The performance of 60 learning disabled and normally achieving children (ages 9-12), either given minimal instruction to use organizing strategies or engaged only in practice with a free recall task, were compared. Factors underlying the unexpected finding that strategy use did not account for learning disabled students' poor recall are discussed.…

This study of 44 children in grades 4 and 5 found that children with learning disabilities (LD) required more time than nondisabled students to achieve 100 percent accuracy on a short learning unit and retained less factual content. LD students who did not spend adequate time in learning dropped more dramatically in achievement than nondisabled…

The article examines whether the material-appropriate processing approach can anticipate and explain the mnemonic effects of elaborative encoding tasks and study adjuncts for less able learners. Evidence suggests that less able learners are not capable of spontaneously exploiting the affordances of the to-be-learned material without appropriate…

This article describes the concept and varieties of mnemonic instruction and how mnemonics interacts with the specific learning characteristics of learning-disabled students. The effectiveness of the techniques, as reported in research studies, is described. Implications for classroom instruction and further research are provided. (DB)

This article reports on a reading comprehension instructional technique which uses reciprocal-like teaching formats in groups and semantic mapping to make text structures apparent. The procedure significantly affected recall of expository ideas and knowledge of comprehension strategies with 28 intermediate grade students with learning…

The paper describes and advocates process-oriented rather than product-oriented approaches to language intervention for students with language-learning disabilities. The paper discusses the need for different reasoning strategies in language intervention, a "levels of competence" macromodel for language intervention, a process-oriented micromodel,…

The study, involving 61 learning-disabled junior high students, compared the short-term and long-term effectiveness of definition instruction with interactive vocabulary strategies (semantic mapping, semantic feature analysis, and semantic/syntactic feature analysis). Students participating in the interactive strategies demonstrated greater…

Twenty-five suggestions are presented for consideration when describing, defining, and assessing learning disabled adults; when designing appropriate instructional and support services for these individuals; and when planning related research. Implications are discussed for elementary and secondary level educators, as well as for those designing…

The effect of a lecture pausing procedure on performance of 15 learning-disabled and 15 nondisabled college students was evaluated. Findings indicate that 2-minute pauses spaced at logical breaks during videotaped lectures effectively enhanced student performance on immediate free-recall and objective test measures but not on long-term free…

This interview study examined the perceptions and beliefs about cognitive strategy instruction of 31 classroom teachers of underachieving students and 9 strategy researchers. Teachers and researchers generally agreed about components of strategy instruction and when to teach them; one difference was the tendency of researchers to relegate each…

This review of the University of Maryland's research program in written language indicates that the writing difficulties of students with learning disabilities stem, in part, from problems with basic text production skills, scant knowledge about writing, and difficulties with planning and revising text. The effectiveness of various instructional…

Over a six-week period, students (N=19) with learning disabilities in an inner-city middle school were taught the chronological order of the U.S. presidents. Half the time a modified mnemonic keyword-pegword strategy was used and the other half rehearsal and representational pictures. Delayed posttesting revealed a significant main effect for…

Twenty-six articles including information about the cognitive and academic characteristics of learning-disabled college students are reviewed, focusing on levels of intellectual functioning, reading achievement, mathematics achievement, written expression, and foreign language performance. Research needs and implications for service provision are…

A reinterpretation of survey results concerning teacher-education programs in learning disabilities indicates that (1) most large programs advocate a reasonably consistent instructional approach and (2) despite the appearance of the same topics in textbooks for both special and regular education teachers, the same set of skills are not necessarily…

The article describes an evaluation procedure that observes the child's ability to use specific learning strategies. By extending on and manipulating initial responses, the procedures help determine the amount of interaction needed to influence a child's performance and identify the kinds of instructional interactions that exercise control over…