Intervention Research and Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice
Donald D. Deshler
Getting research-based instructional practices into the hands of professionals who teach students with learning disabilities
is one of the most significant challenges for educators. This paper describes some of the major factors
accounting for the gaps that exist between the special education research and classroom practice and presents four
major policy recommendations to be considered by those who frame legislative initiatives on behalf of individuals
with disabilities.
Intra-Group Motivational Analysis of Students with Learning Disabilities: A Goal Orientation Approach
Georgios D. Sideris and Charalambos Tsorbatzoudis
The purpose of the present study wes to profile, using a K-means cluster analysis, the cognitive, motivational, affective, and goal orientation characteristics of elementary school students with and without learning disabilities (LD). Participants were 58 fifth and 6 sixth graders (29 typical and 29 LD) selected using stratified random procedures. Results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups of students across all variables with the exception of task avoidance and positive social experience orientations. Within groups analyses suggested the presence of three reliable clusters: (a) Amotivated/Disengaged-Low Achievers, (b) Motivated-High Achievers, and (c) Avoidant/Uncommitted-Low Achievers, representing 100% of the participants. Subsequent discriminant analyses verified the presence of the three clusters producing correct classification rates for 97% of the participants who belonged to the three clusters. Results indicated that most of the LD students belonged to the third cluster and their lower achievement could be well attibuted to their orientation toward avoidance and to their general lack of motivation. It is concluded that students with LD may have 'ill' motivational strategies, and they resemble the learned helpless type described by Seligman (Seligman, 1975) due possibly to exposure to repeated failure.
Mathematics Assessment for Students with Mild Disabilities: Frameworks and Practices
John F. Cawley and Rene S. Parmar
The overall purpose of this paper is to describe a practical and useful approach to mathematics assessment that is meaningful to teachers, students and families. The format is highly flexible, yet specifically designed to provide detailed information as to the performance characteristics of the student and a variety of curricula and instructional options for the teacher and school. The assessment focuses on three key factors. They are: (1) the availability of an organized curriculum, (2) the utilization of multi-modal interactions between student and evaluator and (3) time for the teacher or other sources to actually conduct instruction in a manner indicated by the results of the assessment. The assessement we describe can be conducted in whole or in part in most very topic of mathematics and once the teacher has insured himself that he has mastered the curricula and instructional design, the teacher can ad-lib about one-half from general education and about on-half from special education. The greatest obstacle encountered by the teachers was lack of time to implement their instructional findings due to the rapid pace established by the district to cover the content of each grade in a year (Parmar, Cawley and Frazita, 1998).
Auditory Perceptual Impairments and Learning Disabilities: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations
Gary A. Troia
A proximal cause of reading disabilities is a deficit in phonological processing. A consequence of this deficit is inferior performance in one or more cognitive operations that use phonological information, including phonological awareness, lexical retrieval, and verbal memory. Some assert that these phonological processing difficulties are the direct result of impaired auditory perceptual skills. This paper examines the theoretical and empiracal grounds for this hypothesis. First, evidence in support of perceptual deficits as a root cause of poor reading achievement and specific language impairments is presented, followed by opposing evidence. Finally, research that has examined the efficacy of interventions based on the auditory perceptual hypothesis is reviewed.
Do Effect-Size Measures Measure Up?: A Brief Assessment
Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Joel R. Levin, and Nancy L. Leech
Because of criticisms leveled at statistical hypothesis testing, some researchers have argued that measures of effectt size should replace the significance-testing practice. We contend that although effect-size measures have logical appeal, they are also associated with a number of limitations that may result in problematic interpretations of them in research on children and adults with learning disabilities (LD). The purpose of this present paper is to provide a framework for reporting and interpreting empirical research findings in LD research. Specifically, we recommend that: (1) researchers apply criteria of both statistical significance and substantive significance to help consumers of research assess the believability and importance of reported results, respectively; with (2) the establishment of statistical significance, obtained via the use of inferential statistical techniques serving as a precursor to the interpretation of measures of substantive importance. We further contend that the family of standard effect-size indices represents just one approach for assessing substantive significance in LD research. Other methods include the use of confidence intervals and consideration of the results clinical significance and economic significance. In addition, the critical role played by independent replications must not be overlooked by LD researchers. As such, effect-size measures have an important, though not exclusive, function in evaluating educational and psychological research findings in general and LD research results in particular.
