Journal of Learning Disabilities最新文献

More than two-thirds of middle school students do not read proficiently. Research has shown that targeted interventions using explicit instruction methods can improve reading outcomes for struggling readers. A central feature of explicit instruction is the systematic implementation of instructional interactions, but it is not clear what specific instructional interaction practices lead to stronger outcomes for middle school readers. This study used a regression discontinuity design to compare the frequency and impact of instructional interactions experienced by U.S. eighth-grade students who received a targeted reading intervention (n = 1,461) with those who did not (n = 4,292). Results indicated that students who received intervention experienced far more instructional interactions with their teachers than did students who did not. However, the association between rates of interaction and student need in the intervention group was minimal, and the relationship between the rate of instructional interactions and reading growth was mixed. Implications for intervening with struggling students in the middle grades are discussed.

Given that inhibition interacts with visual temporal processing (VTP), the past evidence regarding the influence of VTP on the Chinese character reading of children with dyslexia may not disclose the whole picture without considering inhibition. Thus, the present study is among the first to investigate VTP and cognitive inhibition as well as their relationships to Chinese character reading. We compared the performances of 62 Chinese-speaking children with dyslexia in primary school (n = 62, M_age = 11.36 years) on VTP and inhibition tasks to those in a chronological-age-matched group (CA; n = 62, M_age = 11.57 years) and reading-level-matched group (RL; n = 62, M_age = 8.98 years). The results revealed that children with dyslexia performed worse than both the CA-matched and RL-matched groups in VTP and inhibition after controlling for age, nonverbal intelligence, and attention. Moreover, the relationship between VTP and Chinese character reading was moderated by inhibition in children with dyslexia. VTP is positively related to Chinese character reading, but this relationship is observed only at higher levels of inhibition. Our results suggest that inhibition plays a potential role in VTP and Chinese character reading, especially for those with dyslexia whose proficiency in inhibition is not as intact as that of typically developing children.

Despite decades of research efforts, data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive intervention needs are not being widely used in practice as anticipated, and many educators have difficulties in implementing it. This systematic review aimed to examine what kinds of implementation drivers and strategies have been used to support educators implementing DBI and what kinds of implementation outcomes researchers have measured. Eighteen studies were synthesized using the Implementation Drivers framework and Implementation Outcomes taxonomy and were quality appraised. We found that the majority of studies primarily used competency drivers to increase teachers' DBI expertise, while a limited number of studies focused on organizational and leadership drivers. Acceptability and fidelity were frequently assessed as implementation outcomes. We discussed the implications of the findings, including the need for researchers to incorporate implementation drivers and outcomes at diverse levels to best support educators' implementation of DBI, as well as the limitations of this review, such as the limited generalizability of the findings.

Data-based decision-making (DBDM) using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) data has demonstrated effectiveness in improving academic achievement for students with or at risk for learning disability. Despite substantial evidence supporting DBDM, its use is not common practice for many educators, even those who regularly collect CBM data. One explanation for its lack of widespread use is that educators may not receive adequate training in the DBDM aspects of CBM. Espin et al. examined the extent to which DBDM is represented in CBM professional development (PD) materials and found that the topic was significantly underrepresented (12% to 14% of CBM PD material content) compared with other CBM topics. The purpose of this study was to conduct a conceptual replication of the Espin et al. systematic review through an analysis of CBM content in practitioner journal articles. The present review includes 29 practitioner articles coded to the four CBM categories used in the Espin et al. study: (a) general CBM information, (b) conducting CBM, (c) data-based decision-making, and (d) other. Results revealed a pattern similar to the one found by Espin et al. with approximately 18% of the content of practitioner articles on CBM devoted to the topic of decision-making. These findings strengthen the recommendation from Espin et al. for increased attention to DBDM in CBM training materials.

Most students with reading difficulties struggle to read words. We examined intervention effects for students with significant word reading difficulties (SWRD; standard score of 80 on at least one pretest measure of word reading), which includes individuals with or at risk for dyslexia. We investigated: (a) What are the effects of reading interventions for students in Grades 3-12 with SWRD? and (b) What intervention features (i.e., instructional components and elements of dosage) are related to improved reading outcomes for the target population? A meta-analysis of 22 studies and 208 effect sizes revealed a statistically significant, positive, mean effect (g = 0.14, standard error [SE] = 0.04, p = .01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.04, 0.23]) of interventions for the target population. Subset analyses revealed positive, statistically significant intervention effects on measures of pseudoword reading (g = 0.38, SE = 0.07, p = .0003, 95% CI [0.21, 0.54]) and pseudoword reading fluency (g = 0.29, SE = 0.09, p = .010, 95% CI [0.09, 0.49]). Moderator analyses yielded statistically significant, positive effects associated with increased total hours of intervention, β = 0.003, SE = 0.0009, t(8.31) = 3.58, p = .007. Overall, findings indicate a need for interventions that improve generalized real-world reading for the target population.

This study analyzed performance, process, and survey data of eighth graders with learning disabilities (LDs) who took the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) digital math test. Compared with students with LDs who did not receive extended time accommodations (ETAs), students with LDs who received and used ETA scored significantly higher on the test, whereas students with LDs who received but did not use ETA scored significantly lower on the test. In addition, students with LDs in the two ETA groups reported a lower level of perceived time pressure and a higher level of math interest and enjoyment than their peers who did not receive ETA. For students with LDs who received ETA, optimal performance was achieved with 50% additional time, while their peers who did not receive ETA typically performed best when utilizing most of their allotted time. The analysis of process data revealed that students with LDs who used ETA performed more actions, had a higher number of revisits, used universal design digital tools more frequently, and performed better on time-consuming items than their peers who did not receive ETA at the same level of math performance.

Children with mathematical difficulties need to spend more time than typically achieving children on solving even simple equations. Since these tasks already require a larger share of their cognitive resources, additional demands imposed by the need to switch between tasks may lead to a greater decline of performance in children with mathematical difficulties. We explored differential task switch costs with respect to switching between addition versus subtraction with a tablet-based arithmetic verification task and additional standardized tests in German elementary school children in Grades 1 to 4. Two independent studies were conducted. In Study 1, we assessed the validity of a newly constructed tablet-based arithmetic verification task in a controlled classroom-setting (n = 165). Then, effects of switching between different types of arithmetic operations on accuracy and response latency were analyzed through generalized linear mixed models in an online-based testing (Study 2; n = 3,409). Children with mathematical difficulties needed more time and worked less accurately overall. They also exhibited a stronger performance decline when working in a task-switching condition, when working on subtraction (vs. addition) items and in operations with two-digit (vs. one-digit) operations. These results underline the value of process data in the context of assessing mathematical difficulties.

Conceptual replications are part and parcel of education science. Methodologically rigorous conceptual replication studies permit researchers to test and strengthen the generalizability of a study's initial findings. The current conceptual replication sought to replicate the efficacy of a small-group, first-grade mathematics intervention with 240 first-grade students with mathematics difficulties in a new geographical region. Participating students were randomized into one of three conditions: (a) 2:1 mathematics intervention group, (b) 5:1 mathematics intervention group, or (c) business-as-usual instruction. Relative to the original study, findings from the replication varied. When comparing the treatment groups to the control, results suggested positive effects on all outcome measures, including a follow-up assessment administered one year later. However, differences between the two treatment groups based on group size were not found in the mathematics outcome measures. Both groups also received commensurate levels of observed instructional interactions. Implications for unpacking contextual differences between original research and their replications as well as using future research to explore the quantity and quality of instructional interactions as ways to explain variation in findings of group size are discussed.