Non-learning Disabled Students Research Articles

Preliminary Results Exploring The Use OfAlternate Instructional Methods In Mathematics

Many classrooms across the world contain students with disabilities. This study examined four instructional methods that have been suggested to be appropriate for educators to utilize in classroom environments to improve student mathematical understanding. The study was conducted in a multi-level, inclusive classroom in the United States with a mixture of learning disabled and non-learning disabled students. This study examined four different mathematicsinstructional methods designed specifically for students with dyslexia. Over a 20-day period, 17 students were taught mathematical concepts using one of the four instructional methods. Students provided ratings for each lesson based on a specific set of criteria. The instructor also kept a reflective journal to assist in the comparison of the students’ perceptions to her own perception of how the students reacted to each lesson. The study found that lessons involving manipulation, guided problem solving and interaction with others were perceived as the better instructional methods. The study also discovered that the instructor’s perception correlated with the students’ perceptions of the methods.

Extra Examination Time for Students With Learning Disabilities: An Examination of the Maximum Potential Thesis

Extra examination time is a common accommodation for college students with learning disabilities. However, the validity of test scores obtained under this condition is open to question because nonlearning disabled students might also benefit from extra examination time. Nevertheless, according to the Maximum Potential Thesis (MPT), only students with learning disabilities benefit from extra examination time. Nonlearning disabled students, in contrast, already perform at their maximum potential under timed conditions, and their performance will not significantly improve with extra time. An analysis of 5 studies that directly test MPT shows only weak support for it. Methodological problems in several of the studies further weaken its evidentiary basis.

Cognitive and behavioral correlates of depression in learning-disabled and nonlearning-disabled adult students.

Cognitive and behavioral correlates of depression were examined in 33 learning-disabled (LD) and 99 nonlearning-disabled (NLD) adult students. Self-reported depressive symptomatology was significantly correlated with dysfunctional cognitions and reinforcement level in LD students. LD students reported engaging in significantly more unpleasant activities and experiencing significantly less pleasure than NLD students. There was a nonsignificant trend for LD students to report more depression than NLD students. These results are discussed in the context of cognitive and behavioral theories of depression.

Relationship between self-concept and classroom behavior among learning and nonlearning disabled students in regular classes.

To investigate the relationships of the self-concept with classroom behaviors, the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children and the Self-perception Profile for Learning Disabled Students were administered to 140 learning disabled and 246 nonlearning disabled pupils while teachers completed the Questionnaire on Approach/Avoidance Classroom Behavior toward schoolwork. Correlations showed a meaningful association between scores on the self-concept Behavioral Conduct subscale and rated classroom behavior for subjects of Grades 1 to 4. Also, while the relationship was meaningful for the high achievers, analysis showed few significant relationships for learning-disabled pupils.

Coping with School Stress: A Comparison of Adolescents With and Without Learning Disabilities

The experience of school-related stress during the transition to junior high school is compared in a sample of 59 students with learning disabilities (27 females, 32 males) and 402 students without learning disabilities (241 females, 161 males). Using a checklist of 11 stressful school events, the authors found that adolescents with learning disabilities were more likely to report that they had failed a class and less likely to report they had been chosen for a school activity than their non-learning disabled peers. However, the two groups of students did not differ in their perceived stressfulness of any of the pertinent school events. Students with learning disabilities reported relying on cognitive avoidance as a coping strategy more heavily than did non-learning disabled students when coping with an academic stress event, and reported that they mobilized fewer peers for social support when dealing with an academic stressor or with an interpersonal problem. The implications of these differences for the students' well-being are discussed. It is also suggested that school policies need to be examined for their impact on the opportunity for students with special needs to form supportive peer relations within the school environment.

Relationships and Differences among Social Skills, Problem Behaviors, and Academic Competence for Mainstreamed Learning-Disabled and Nonhandicapped Students

The present study was motivated by the Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities (ICLD) recommendation that learning disabilities include social skills as a deficit area and by the fact few researchers have directly assessed specific social skills of students classified as learning disabled. This study used a national representative sample of students from the standardization data of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) to investigate social skills of students with learning disabilities compared with nonlearning disabled students as rated by teachers, parents, and the students themselves. This investigation also examined the relationships among social skills, problem behaviors, and academic competence of these students. The results indicated there were significant differences in the frequencies of social skills exhibited by LD and nonLD students. Consistent differences between the two groups of students were noted across parents' and teachers' ratings. Although students' ratings did not differentiate LD and nonLD students, the trends in the self-ratings were consistent with those of parents and teachers. Moderate to low interrater agreement was found among teacher, parent, and student ratings suggesting differences exist in the observations of raters and behavioral differences seem to occur across settings. Overall, these findings were consistent with recent research on children's social functioning and social competence and provide an empirical rationale for social skills training for a wide variety of students whether they are classified as LD or not.

Is It True That the Differences in Reading Performance Between Students With and Without LD Cannot Be Explained by IQ?

This study was designed to demonstrate whether the differences in reading between students with learning disabilities (LD) and non-learning disabled students (NLD) can be explained by IQ. A sample of 133 Spanish children (85 male, 48 female) ranging in age from 8 to 13 years were classified into four groups according to IQ as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (< 80; 81-90; 91-109: 110-140) and into two groups based on reading level (LD and NLD). A lexical decision task was used and we manipulated different word parameters (length, positional syllabic frequency, and familiarity) and pseudoword parameters (length and positional syllabic frequency) to study the routes used by both groups. Our findings indicate that IQ does not explain the differences between children with LD and NLD children in lexical processing. We found that the lexical and sublexical parameters have a greater influence on students with LD than NLD students, independent of IQ. In synthesis, the LD group has more difficulty in lexical processing, which is influenced by poor phonological skills.

Effect of format on learning disabled and non-learning disabled students' performance on a hands-on science assessment

Students with learning disabilities often perform poorly on multiple-choice tests that emphasize recall and factual knowledge. This study compared the effect of two alternative assessmentsa constructed diagram test and a written questionnaireon fourth-grade learning disabled (LD) and non-learning disabled (Non-LD) students' learning. As part of a larger investigation of different approaches to hands-on science learning, 172 students (including 33 LD students) in six urban and two suburban classrooms participated in the study. Results indicate that students' assessment outcomes are a function of learner status (LD, low, average and high achieving) and level of domain specific knowledge after instruction. After controlling for domain specific knowledge, students with LD, and low and average achieving students obtained higher scores on the constructed diagram test than on the questionnaire. High achieving students were not sensitive to format differences, performing comparably on the two measures. The facilitative effect of the diagram format may have been due to differences in the primary symbol systems (graphic vs. text) and the openness of the response format (constrained vs. open) of the constructed diagram and questionnaire, respectively.

Direct and indirect measures of writing for nonlearning disabled and learning disabled college students

Direct and indirect measures were used to compare the written language abilities of three groups of college students: two with learning disabilities and one without learning disabilities. Main effects were found for group, but not gender. Differences between nonlearning disabled students (NLD) and those with learning disabilities (LD) in writing were evident on both types of measures. Performance by LD students with disabilities in an area other than writing differed depending on the type of measure and often was no different from either of the other two groups. The combined use of direct and indirect measures appeared most effective for examining the complexities of writing produced by all groups.

Socially Mediated Instruction: Improving Students' Knowledge and Talk about Writing

Metacognitive knowledge about writing is presumed to be an important aspect of self-regulated writing. Yet few studies have examined the effects of interventions designed to increase this knowledge on students' metacognitive knowledge as it is expressed through talk about writing. In the present study, 32 upper-elementary learning-disabled (LD) and non-learning-disabled (NLD) students participated in a socially mediated writing intervention emphasizing the process of writing, writing strategies, and the role of teacher-student and student-student dialogue. The intervention program was administered 3 times per week over a 1-year period. The talk of the intervention students about writing processes and strategies was compared to that of a similar group of students who had not participated in the intervention. The results suggested that, following the intervention, both LD and NLD students' talk revealed more metacognitive knowledge about writing. Students who had participated in the intervention showed greater ability to talk about planning, drafting, and revising as well as to discuss their purposes and intended audience. Further, when LD and NLD students from the intervention group were compared, the talk of LD students showed the greatest progression from an emphasis on other-regulation to self-regulation. Finally, the quality of students' metacognitive knowledge was positively related to measures of academic performance in writing and reading.

Teaching Self-Management Skills to Learning Disabled Adolescents

Learning disabled adolescents often display deficiencies in problem-solving and interpersonal social skills. These deficiencies tend to pose particular difficulties for successful transitions from the school to work environments. The present 3-year study investigated the impact of a self-management training program for LD adolescents ( N = 67 across all three years) who were attending a vocational-technical school. The study specifically examined changes in subjects' problem-solving and job-related social skills. Results showed significant and substantial improvements in LD students who received the self-management training program compared to both LD and non-learning disabled students who were not trained. Implications for enhancing the curriculum for LD adolescents as well as the potential limitations of the findings are discussed.

Depressive symptomatology in learning-disabled and nonlearning-disabled students

The present study examined the level of depressive symptomatology in a sample of 100 learning-disabled and nonlearning-disabled fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students. Depressive symptomatology was assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). In addition, students were rated by their classroom teachers on behaviors related to depression based on the DSM-III criteria. It was found that students identified as learning disabled obtained significantly higher scores on the CDI and the behavior rating scale than did children in the regular education classroom. There were no significant differences among grade levels for CDI scores, but a trend was noted. A significant difference was found among grade levels for the behavior rating scale scores. There was a significant positive correlation between CDI scores and teacher ratings of depressive characteristics.

Reading Disabled Children with Above-Average IQ

Aspects of cognitive processing in high IQ and average IQ learning disabled (LD) children and non-learning-disabled (NLD) children were examined through the use of tests that measured simultaneous and sequential processing, attention, and planning functions. LD students were poorer in sequential processing and planning compared to NLD students; high IQ LD students lost their IQ advantage to low IQ LDs in sequential scores ( p = .059). Implications for remediation are discussed.

Sensitivity to Text Structure in Reading and Writing: A Comparison Between Learning Disabled and Non-Learning Disabled Students

Text structures are considered important organizational schemes underlying effective comprehension and production of expository discourse. The present study examined the differential text structure skills in reading and writing of learning disabled students and two groups of regular class students. The results revealed significant differences between learning disabled students and their regular class peers in the use of text structure in both reading and writing expository discourse. The data support the notion that knowledge of discourse types underlies effective comprehension and production and that learning disabled students' conceptual understanding of these structures is limited.

A Comparison of the Composition Skills of Learning Disabled and Non-Learning Disabled Young Adolescents

The creative writing subtest of the Diagnostic Achievement Battery was administered to characterize and compare the writing performance of young adolescent learning disabled and non-learning disabled students as indicated by measures of story schema, fluency and coherence. Compositions written by learning disabled subjects were found to be generally less mature than those written by their non-disabled peers with respect to use of story schema. Further, the learning disabled students were found to be less fluent, less productive writers. They also exhibited more cohesion problems and cohesion problems of a more serious nature than did the non-learning disabled group.

The effects of cooperative and individual goal structures on learning disabled and nondisabled students.

This article compares the effects of cooperative and individual goal structures on learning disabled (LD) and non-learning disabled (NLD) students. Children in LD-NLD or NLD-NLD dyads were individually tested on a reading comprehension task after study periods which emphasized either cooperative or individual study behaviors and goal incentives. There were sex differences in the impact of cooperative goal structures on attitudes, behaviors, and academic performance for mixed and homogeneous groups of students. The need to consider both subject and task parameters for effective use of cooperative goal structures is discussed.

A Comparison of the Proportional Reasoning Abilities of Learning Disabled and Non-Learning Disabled Children and Adolescents

Noelting's (1980a, 1980b) three parallel instruments on proportional reasoning—two presenting problem-solving tasks in the ratio and division interpretations of fractions and one presenting the tasks in the purely symbolic form of numerical fractions—were administered to 6 female and 41 male learning disabled students, grades four through eight. Performances on the instruments were then compared to the performances of 120 non-learning disabled students in grades five through nine of the same school district. The purpose of the study was to determine whether learning disabled students differed in their development of proportional reasoning and whether their disability was in the use of symbols and language and not in their ability to solve proportional problems. Developmental scalograms, PPR&gt;0.93, resulted in support of the hypothesis that the proportional reasoning abilities of the learning disabled student are developmental and thus not unlike those of the non-learning disabled student. A comparison of the three means for the two groups revealed a reversal in performance with the learning disabled students more successful at problem solving and the non-learning disabled students more successful at the purely symbolic form of numerical fractions. Unlike the non-learning disabled students, the learning disabled students' inability to express a strategy did not indicate an inability to solve the problem.

Syntactic and Vocabulary Development in the Written Language of Learning Disabled and Non-Learning Disabled Students at Four Age Levels

Learning disabled students demonstrate serious problems in developing written language facility. Although written expression is one of seven aspects of achievement specified in the federal guidelines for identification of learning disabled students, measurement of written language development is quite complex. The search for a single, sensitive index of written language development is compounded by the synergistic nature of written language and the influence of contrived formats used in assessment. Syntax and vocabulary are frequently employed in research on written language development. Thus, the minimal terminable unit (T-unit) and the type/token ratio have been used as indices of syntactic and vocabulary development in analyzing samples of students' written language. Recently, computer technology has permitted the use of more complex measures of syntactic density and vocabulary intensity. The purpose of this study was to compare the written language development of learning disabled and non-learning disabled students at four age levels on measures of syntactic and vocabulary development. Implications for measurement and research are discussed.

Interjudge agreement in classifying students as learning disabled

Eighteen judges with backgrounds in assessment, decision making, and learning disabilities were asked to use an array of information to differentiate learning disabled and nonlearning disabled students. Each judge was provided with forms containing information on 42 test or subtest scores of 50 school-identified LD students and 49 non-LD students. Judges were extremely inaccurate in their classifications and in little agreement with each other. Also, it appeared that different judges emphasized different factors when making their decisions. The results suggest that, given current definitions of the condition called “learning disabilities,” there is considerable doubt that school personnel can accurately and reliably identify such students.

Performance of Learning Disabled and Low Achieving Secondary Students on Formal Features of a Paragraph-Writing Task

An experimental paragraph-writing task was administered to 26 learning disabled and 26 low achieving students in grades 7 through 10. Writing samples were analyzed for syntactic maturity, productivity and word selection; for conventions such as tense and number markers and number agreement; and for spelling, punctuation and capitalization. Only spelling performance proved significantly different in favor of low achievers. Other formal features previously found to distinguish underachieving learning disabled students from achieving peers failed to discriminate learning disabled students from non-learning disabled students with average intelligence and low achievement.