Explains how the Open Training and Education Network in New South Wales (Australia) has addressed the issue of designing learning materials for learners in vocational and pre-vocational areas with physical, intellectual, vision, hearing, psychological, or neurological disabilities and learning difficulties, such as low literacy and numeracy…

A preschool screening battery was presented to a sample of 198 children with and without mild learning problems. Cross-sample test validation was demonstrated when 81% of both groups were correctly classified. Interrater reliability of 80% or greater on all but one of the tasks was demonstrated. (Contains references.) (Author/PB)

Investigates construct, predictive, and differential validity for the Comprehensive Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test (CREVT). Adequate construct validity for the CREVT was documented, using the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children-III as a criterion. Also, the CREVT effectively differentiated between students with disabilities. These…

Considers if the creative process is a viable tool in anger management. Explores whether a summer art program made a difference in the lives of a class of troubled youth. Uses art-based educational research methods from the qualitative inquiry paradigm to assist the exploration. Presents the authors' reflections on the program. Concludes that art…

Investigates a way to assist students with learning differences. Considers mathematical connections appropriate in middle grades through college mathematics centered around the words "and" and "or" within the fields of logic, set theory, algebra, number theory, and probability. Teachers and students should be encouraged to investigate mathematical…

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has increased due to a high incidence of premature, low birthweight infants. Stages of severity range from no visual damage to total blindness, and educational problems of ROP children parallel those of other visually impaired children, early intervention being crucial. Treatments are either pharmacological or…

Administers a battery of auditory perceptual processing tasks to 103 reading disabled children and 103 average readers. Finds that auditory discrimination did not discriminate between the groups. States that 2 levels of phonological awareness exist and that screening and diagnostic instruments should address both to have predictive validity. (MG)

The article presents a six-step procedure for analyzing spelling errors, selecting instructional tactics, and setting performance standards for correcting persistent spelling errors. (DB)

Assessed handwriting of first graders (N=95) with 10 measures of printing errors, then used printing errors to predict academic achievement 5 years later. Found Simner printing error measure effectively predicted academic achievement. (Author/CM)

Describes Saint Pius V School's (Lynn, Massachusetts) program to help children build a language structure on which to arrange the linguistic elements they have already learned and will learn. Teachers use a structured direct phonetic approach to language development and reading based on the Orton-Gillingham Method. Reviews results. (DMM)

Describes specific problems that students encounter when they begin the transition into content area studies. Examines a recent research summary on study skills for suggestions about how to address these problems. (MM)

Examination of the relationship between educational attainment and long-lasting, bilateral otitis media with effusion (OME) in 270 Dutch children (ages 2 to 4) found that, at age 7, early bilateral OME affected spelling ability but not reading ability. Effects of treatment with ventilation tubes were not found. (DB)

This article describes an "employability" course developed by North Tyneside College (England) for young people and adults with learning difficulties. Issues are raised concerning eligibility, the meaning of "employability," the value of employment, the need for advocacy, and the nature of vocational training. (DB)

This article offers suggestions to British teachers working with students who are so discouraged that praise appears to have no effect. Available knowledge about positive instructional approaches, the misuse of praise, and the value of collaborative problem solving is reviewed. (DB)

Reviews research on the acquisition of second-language (L2) phonology, focusing on whether adult learners have access to the principles and parameters of Universal Grammar (UG). It argues that UG is still accessible in L2 phonological acquisition, and parameters can be reset but that the Subset Principle can impede learning success. (51…