Students enter the middle grades with varying amounts of background knowledge. Teachers must assess student background knowledge for gaps or misconceptions and then provide instruction to build on that base. This article discusses effective strategies for assessing and developing students' background knowledge so they can become independent…

Responding to a reinterpretation of survey results concerning teacher education in learning disabilities (LD), the survey authors contend that practitioners must agree on definitions that limit, rather than extend, the LD population to differentiate the preservice requirements for teachers of LD students from those for general classroom teachers.…

The paper compares characteristics of underachievers with characteristics of learning-disabled gifted children; describes results of clinical assessments of learning-disabled gifted children; offers guidelines for identifying such students; and discusses teaching strategies that can be used at school and home. (JDD)

Intended for regular class teachers, the booklet provides information to aid in mainstreaming the learning disabled (LD) child. Sections address the following areas: characteristics of the LD child (legal definition, areas of difficulty); educational assessment (the assessment team, types of tests); reading; mathematics (specific arithmetic…

Intended for classroom teachers, the booklet offers guidelines for dealing with learning disabled (LD) students. Sections address the following areas: characteristics of LD children, procedures for identification, intervention strategies, and application of assessment procedures to specific case studies. Also provided are a list of tests for…

Results from a study of 73 special education teachers in the Netherlands indicate that improving diagnostic reports, on newly admitted students, alone will not result in a greater use of the available data by teachers when they make educational plans and decisions. (IAH)

"Specific Learning Disability" is by far the largest category of conditions served in special education. Unfortunately, few parents (and educators) really understand what learning disabilities are. Many erroneously believe it is a "politically correct" term for "mildly mentally retarded" or "dull normal." Further, while most laypeople have heard…

This review addresses the characteristics and needs of gifted learning disabled (GLD) and gifted underachieving (GUA) students and provides educational strategies for both groups. A section on the GUA describes these students' unique personal, social, and family characteristics and notes that underachievement is more prevalent among boys than…

Reviews the developments in communications and educational psychology that have influenced present educational media strategies and shows how recent breakthroughs in learning theory and media research offer a new direction in the design and use of instructional media. (Author/JM)

This monograph presents a brief guide to definitions, diagnosis, and treatment of attention deficit disorders (ADD) in children. Attention deficit disorder is defined and its relationship to hyperactivity explained. A chart summarizes four types of ADD (hyperactive/impulsive/aggressive, mixed, inattentive/passive, and pseudo ADD) in terms of…

A study classified and compared the learning style preferences of learning-disabled (LD) and gifted elementary school students with peers who were not identified as gifted or LD. The Learning Style Inventory (Dunn, Dunn, and Price, 1981), covering 22 learning style elements grouped under four categories (environmental, emotional, sociological, and…

Data are presented comparing children with learning disabilities to children with mild mental retardation, and comparing these two groups to normally achieving peers matched for chronological age (ages 6 to 8). Four studies were conducted, involving different types of oddity problems and rhyming skills. Results of the four studies indicated little…

This literature review examines and integrates research addressing visual handicap and giftedness and provides suggestions for the identification and education of gifted students with visual handicaps. The review addresses definitions of visual handicap and giftedness, characteristics of the gifted visually handicapped child, the problem of…

Reports on a study of predictive judgments and evaluation methods among 33 elementary teachers. Finds that inaccuracy in teachers' judgments of students is due partly to inappropriate use of consensus or comparative performance data. (CFR)

This paper attempts to provide information in response to the needs of educators of adults with learning problems. For the adult education teacher, information is offered on the nature of learning, information processing, problems that can be diagnosed, and strategies suitable for adults with learning problems. For the administrator, focus is…