Students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are being included more frequently in the general educational setting, and are therefore increasingly expected to access and master core curricular content, including mathematics. However, mathematics often presents challenges to students with ASD. Interventions to improve the mathematics skills of…

The need for global competence in mathematics is apparent. Algebra is considered a gateway course to prepare students for the demands of a competitive global market. Many students demonstrate low performance in algebra; this is especially true for students with disabilities. Effective algebra instruction is essential to increase algebra…

Dialogic Reading (DR) is a highly developed and well-documented shared-reading approach designed specifically to increase adult and child verbal exchanges while promoting language development, early literacy skills, and long-term academic functioning in children with and without language delays. This article provides ideas and concrete strategies…

In two experiments, the principles of cognitive load theory were applied to the design of alternatives to conventional music instruction hypothesised to facilitate learning. Experiment 1 demonstrated that spatial integration of visual text and musical notation, and dual-modal delivery of auditory text and musical notation, were superior to the…

Outlines three basic learning modalities--auditory, visual, and tactile--and notes that technology can help incorporate multiple modalities within each lesson, to meet the needs of most students. Discusses the importance in multiple modality teaching of effectively assessing students. Presents visual, auditory and tactile activity suggestions.…

The development of language and literacy is the foundation for all other learning. This statement is the guiding philosophy at the Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD). Teachers at ISD believe that intensive, highly structured early intervention and education work best to support cognitive and communication development in their students. However, little…

A follow-up account of a mother's attempts to provide her blind daughter, now aged six, with knowledge of the physical world through the manipulation of three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional tactile representations. The case is made for the value of pictures to the development of children's understanding in general; and for the child who…

Addressing the needs of children with autism in the school context is an essential component of facilitating the success of these students. This article provides an overview of scientifically based and promising interventions that may be used to promote the social and cognitive competence of children with autism, focusing on the research base of…

To improve memory in children in early grades or in children at all ages with cognitive problems, it is suggested that the teacher provide verbal interpretations of pictorial information, encourage children to verbalize the pictured material for themselves, and encourage children to create their own mental pictures. (SBH)

Through the years, motor skills have been taught by having students practice motor responses as the teacher verbally cued and corrected them. This teaching strategy may work in the long run, but it costs teachers an enormous amount of unnecessary time. Verbal cues and mediation training comprise a short cut process that allows for quicker learning…

Drawing from research on reading, this paper suggests various methods of stimulating cognition in beginning readers. Defining cognition as the process by which a person gains knowledge, or understands or comprehends, discussion in the paper centers on the following topics: (1) perceptive and cognitive skills; (2) prior experience; (3) knowledge of…

The ability to analyze a word into its component sounds is prerequisite to a child's learning of letter-sound correspondences and therefore to his learning to read. As prereaders do not typically master the ability to analyze a work into its component sounds, techniques must be developed to teach them this skill. Most procedures which have been…

Focusing on the brain's natural functions, this article discusses specific teacher characteristics, teaching methods, and peripheral stimuli helping to activate appropriate learning behavior. Also identifies particular events and teacher behaviors that block learning and frustrate the brain's efforts to harmonize conflicts and admit new…

Describes the problems in teaching children of deprived backgrounds. (Editor)