Science has been an important partner of the field of learning disabilities since its inception. Special educators have used science to confirm or reject approaches to identifying and teaching students with disabilities. Current research and practice is using science to find better approaches to preventing learning difficulties and reducing the…

Gifted students with spatial strengths are often overlooked and underserved in American schools. These students have remarkable areas of talent but often have verbal learning difficulties that prevent them from being identified for gifted services. This article focuses on definitions of spatial ability, characteristics of these learners, possible…

Recurring seizures in infants and children are often associated with cognitive deficits, but the reason for the learning difficulties is unclear. Recent studies in several animal models suggest that seizures themselves may contribute in important ways to these deficits. Other studies in animals have shown that recurring seizures result in…

Course experience, motivational beliefs, and self-regulated learning strategies may be considered to be important indicators of education quality. Inmates taking education in prison may also experience particular problems related to the learning environment and to their own learning difficulties. The present study investigated the level of these…

Our experience suggests that pre-service primary school teachers have problems with learning science, especially chemistry, and that this negative attitude towards science influences their future teaching. On that premise, the purpose of the study was to determine the level of the pre-service primary school teachers' intrinsic motivation for…

This issue of "Early Developments" examines a relatively new phenomenon in the early childhood field called "evidence-based practice," defined herein as "a decision-making process that integrates the best available research evidence with family and professional wisdom and values." This issue of "Early Developments" includes the following articles:…

Responsiveness to intervention (RTI) is addressed through federal law and refers to a tiered approach to instruction. Students who do not make adequate academic progress and who are at risk for reading and other learning disabilities receive increasingly intensive instructional services. This brief was developed to help you understand…

Recently in Australia, another media skirmish erupted over the problem currently called "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". This particular event was precipitated by the comments of a respected District Court judge. His claim that doctors are creating a generation of violent juvenile offenders by prescribing Ritalin to young…

This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of emotional, behavior and academic problems and their association in a 7th grade school-based sample. Behavioral data were gathered in the beginning and end of the school year and academic data were collected six times throughout the year (twice every trimester). In the whole we found that,…

In this article, the authors review learning and behavioral problems of children exposed prenatally to alcohol and other drugs, focusing on executive-function deficits such as difficulty shifting tasks, maintaining attention, and manipulating information in working memory. They discuss various risk factors associated with prenatal drug exposure so…

This paper reports an investigation of the challenges a former classroom teacher encountered when compelled by experiences as a supervisor of student teachers to forge a distinct pedagogy of teacher education. A qualitative self-study methodology was used to identify and examine the competing tensions that surfaced as the author made the…

As an experienced classroom teacher, the author was dismayed at what seemed a total lack of engagement by Singaporean theology students. To determine class dynamics, or lack thereof, the instructor discussed his situation with colleagues and investigated the nature of his students' preferred learning styles. Finding that his students were visual…

Purpose: This 5-year longitudinal study investigated the acquisition of 6 English grammatical morphemes (i.e., regular and irregular past tense, 3rd person singular, progressive aspect-"ing", copula BE, and auxiliary DO) by 10 native Mandarin-speaking children and adolescents in the United States (arrived in the United States between 5…

This study compared number sense instruction in three first-grade traditional mathematics textbooks and one reform-based textbook ("Everyday Mathematics" [EM]). Textbooks were evaluated with regard to their adherence to principles of effective instruction (e.g., big ideas, conspicuous instruction). The results indicated that traditional textbooks…

The present study investigated to what extent the members of adolescents' peer groups share similar educational expectations, and to what extent overall and school-related adjustment are associated with these expectations. Three hundred and ninety-four ninth-graders facing the transition to secondary education filled in questionnaires measuring…