Introduction to the Special Series on Universal Design for Learning

Abstract

In Issue 37.2 of the Learning Disability Quarterly (LDQ), Dr. Margaret (Peggy) King-Sears introduced the first articles in her special series on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and learning disabilities (LD). Peggy’s special series concludes in this issue with the remaining two articles. In the first article, Hall, Cohen, Vue, and Ganley explore the ability of The Strategic Reader, a technology-based system that blends UDL with curriculum-based measurement, to improve students’ reading comprehension skills. The second article, by King-Sears, Johnson, Berkeley, Weiss, Peters-Burton, Evmenova, Menditto, and Hursh, examines the effectiveness of UDL when applied to chemistry instruction. This special series provides a unique concentrated effort to empirically examine the effectiveness of UDL with students who have disabilities, including those with LD. We are pleased that Dr. King-Sears and her colleagues chose the LDQ as an outlet for their scholarship. Also, in this issue are two articles that discuss findings from studies on other topics. In the first of these two articles, Doabler, Clarke, Fien, Baker, Kosty, and Cary describe an initial investigation of a recently developed supplemental mathematics curriculum designed to improve the mathematics performance of first-grade students who are at risk for mathematics difficulties. The curriculum integrates foundational concepts of whole number and validated-design principles of explicit and systematic instruction. In the next article, Al-Yagon compares the emotional and coping resources of two groups of parents who have children 8 to 12 years of age. One group has children with LD; the other group is composed of parents who have typically developing children. The study examines how mothers’ and fathers’ emotional resources may help explain their coping differences. As always, we appreciate the authors’ contributions to the LD literature.