Multifactorial models of dyslexia have expanded how we consider heterogeneity within the population of children with dyslexia. These models are predicated on the idea that cognitive/linguistic risk factors are not deterministic but instead probabilistic, with the likelihood of difficulties involving an interaction between risk and protective…

Accumulating research has established explicit mathematics instruction as an evidence-based teaching practice. This study utilized observation data from a multi-year efficacy trial to examine the longitudinal effects of a core kindergarten mathematics program on the use of explicit mathematics instruction among two distinct groups of teachers: one…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether integrating encoding instruction with reading instruction provides stronger gains for students who struggle with reading than instruction that includes little or no encoding. An instructional design model was investigated to best fit the data of 175 first-grade readers at risk for reading…

Two studies compared the effectiveness of alphabet principle training only versus combined alphabet principle and syllable awareness training with at-risk spellers (grades 2 and 3). Differing results suggest use of a two-tier early intervention model in which first the alphabet principle is taught and applied and then the following year children…

The use of demonstration plus permanent model (DPM) as a teaching strategy was evaluated with 19 learning disabled students (ages 9-14) in the area of computational skills. Results indicated that DPM effectively helped students acquire computational skills across instructional sequences for addition, subtraction, and multiplication. (Author/DB)

A metacognition model that can help understand general problem-solving deficits in learning disabled students is presented. Two components of metacognition are highlighted: executive processes and attributional beliefs. An educational package combining these components with specific strategy training is illustrated as an approach to improving…

This paper examines the complexities of written language in terms of both its mechanical and creative skills. It discusses four approaches to providing assistance to writers with learning disabilities, including rule and skill instruction, substantive facilitation, procedural facilitation, and self-instructional strategy training; and recommends a…

An intervention framework for the management of communication disorders in learning disabled children is presented. The model is comprised of three components: communicative intentions (what a speaker wants to convey), presupposition (a speaker's message in relation to specific information needs of a listener), and the social organization of…

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,…

Experiments in strategy instruction for mathematics have been conducted using three models (direct instruction, self-instruction, and guided learning) applied to the tasks of computation and word problem solving. Results have implications for effective strategy instruction for learning disabled students. It is recommended that strategy instruction…

This article addresses the potential and the challenges of scaffolded instruction within the context of an exploratory study of the implementation of mediated collaborative problem solving. Implementation of the model for self-regulation with students experiencing reading difficulties is described, with suggestions for making scaffolded…

We compared a reading intervention that consisted of explicit, self-regulatory strategy instruction to a strategy intervention that was less explicit to determine the impact on the reading-specific self-efficacy, attributions, and affect of students with reading disabilities (RD). Participants included 20 students with RD who were entering grades…

There is strong interest in strategy instruction and in conducting research on the topic, with many researchers developing strategy interventions for both normal and learning disabled populations. Experiment design has become both methodologically sound and conceptually convincing. A comprehensive research program requiring both laboratory and…

A model of writing instruction integrating word processing, strategy instruction, and a process approach, within a social context for writing as a meaningful task, was tested with 113 elementary students with learning disabilities. Students in experimental classes made greater gains in quality of their narrative and informative writing than did…

Learning differences or disabilities can be best understood and addressed within the holistic/constructivist theory of knowledge construction and the reciprocal evolution of cognitive structures. Learning differences manifest themselves in the spirals of mental structuring activity that guide relational thinking. Such a perspective focuses on…