A survey of 30 former teachers of learning disabled students indicated that excessive paperwork, desire for more money, lack of growth opportunity, and personal factors were cited most often as reasons for leaving the profession. (Author/DB)

Intended to assist teachers in evaluation of specific learning strategies for learning disabled students, the article summarizes 14 metacognitive strategies (sets of steps used by the student to talk his or her way through a problem) based on principles of rehearsal, transformation, organization, mnemonics, monitoring, motivation, and…

The mathematics performance of 1,098 learning disabled (LD) Florida tenth graders on the Florida State Assessment Test-II was evaluated. LD students tended to perform better on skills requiring literal use of numbers and worse on skills requiring application of mathematical knowledge. Employers' ratings supported the importance of skills tested.…

Guidelines for teachers to better use manipulatives in the teaching of mathematics to learning disabled learners are offered including a rationale for manipulatives, selection crteria, principles underlying productive use of manipulatives, and making the transition from the concrete to the symbolic. Suggested materials and distributors are listed.…

The article offers an interpretation of "specially designed instruction" in arithmetic computation for learning disabled students which challenges overreliance on paper-and-pencil methodologies, rule-oriented procedures, and traditional sequences. Long division is used as an example of developing conceptual understanding to undergird computation.…

The article examines reasons for discrepant findings in two studies of attention differences in learning disabled students, focusing on four interacting factors in experimental research: task, materials, context, and subject characteristics. It is suggested that attentional deficits are not necessarily the underlying problem for all students with…

Apparent inconsistencies in the study of attention problems are not a function of the data, but of the belief system that underlies and guides data interpretation. Attention problems are more accurately viewed as a symptom of a more fundamental cognitive limitation, rather than the primary source of underachievement or learning problems.…

The history of the strategy of grade retention for low achieving students is briefly reviewed and conflicts concerning its efficacy are summarized. Current research aimed at identifying specific criteria (including some found to be correlates of learning disabilities) which aid educators in making retention decisions is described. (Author/DB)

Research based instructional procedures to facilitate generalization of learning strategies by remedial students are offered at four levels of generalization: antecedent, concurrent, subsequent, and independent. Within each level, specific procedures mediated by the special teacher, the regular teacher, peer, and/or student are illustrated.…

It is argued that Christensen and others fail in their claim that learning disabilities are merely an excuse invented by schools to explain their instructional failures. Specific instances of error are discussed. A reply by Gerber and Christensen follows this article. (MT)

Sixty-eight learning disabled and reading disabled junior high school students took part in one of two experiments, both using spatially organized and randomized illustrations in an effort to measure effects of the type of illustration on recall of verbally presented prose passages. Results are discussed in terms of instructional variables for…

A story mapping strategy was used to effectively improve reading comprehension in heterogeneous groups of third/fourth graders, including five learning disabled and low achieving students. Group averages maintained above 80 percent when students were no longer required to use the strategy. (Author/DB)

Survey responses revealed that nonhandicapped students (N=26) more frequently felt that report card grades reflect amount learned and effort expended than did handicapped students (N=24). Interviews with special education students (N=10) and nonhandicapped peers (N=10) indicated acceptance of differentiated requirements for passing grades based on…

The study evaluated the construct validity of five perceptual traits with simulated work samples from the Jewish Vocational Service Work Sample System. Results with 36 learning disabled adolescents indicated that simulated work samples can be used as a diagnostic instrument for assessment of perceptual abilities in a vocational setting. (Author/DB)

Statistical analyses of the Behavior Manageability and Behavioral Contagion Scales completed by 44 regular education teachers and 44 teachers of the learning disabled found that no significant group differences existed, that withdrawn behavior was most difficult to manage, and that acting-out behaviors were most disruptive to other students.…