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Executive Summary 1

Executive Summary 2

Research Highlights

Models and Classroom Instruction

Case Study

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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References

Research Highlights
Research Related to Instructional Practices

• The impact of instructional strategies, such as direct instruction or strategy instruction, varies according to the academic area to which the strategy is targeted. Reading comprehension, vocabulary, and creativity are most greatly impacted by these interventions, whereas, the domains of spelling, mathematics, social skills, perceptual processes (e.g. handwriting), and language processes (e.g., listening comprehension) are impacted to a lesser degree.

• Classroom practices that use a combined model of direct instruction, or bottom-up instruction, and strategy instruction, or top-down instruction, are effective for educating students with learning disabilities because they teach students skills related to monitoring their own learning processes.

• Teaching students to organize information and monitor their understanding of material helps them become more active and thoughtful readers and enables them to use these strategies when reading new material.

• Strong teacher mediation that helps students become conscious of strategy procedures and progression, such as using guided practice and moving toward increased student control, will enhance the effects of strategies for improving reading comprehension.

• Using comprehensive instructional techniques such as graphic organizers, peer-mediated instruction, and strategy instruction focusing on text structure, result in greater transfer of learning effects for the student.

• The use of instructional techniques that incorporate more teacher support, elaborated dialogue and discussion among students, in conjunction with graphically adapted materials, result in greater student success.

• Repeated reading positively impacts upon reading levels for all students especially when the goal is to understand specific material in a passage.

• Direct instruction with opportunities for repeated practice and synonym identification is effective for teaching vocabulary. View Video Clip (readingvideo1)

• The type of instructional intervention used impacts upon student skills in specific academic areas in the following ways:

1. A combined intervention model is more effective on reading measures (e.g., word recognition and comprehension) than non-reading related measures. (e.g., mathematics, social skills)

2. A combined intervention model is more effective on reading comprehension measures when compared to word recognition measures.

3. Direct instruction alone has a greater impact upon reading levels than strategy instruction approaches to enhance student word recognition. However, this does not hold true regarding interventions to enhance reading comprehension.

• Teachers must continually assess their expectations for student achievement, accessibility of materials and resources, and the kinds of learning opportunities provided in the classroom. Maintaining high expectations for students is an overriding theme for effective instruction of students with disabilities. However, school-based support networks and opportunities for professional growth are important.

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