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Executive
Summary 2
This
executive summary was written by AIR personnel and reflects the
work of the following research report.
The
Effect of Instructional Grouping Format on the Reading Outcomes
of Students with Disabilities: A Meta-Analytic Review
Authors: Batya Elbaum, Ph.D., University of Miami Sharon
Vaughn, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin Marie Hughes, Ph.D.,
University of Miami Sally Watson Moody, University of Miami Jeanne
Shay Schumm, Ph.D., University of Miami
Background
and Purpose
American
schools are educating an increasingly diverse student population.
This diversity is present in students' cultural and linguistic
backgrounds, behavior, and learning abilities. One of the greatest
challenges that teachers face is to provide appropriate reading
instruction for all students, including students with learning
disabilities and behavior disorders.
For
decades, schools assigned students with disabilities who needed
specialized reading instruction to a part- or full-time special
education classroom. The 1997 Reauthorization of IDEA provides
support for opportunities to educate students with disabilities
in the general education classroom to the extent appropriate and
also to ensure these students' access to the general education
curriculum. This raises the question of how best to organize the
classroom and group students for instruction so as to maximize
student achievement.
Traditionally,
students in regular classrooms were divided into several groups
according to reading ability and were provided reading instruction
within these groups. In the last twenty years, there has been
considerable criticism of same-ability grouping on the grounds
that this practice lowers self-esteem and motivation among students
with reading problems and often widens the gap between high and
low achievers. At the same time, there has been an increase in
the popularity of alternative grouping practices such as cooperative
learning and cross-age tutoring that are designed to accommodate
individual differences while avoiding social stigmas.
As
a result of inclusion and other reform movements in special education,
increased collaboration between general and special educators,
and the rise of new methods of grouping for reading instruction,
educators need a comparison of the effects of different ways of
grouping students with disabilities for reading instruction.
Findings
This
study, a meta-analysis of 20 studies conducted from 1975 to 1995,
examined the relationship between reading outcomes of students
with disabilities and the grouping formats (i.e., pairing, small
groups, multiple grouping formats) used for reading instruction.
Most studies compared students who received instruction through
one of these grouping formats with similar students who received
"traditional" instruction delivered to the whole class. The researchers
found that students who were taught in one of the alternative
grouping formats had greater reading outcomes, on average, than
students in a comparison group (nearly half a standard deviation
higher). Thus, this research supports the use of alternative instructional
groupings for teaching reading to students with disabilities.
What
are the results of students tutoring each other?
-
Researchers
found clear benefits to tutoring both in cases when the students
with disabilities acted as reciprocal tutors-tutees and in
cases when they were only tutees. Acting as a reciprocal tutor
does not appear to diminish the effect of peer tutoring, and
may offer the additional benefit of boosting students' self-esteem
through the teaching role.
-
The
average effect of cross-age tutoring was very high for cross-age
tutors but negligible for cross-age tutees. In the cross-age
tutoring studies, tutors were in some cases students with
disabilities and other cases regular education students. Hence,
the lack of an effect for tutees cannot be explained entirely
by the hypothesis that tutors who are students with disabilities
lack the content knowledge or teaching skill to help their
tutees.
-
Outcomes
for students with disabilities varied depending on the particular
focus of the reading instruction that was provided (for example,
whether the focus was on word recognition or reading comprehension),
as well as on how these outcomes were measured (for example,
whether the test that students were given following the reading
intervention was a test of decoding skills, oral reading of
passages, reading comprehension, etc.). Future research is
needed to clarify these issues.
What
are the effects of small group instruction?
-
The
study supports previous research which found that breaking
students into smaller teacher-led groups (typically three
to ten students) helps students learn significantly more than
students who are not instructed in small groups. Other research
suggests that small groups (three to four members) produce
more positive results than larger groups (five to seven members).
Smaller groups typically result in more efficient use of teacher
and student time, lower cost, increased instructional time,
increased peer interaction, and improved generalization of
skills.
-
The
authors suggest that the type of instruction provided in small
groups and the materials used will affect the benefits to
students with disabilities. Benefits are likely to be greater
when instructional materials are tailored to the needs of
different students. Students with disabilities may require
different materials and more direct instruction than students
without disabilities.
-
The
role of the teacher in small group formats requires further
research. Small groups can provide teachers with the opportunity
to provide intensive, direct instruction, or they can be used
as an opportunity for students to work collaboratively with
one another. Further studies are needed to address the effects
of different types of small group work in reading.
What
are the outcomes of multiple grouping formats?
-
Average
results from these studies showed that using combinations
of grouping formats for reading instruction produces measurable
reading benefits for students with disabilities. This finding
is important because increasing numbers of teachers use diverse
grouping formats in their classrooms. For example, teachers
may use whole-class instruction for a part of each language
arts period and have students work two days a week in pairs
and another two days in small groups.
Did
the length of time during which the alternative format was implemented
impact the difference in outcomes between students taught using
that grouping format and students in a comparison group?
-
The
analyses revealed that the difference in outcomes between
students taught in alternative formats and students in a comparison
group was not related to the length of the intervention. Longer
interventions were not, overall, associated with a greater
difference between students in the alternative format and
students in the comparison group.
Recommendations
-
Peer-mediated
instruction in reading represents an effective complement
to other instructional practices for students with disabilities.
Peer pairing holds promise not only for improving reading
outcomes but also for improving social relationships of students
with disabilities. Teachers are encouraged to consider using
well-documented and researched peer pairing interventions
as part of their reading program.
-
When
possible, teachers should engage students with disabilities
as reading tutors for younger children. Outcomes should be
monitored for tutees as well as tutors, to ensure that all
children benefit.
-
Researchers
need to conduct additional intervention studies that directly
assess the effects of grouping on outcomes for students with
disabilities. For example, an important question that can
be addressed by such research is whether an intervention that
is successful when conducted one-to-one can be equally successful
when implemented in small groups. Further research can provide
guidance on how the use of different instructional formats
for reading instruction impacts both the academic achievement
and social integration of students with disabilities.
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