Two short-term strategy training programs were used to teach learning disabled 9- to 12-year-old students (N=42) to use an organizational strategy for a memory task. A three-rule program stressing the acquisition of specific strategy content showed a greater transfer of learning than a six-rule program teaching both specific strategy content and…

The computer's role in matching instructional content and method to the learning disabled student's individual cognitive style is examined for the four phases of instructional delivery: assessment, prescription, evaluation, and instruction. (DB)

Academic effects of confluent education strategies (instructional modes integrating cognitive and affective concerns) on learning-disabled high school students (N=120) included significant gains in word recognition, reading comprehension, mathematical computation, and problem solving. Behavioral changes included decreased hurtful actions and…

Survey responses from 63 administrators of programs for hearing impaired students indicated a lack of criteria for identifying hearing impaired students with additional learning disabilities, limited resources for appropriate assessment and programming, and a lack of properly qualified teachers for this population. (Author/DB)

Family counseling helped the parents of a learning-disabled, hyperactive nine-year-old causing behavioral problems at home and school to recognize the importance of keeping their child on medication since his behavior and learning improved when he was on the prescribed medication. (CB)

The literature review identified needed competencies for teachers of the learning disabled commonly identified by researchers and professional groups or arising from empirical studies. Sixteen competency statements in five areas (general and special knowledge, planning and evaluation, curriculum content, clinical teaching strategies, and behavior…

The article contains a review of reading comprehension research since 1980, based on an interactive model of reading, with a focus on reading disabilities/learning disabilities. Included are studies which have investigated the influence of readers' prior knowledge of a topic, the influences of text structure and task demands, and metacognitive…

A training experiment with 30 mentally handicapped children tested two models of mental-arithmetic development. Children's initial responses to a mental-addition task appeared to be the product of a mechanical prescription. Errors appeared to be more errors of method than of recall. (MNS)

Two variations of a level system as a behavior management tool for behavior-disordered and learning-disabled adolescents (N=19) in a resource setting were evaluated. Four color-coded levels were designed to decrease talkouts and out-of-seat behaviors. During system implementation, disruptive and off-task behaviors decreased, and task completion…

Identifying the main points of a communication is fundamental to successful reading comprehension. Discussed are difficulties in defining main idea, text structure variables in determining important information, textual hierarchy and the theory of macrostructure, text features signalling important information, summary writing, learning-disabled…

This study examined the effects of a classwide peer tutoring program on the academic performance of 20 mildly handicapped students enrolled in two separate sections of a secondary resource room program. Methodology and results are discussed. (Author/JL)

The article reviews statistical and psychometric issues associated with the severe discrepancy definition of learning disabilities used in Public Law 94-142. It is proposed that these issues should not drive the psychological theory of learning disabilities and should be replaced by constructs firmly grounded in psychological theories of learning.…

In response to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," this counterpoint addresses the role of basic versus applied research, limitations of the procedure proposed by Swanson for establishing external validity and proving the metatheory, and limitations of metatheoretical research with regard to developing…

In rebuttal to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," this article emphasizes that a bias toward applied research in learning disabilities is appropriate, that explanatory theories may not provide control over the phenomena explained, and that the field's orientation toward social consensus rather than…

This response to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," argues that the field's development from social consensus has positive consequences and that the field is a "prenormal' science. A megatheory is suggested, incorporating metatheoretical aspects of the learning-disabled's information processing…