A small-group mathematical problem-solving tutorial treatment with explicit instruction including transfer to novel problems was evaluated with 40 students. On word problems and transfer word problems, tutoring effected reliably stronger growth, although effects on real-world problem solving, while moderate to large, were not statistically…

A study involving 22 students with learning disabilities (LD), 42 students with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (LD/ADHD), and 86 controls, found students with LD and LD/ADHD had significantly lower scores on academic self-concept, academic attributional style, and academic self-efficacy beliefs than controls. Students with…

This article reviews the evidence for balanced literacy instruction in the elementary years. The case is made that the balanced instructional model is particularly appropriate and beneficial for students who have initial difficulties in learning to read and write. Key features of successful reading instruction programs are described. (Contains…

Reports on study designed to determine students' and instructors' comfort with asking for and providing accommodations for community college students with learning disabilities. Finds that students and faculty indicated neutral levels of comfort, but that further analyses of responses showed wide variability in the types of accommodations with…

This article provides strategies for teaching gifted students who have learning disabilities, including making sure students see the big picture before learning its pieces, teaching students to set realistic, short-term goals, making everything visual, providing hands-on situations, and using musical chants and rhymes. Guidelines for parents are…

U.S. taxpayers score lower on the "Forbes" Misery Index than taxpayers of other industrialized nations. A recent report concludes that public-school students challenge their schools more than private-school counterparts. Low birth weight and demographic factors (gender, poverty, and race) affect Florida's burgeoning special-education…

This article considers the research evidence from United Kingdom evaluations of integrated learning systems, systems that include extensive computer-based courseware plus management software. It discusses the value of these systems for pupils with learning difficulties and focuses on their effects on the reading attainments of pupils who are lower…

First-grade children at risk for a learning disability (LD) in mathematics, reading, or both were compared to a control group on experimental tasks assessing number comprehension and production skills, counting knowledge, arithmetic skills, working memory, and ease of retrieving information from long-term memory. Found different patterns of intact…

Novice and experienced special educators and headteachers (total n=49) of special schools in Israel received the Teacher Training Interactive Problem-solving System computer-training system and then completed a questionnaire on four common behavioral difficulties in children: attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, conduct disorders,…

Proposes a treatment-validity model for the identification of learning disabilities. The four-phase eligibility-assessment process would include evaluating adaptations in the regular classroom and verifying the effectiveness of special education before placement. Considers the technical requirements of this alternative eligibility process, and the…

Comments on the two previous articles (EC 628 520-521) support the studies' explorations of how at-risk students' and teachers' thinking help define the educational environment; raise questions about the possible complicating of unreported factors of race, class, and gender; and suggest that qualitative studies are needed to complement…

This study compared effects of two variations of the constant-time-delay (CTD) procedure on the observational learning of content area vocabulary by seven primary grade students with learning disabilities in a small group instructional setting. Both conditions (every student writes all words or only target student writes) were equally effective…

This is the story of a college professor with learning disabilities that were undiagnosed until age 17. Failing school, he was excluded from a college bound academic track in junior and senior high school. He eventually went on to earn a doctoral degree after first becoming a special education teacher, certified reading teacher, and school…

Students with disabilities often have difficulty understanding expository history texts in high school. This article presents an integrated curriculum/instruction/assessment approach to teaching history that increases content comprehension and problem-solving skills of students with learning disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Concept-based…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was recently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Several significant changes were made in the most recent reauthorization. These included requirements for "highly qualified" special education teachers; a track that will result in full…