记忆特点

有关学习不良者的工作记忆特点的研究表明,阅读不良者与数学学习不良者都存在语音回路功能缺陷(如语音表征的效率低)以及中央执行器功能缺陷(如对注意控制的能力不足) ,即学习不良与工作记忆缺陷密切相关。今后的研究应进一步探明学习不良者工作记忆缺陷的深层原因。     

What is literacy for students with severe learning difficulties? Exploring conventional and inclusive literacy

This paper arises from research into inclusive literacy for pupils with severe learning difficulties who do not learn to read and write conventionally. The ultimate aim of the study was to seek out examples of good practice in teaching and learning literacy that includes students with severe learning difficulties and disseminate them as widely as possible. Thirty-five schools were visited and observations made in 122 lessons. Sixty-one teachers were interviewed and their paperwork examined. Ten focus groups and five 'expert witnesses' were consulted, alongside desk-based research designed to locate 'good practice'. Teachers used a mixture of conventional (e.g., texts) and non-conventional (e.g., pictures, film and oral) media, although more observations were made of conventional literacy teaching (e.g., phonic work) than of non-conventional (e.g., filmmaking). Results from the research suggest that few students with severe learning difficulties are likely to learn to read and write conventionally (i.e., read for pleasure, work and study) and teachers may be relying too much on teaching traditional literacy to them. It may be useful to explore teaching and learning around alternative media such as still and moving images, live theatre and storytelling, digital technology and the arts. Although some teachers are making good use of these media, the potential of these media for providing inclusive literacy experiences could be further developed.     

Insights into teacher learning about pedagogy from an international group of teachers of students with severe intellectual disabilities

This article examines teacher professional learning about pedagogy for teachers of students with severe intellectual disabilities within broader teacher education and pedagogical frameworks for this group of learners. The article presents and discusses findings from a USA–England research project, involving classroom observations and interviews with nine teachers of students with severe intellectual disabilities from four specialist public school settings, intended to explore teachers’ pedagogical decision-making and learning. The theoretical lens of situated learning and the conceptual lens of evidence-based practice are used to contextualise and examine the teachers’ views about the what, how and when they learn about pedagogical approaches and strategies. Teachers emphasised the situated and interactional nature of their learning, particularly highlighting the personal responses of students and their relationship with these students. They use this knowledge and understanding to adapt evidence-based strategies and programmes and inform their pedagogical decisions. This affords the concepts of ‘situated generalization’ and ‘practice based evidence’ an influential role in how teachers engage in the process of pedagogical decision-making. An implication for teacher educators is the need to support teachers in making connections of new pedagogical understandings and skills with the individual learning profiles and responses of their students with severe intellectual disabilities.     

An evaluation of an adaptive learning system based on multimodal affect recognition for learners with intellectual disabilities

Artificial intelligence tools for education (AIEd) have been used to automate the provision of learning support to mainstream learners. One of the most innovative approaches in this field is the use of data and machine learning for the detection of a student’s affective state, to move them out of negative states that inhibit learning, into positive states such as engagement. In spite of their obvious potential to provide the personalisation that would give extra support for learners with intellectual disabilities, little work on AIEd systems that utilise affect recognition currently addresses this group. Our system used multimodal sensor data and machine learning to first identify three affective states linked to learning (engagement, frustration, boredom) and second determine the presentation of learning content so that the learner is maintained in an optimal affective state and rate of learning is maximised. To evaluate this adaptive learning system, 67 participants aged between 6 and 18 years acting as their own control took part in a series of sessions using the system. Sessions alternated between using the system with both affect detection and learning achievement to drive the selection of learning content (intervention) and using learning achievement alone (control) to drive the selection of learning content. Lack of boredom was the state with the strongest link to achievement, with both frustration and engagement positively related to achievement. There was significantly more engagement and less boredom in intervention than control sessions, but no significant difference in achievement. These results suggest that engagement does increase when activities are tailored to the personal needs and emotional state of the learner and that the system was promoting affective states that in turn promote learning. However, longer exposure is necessary to determine the effect on learning.     

Worlds have collided and modes have merged: classroom evidence of changed literacy practices

Debates continue in public and in educational policy forums about the ‘basics’ of literacy while many have not recognised that these basics may never be the same again. Rapid changes in digital communication provide facilities for reading and writing to be combined with various and often quite complex aspects of music, photography and film. At the same time, educational policy and national testing requirements are still principally focused on the reading and writing of print‐based texts. This paper examines evidence from classroom research to analyse the nature of multimodal literacy, the literacy that is needed in contemporary times for reading, viewing, responding to and producing multimodal and digital texts. Examples of students' engagement in multimodal literacy are presented to demonstrate how classroom literacy practices can incorporate the practices of talking, listening, reading and writing together with processing the modes of written text, image, sound and movement in print and digital texts.     

Belonging to higher education: inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

The college experience in Iceland has traditionally been reserved for those who have passed the matriculation examination and meet the admission requirements of higher educational institutions. Since 2007, the University of Iceland has offered a Vocational Diploma Programme for people with intellectual disabilities in inclusive settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the diploma programme as well as exploring students’ sense of belonging to the college community. The diploma programme is located at the School of Education and students trained to work at pre-primary schools, after school clubs and within the field of disability such as self-advocacy. Inclusion has been achievable by adapting the general curriculum and learning outcomes to individual needs, flexible teaching methods and the cooperation between academic faculty members, programme coordinators, student mentors and the diploma students themselves. The diploma students receive academic and social support from student mentors who are other undergraduate students at the School of Education. The collaboration with student mentors has proven to be valuable, expanded diploma students’ social networks and contributed to a sense of belonging. Regardless of various attitudinal and structural hindrances, there is much evidence that the diploma students are not only tolerated but welcomed at the School of Education and belong to the college community.     

Transition services for students with intellectual disabilities: School psychologists’ perceptions

For individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), transition services increase access to postschool opportunities. School psychologists should contribute to transition services but have reportedly limited involvement in this area. This study distributed a national survey (N = 176) assessing school psychologists’ current knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding transition services for students with ID. Results indicated that attitudes toward and knowledge of the ID population were significant predictors of transition task performance, and knowledge was a significant predictor of transition‐related attitudes and behaviors. The results provided preliminary evidence that increasing school psychologists’ specific knowledge of transition services and encouraging positive attitudes toward the transition needs of students with ID may increase school psychologists’ performance in transition practice. Specific recommendations are provided.     

Effects of a positive youth development approach to literacy through young adult literature in the secondary remedial reading class: an action research study

The purpose of this action research study was to determine if a bibliotological approach to literacy with at-risk students met the educational expectations of a remedial reading course while simultaneously accelerating literacy practices and promoting positive youth development. Twenty-four tenth grade students enrolled in a remedial reading course in the southwestern USA participated in a nine-week instructional design that utilized young adult literature as a medium through which to practice literacy skills and strategies while exploring positive youth development simultaneously. Measurement protocols included diagnostic assessments of reading, surveys, Likert-scale inventories, and journals as a way of eliciting students’ voices. Data was analyzed through paired t-tests, Bonferroni Correlation, and typological and inductive coding. Through this approach, all students experienced an increase in self-efficacy, which led to positive youth development and growth in literacy proficiency and practices. Suggestions for future research include the study of this approach in multiple remedial contexts, with multiple young adult texts, and for greater lengths of time. Additionally, a follow-up inquiry to determine potential lasting impact is warranted.     

How pre-service teachers internalize the link between research literacy and pedagogy

Enabling pre-service teachers to develop a critical view of their practice and to acquire the higher order inquiry skills necessary for pedagogic research has been and continues to be a challenge. The present study presents a unique intervention in the training of pre-service teachers in research literacy (RL) skills using a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach. The intervention is implemented in two different Learning Communities (LC), one online and the other blended. Both immediate and long-term effects of PBL are investigated as are the effects of social and direct scaffolding within the LCs. The study focuses on transmitting the following RL skills: identifying and defining a problem, formulating a research question, and designing a research method. The findings indicate an immediate effect upon all RL skills in both LCs. The long-term effect appears only in the online LC and only for two RL skills: identifying and defining problems. Additionally, there is greater use of social scaffolding in formulating and designing a research study in the online LC than in the blended learning community. Those findings are then interpreted in terms of retention capacity and scaffolding in blended and online LCs.     

Teachers fostering the co-development of science literacy and language literacy with English language learners

Thirty-five elementary teachers participated in a yearlong professional development (PD) program that was designed to foster a culture of on-going teacher learning to promote the co-development of science and language literacy for English language learners (ELL). An explanatory design methodology was used to determine the degree to which science and language literacy co-developed. The research question guiding this study was: In what ways did the yearlong PD science program support teachers at 10 elementary schools to become more knowledgeable about fostering science literacy and its role in co-developing language literacy (e.g. reading, writing, listening, and speaking) for ELL? The measurable and significant gains on the quantitative mandated state science and reading tests and the analysis of qualitative teaching episodes led to the conclusion that demonstrated the synergy between science learning and language learning – as one increased, so did the other.     

Quality job indicators for individuals with learning disabilities

This study identifies the quality job indicators and employer training required to provide appropriate support for students with learning disabilities (LD) to obtain and maintain employment. A consortium of collaborators was established from a university and state workforce commission grant project, a school district and 55 employers. Employers were trained to implement the quality indicators identified in literature found to support students with LD in paid employment while attending high school. The methodology consisted of gathering qualitative data from employer surveys and interviews reporting experiences and examining data results. Participants included 56 students with LD placed with 55 employers who had been trained in implementing the identified quality job indicators. Fourteen of the 21 quality job indicators were reported to be implemented by at least 90% of the employers. The quality indicators implemented are related to time expectations, on-the-job training, retraining, problem solving, supervision, verbal and written communication, flexible scheduling, breaks and positive reinforcement. The employers reported training in the use of the quality job indicators was effective in providing individuals with LD positive support in the workplace.