Evaluating a self-regulated strategy development reading-comprehension intervention for emerging bilingual students with learning disabilities

Abstract

Simultaneous development of academic language and reading comprehension is critical for emerging bilingual students’ academic success. With a focus on reading comprehension, this study extends the research on self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) to include emerging bilingual students with learning disabilities. Through a multiple probe across participants design, researchers evaluated effects of instruction on fifth-grade participants’ use of reading-comprehension strategies and accuracy with comprehension-question answering. Intervention sessions lasted 32 minutes and met for 61 consecutive school days. Visual analyses indicated level changes and a functional relation between SRSD instruction and scores depicting strategy use and question-answering accuracy. Furthermore, participants reported high satisfaction with the goals, procedures, and outcomes of the intervention. Implications for supporting emerging bilingual students with learning disabilities are discussed.