This tribute to Samuel Kirk, an early leader in the field of learning disabilities, is written by a former student. It focuses on his experiences and contributions while at Milwaukee State Teachers College (Wisconsin). Kirk's supervision of practice teaching, his role as an editor and co-author, and his ideas about teaching reading are recounted.…

The recent emergence of assistive technology encourages researchers and educators to explore its possible benefits for students who lack the reading and writing skills necessary for success in higher education. Assistive technologies include text-to-speech software, word-processing programs, voice-recognition software, and software for organizing…

Intended for language learning disabled college students and their tutors, the booklet examines the use of words as aids in understanding an author's meaning. Suggestions are offered to help students adopt a more comfortable and effective reading style. The first section examines ways to decipher authors' context cues for information. Eight…

A study was conducted to determine competencies which teacher trainees should master. The following five competencies were hypothesized as important influences on learning disabled (LD) students' learning of word-attack skills: stating behavioral objectives, matching instruction to objectives, teaching rather than dispensing instruction, positive…

Discusses ways that teachers can create an interest in reading among students with reading difficulties and how they can attend to these students' low self-esteem. Provides seven guidelines for building supportive environments in which disabled readers develop reading enjoyment and maintain good self-concept. (HB)

Examines the research on one of the newest labels in the field of reading disabilities: attention deficit syndrome. Argues that such labels do little to help teachers plan instruction and can be harmful. Discusses the current diagnosis for this syndrome and the behaviors generally associated with it. (HB)

Many functionally illiterate freshmen feel helpless in the face of their inability to learn to read at a competent level. College freshmen who drop out because of this disability are losers who suffer tremendous disadvantages when they leave college without earning a diploma. Possible causes of functional illiteracy hindering the least educated…

Intended to provide current sources of information about college reading selected from the many citations of material in the ERIC database, this 22-item bibliography offers research about college reading, the reading process, and strategies of instruction. The bibliography also includes references to discussions of specific content area study…

The main intentions of the two-day teachers' conference on language disabilities held at East Carolina University were to provide background information on how children acquire linguistic habits, to identify and suggest remedies for certain socioemotional problems which interfere with learning, to isolate problems arising from diversity in…

An overview of some of the important developments in the psychology and teaching of reading during the past ten years is presented in this booklet. Four developments that are characteristic of the decade are described in an introduction: reading and social conscience, growth in reading research, increase in interdisciplinary advisory committees,…

Details a case study of a young adult who, although virtually illiterate, learned to compensate for his reading disability and earn several college degrees. (FL)

The Learning Development and Evaluation Center (LDEC) at Florida A&M University offers students with specific learning disabilities the opportunity to succeed in postsecondary education. LDEC provides psychoeducational assessments upon which an individualized educational plan is based. Guidelines encompass initial screening procedures, ongoing…

This paper identifies the major modes of thought that have characterized the conduct of teaching, research, and supervision at institutions of higher education, focusing specifically on the fields of psychology and education. These frameworks for thinking (paradigms) in both the social and "hard" sciences have progressed through three…

This ERIC/RCS Special Collection contains 10 or more digests (brief syntheses of the research on a specific topic in contemporary education) and FAST Bibs (Focused Access to Selected Topics--annotated bibliographies with selected entries from the ERIC database), providing up-to-date information in an accessible format. The collection focuses on…

The ninth yearbook of innovative learning strategies presents the following articles, grouped in three major sections. The first section, Program Models, contains: (1) "Cooperative Learning in a Study Skills Course" (Corrine Plotkin); (2) "Peer Tutor Preparation: A Guide to Training" (Kathy Carpenter); (3) "A Community…