The study determined the extent to which multidisciplinary teams that include vocational educators are utilized to provide services for mentally handicapped and learning disabled students. Questionnaires were completed by 222 principals or special education directors. Results indicate that vocational educators have limited involvement in the…

The information processing approach to the assessment of learning disabled students' intellectual performance includes decisions about: (1) relationship between hypothesis testing and overall performance, (2) the knowledge base for strategy development, (3) coordination of search strategies, (4) metacognition, and (5) problem solving strategies.…

The study assessed the effects of reading mode (oral versus silent), production format (oral versus written), and structural importance of text on the reading comprehension of 44 learning-disabled males in grades three to eight. Analysis of variance on idea units recalled at four levels of thematic importance indicated a three-way interaction.…

The article maintains that a reductionist fallacy in the four major models (medical, psychological, behavioral, and cognitive strategy) underlying services to learning disabled students explains the efficacy problems that have long plagued the field. (Author/DB)

Applied research suggests that learning-disabled students can benefit from training in test-taking skills to improve their performance on both standardized tests and content area tests. Recommendations for classroom applications enumerate which skills are most important for objective, short answer, and essay question tests and suggest appropriate…

Writing samples from 21 fourth and fifth grade learning-disabled students illustrate three typical problems. The Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing program incorporates strategies for performing the writing process and for enhancing student awareness of the roles of audience and text structure in planning, organizing, writing, editing, and…

Receptive and expressive humor was investigated in learning-disabled (LD), mildly retarded, and nondisabled students (N=54) from primary (ages 7-10), intermediate (ages 10-13), and middle school (ages 13-16) grades. LD students did not display increased understanding at later ages and had more difficulty with phonological than with lexical or…

Research is reviewed on using dialog journals to enhance the writing and motivation of learning-disabled students. Dialog journals allow students to choose their topics and promote fluency by emphasizing meaning over mechanics. Guidelines for teachers are provided, and the impact of the experience on a classroom of eight- to 13-year-olds is…

The Lab School of Washington was established to serve moderately to severely learning-disabled children of average to superior intelligence, aged 4-18. This paper discusses the school's historical development, its philosophy of emphasizing the arts, its goals, its population, and its admission policy. (JDD)

The arts are important tools in academic learning, especially for learning-disabled students, because they provide a structured activity that increases students' feelings of self-worth. At The Lab School of Washington, such art forms as woodwork, music, dance, drama, and filmmaking are employed. The role of the art teacher is described. (JDD)

In response to a previous article, the paper stresses that, in addition to theory development, the field of learning disabilities needs to resolve definitional issues involving disability specificity, intelligence, measurement concepts, and the continua of abilities. Suggestions for developing operational definitions of both learning disabilities…

Arguments supporting the conceptual validity of learning disabilities are presented against the background of current definitional problems. The need to differentiate between classification and identification and the importance of a shared attribute definition are stressed. It is argued that a taxonomy of learning disabilities and related…

This paper provides a rationale for basic research and metatheory development in the field of learning disabilities, outlines the steps and cognitive parameters involved in validating such a metatheory, and discusses integrating the findings of basic research with instructional manipulations and reasons for the poor integration of theory and…

This paper affirms H. Lee Swanson's views in "Toward a Metatheroy of Learning Disabilities" and elaborates upon the role of basic research in learning disabilities. An alternative perspective on the nature of applied research is described that views applied research as theoretically driven research aimed at practical matters. (JDD)

In response to H. Lee Swanson's paper, "Toward a Metatheory of Learning Disabilities," this article argues that the field of learning disabilities does not need to be legitimized and that basic research in learning disabilities is not necessarily the prerequisite vehicle by which theoretical progress can be made. (JDD)