The Directed Spelling Thinking Activity (DSTA) is a method of teaching spelling to students with learning disabilities by encouraging active thinking and analysis of word patterns. With DSTA, students compare and contrast words that fit different but related spelling patterns. Words illustrating 37 spelling patterns are listed. (Author/DB)

This article describes instructional procedures for helping students with learning disabilities become more effective mnemonic keyword strategy users. The procedures involve providing a rationale, providing explicit strategy-attribution instruction, modeling strategy use with think-alouds, providing verbal practice, providing guided practice with…

A special education teacher and a reading specialist who team taught fourth-grade students with learning disabilities were observed to determine the ways in which the teachers' beliefs and practices influenced their decisions about strategy instruction. The effects of strategy instruction on their reading and writing workshops are examined. (CR)

This study with 56 learning-disabled adolescents found that intensive generalization training specific to the development of complex mnemonic strategies was demonstrably more effective in recall at 1-day and 2-week intervals than a rehearsal condition. No added advantage was gained by adding attribution training to the mnemonic generalization…

Thirty studies that examined mathematics strategies for use with learning-disabled students are reviewed. The studies evaluated reinforcement and goal setting on seat work performance, specific strategies for computation and problem solving, mnemonic strategies, peer mediation, and computer-assisted instruction. Virtually all instructional…

The activities of a literacy project are described as examples of social constructivism. The role of social and dialogic interactions of teachers and students in literacy communities in which the production, rather than the reproduction, of knowledge is the goal of the instruction is emphasized. Examples of teacher and student dialog are provided.…

Based on a systematic search of literature published from 1988 to 1995, 20 math interventions for secondary students with learning disabilities were identified and analyzed. Effective methods include teacher-directed instruction, instructional design curriculum variables, three-term contingency trials, strategy instruction, self-monitoring…

This article presents a graduated word problem sequence in mathematics, beginning with simple words; progressing to phrases, sentences, and paragraphs; advancing to paragraph word problems with extraneous information; and finally having students create their own word problems. Results from 67 elementary students with learning disabilities support…

The use of constructivism in mathematics instruction for regular and special education students, including those with learning disabilities, is explored. Issues addressed include the explicit-to-implicit continuum of constructivism, perceptions of constructivism relating to teachers and students, the setting demands of a constructivistic learning…

Nine students (ages 7 to 11) with math disabilities were effectively taught using an instructional sequence that moved from the concrete to the semiconcrete to the abstract. Subjects needed between three and seven lessons using manipulative devices and pictures before being able to do abstract-level problems. (Author/DB)

This article compares four theories relating vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension and applies these theories to vocabulary development instructional approaches for various types of students with problems in reading comprehension. The four theories are the instrumentalist hypothesis, the aptitude hypothesis, the access hypothesis, and the…

This article explains how to use constant time delay to teach multiplication facts to students who have learning disabilities. Specific techniques for using time delay on an individual or small group basis are outlined, a sample student data sheet is presented, and the role of reinforcement is addressed. (Author/JDD)

This article on curriculum and instructional issues in teaching secondary students with learning disabilities discusses the impact of traditional secondary school programs on these students; promising research examining alternative program models and instructional interventions (including the Strategies Intervention Model, Integrated Strategy…

This tribute to Samuel Kirk, an early leader in the field of learning disabilities, describes his prominent achievements in reading instruction, including research in remedial reading and identification of reading instruction principles such as stages of reading development, importance of prereading abilities, and the need for explicit, systematic…

Junior high learning-disabled students (n=29) were taught U.S. states and capitals. Students scored higher on items taught mnemonically than on items taught traditionally, whether students were required to provide forward or backward information. Significant correlations were found between performance and reported mnemonic strategy usage.…