Both the current school reform and standards movements call for enhanced quality of instruction for all learners. Recent emphases on heterogeneity, special education inclusion, and reduction in out-of-class services for gifted learners, combined with escalations in cultural diversity in classrooms, make the challenge of serving academically…

A nationwide random sample of 179 secondary general education math and special education teachers completed a survey asking them about their use of specific instructional practices to help teach math to students with learning disabilities (LD) and emotional/behavioral disorders (EB/D) and their use of specific assessment accommodations with these…

Vocabulary acquisition traditionally has been a struggle for students with special learning needs. This study involved an eleven year old fifth grade student with learning disabilities in reading and writing and limited English proficiency. Assistive technology assistance was provided from the Franklin Language Master 6000b and Microsoft's Power…

This study seeks to determine whether first-year special educators use their knowledge of differentiated teaching strategies in their classrooms. It also seeks to understand what conditions within school systems support or hinder attempts by special educators to implement these strategies. Participants in the study included four first-year special…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a schema strategy on the addition and subtraction word problem solving performance of four sixth and seventh grade students with learning disabilities. Students were taught to map features of the word problem onto problem schemata diagrams, first for one-step problems and then for two-step problems. A…

Lack of success of some adult learners of English as a Second Language may be due to learning disabilities (LD). Review of research reveals that LD can affect every aspect of learning, impairing single or multiple skills and sometimes appearing in the second language when not in the first. Identification of adult ESL learners as having LD can be…

A project was conducted to provide staff development workshops about adults with learning problems to agencies throughout Pennsylvania. Workshops and accompanying guides on nine topics ranging from understanding learning differences, problems, and disabilities to alternative instructional techniques were developed. Workshops were conducted…

This issue of a journal on suggestive learning-teaching-therapy counseling within the procedural confines of Suggestology or Suggestopedia includes the following articles: "Suggestopedia in an American High School Setting" (Carl W. Pullen), a description of the use of Suggestopedia in a German class; "Optimizing the Presentation of…

This book presents 17 selected papers from recent issues of the journal, "Focus on Exceptional Children," concerning current and emerging challenges facing the field of special education. The book is organized in two parts. Part 1, "Contemporary Challenges," includes the following articles: "Transitions in Early Childhood Special Education: Issues…

Instructional conversations (ICs) represent an alternative approach to the instruction of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. It has instructional intent, but appears to be a spontaneous conversation with natural language interactions. Successful ICs depend on identification of a text-specific theme that is significant and tied to…

This document summarizes the final reports of five Colorado classroom projects funded to promote and evaluate effective instructional techniques for students with learning disabilities. (However, the projects also involved students who were not disabled.) The five projects dealt with: (1) effectiveness of using an edu-kinesthetic whole brain…

This literature review explores the phenomenon of dysmathematics and problems in its definition. Dysmathematics is suggested as a modern term for low achievement in mathematics. This document addresses: (1) concomitant variables associated with dysmathematics; (2) mathematical characteristics of dysmathematicians; (3) diagnosis and prescription…

A three-part study examining the efficacy of a reading recovery program for learning disabled first grade students is described in this paper. An introduction outlines the Ohio Reading Recovery project and explains the purpose of the study. Part 1 describes the first phase of the study, in which 110 poor readers, including 35 learning disabled…

Project READ had a two-fold purpose: to improve the reading levels of diagnosed learning disabled adults, and to investigate the following research questions: (1) which of three teaching approaches selected for this study is most effective for reading disabled adults? (2) what is effective assessment? and (3) how may the impact of reading…

The article traces the development of the concept of learning disabilities (LD) in American education from a sociohistorical perspective, prompting a variety of observations and conclusions. The scientific basis for the conceptualization of the LD clinical syndrome is weak. A clinically identified dysfunctional learning style has been transformed…