No abstract

A multiple-baseline design study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of strategy instruction in persuasive writing with eighth-grade students who attended a public day school for students with severe emotional and behavior disabilities. Students were taught to plan and write persuasive essays using the Self-Regulated Strategy Development model. Following mastery of the strategy, students were taught to apply the learned strategy to write fluently in 10 min. After more than 4 months of instruction, findings indicated that all students had mastered the components of effective persuasive essay writing and increased from baseline to postinstruction and fluency phases in length and quality of essays. Effects were also noted on maintenance and generalization essay probes administered over 11.5 weeks after fluency testing. Observed on-task behavior was significantly correlated with a number of fluency, maintenance, and generalization outcomes. Implications for teaching and further research are discussed.

The authors conducted a multiple-baseline study to investigate the effects of a computer-based graphic organizer (CBGO) with embedded self-regulated learning strategies on the quantity and quality of persuasive essay writing by students with high-incidence disabilities. Ten seventh-and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder participated in the study. The authors collected data on the number of words, sentences, transition words, essay parts, and holistic writing quality score across (a) baseline (writing on the computer without the CBGO), (b) CBGO-use phase (writing on the computer with the CBGO), and (c) maintenance (writing on the computer without the CBGO). In a visual analysis, all participants improved the quality of their writing, and the majority of students also increased the quantity of their writing. Student interview data are presented to discuss the social validity of this innovative technology-based intervention.

We used a multiple-probe single-case research design to examine the effect of a professional development package that included real-time technology-enhanced performance-based feedback and video analysis on three preschool teachers’ use of naturalistic instruction targeting children’s communication and child responses. We also measured the quality of the teachers’ naturalistic instruction targeting children’s communication. The professional development package was effective in enhancing teachers’ use of naturalistic instruction targeting children’s communication. In addition, children responded and teachers enhanced the quality of naturalistic instruction targeting children’s communication. Teachers maintained their use of naturalistic instruction targeting children’s communication upon removal of the intervention condition.

Mastery of phonics skills is crucial for reading with automaticity (speed and accuracy), and as such, is an essential component in reading development (National Reading Panel, 2000). Furthermore, to be a fluent reader, an accuracy rate of 93% to 97% is considered ideal (Burns, 2002;Gickling & Thompson, 1985). Research suggests that when students consistently decode with high rates of accuracy, their reading fluency improves, which in turn enables comprehension of text (Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler, 2002;Levy, Abello, & Lysynchuk, 1997). Targeted instruction for students who struggle with basic decoding skills are imperative because over time, poorly skilled readers fall further behind their typically achieving peers (Judge & Bell, 2011). This is especially true for students whose disabilities impact their reading proficiency.For K-12 students, approximately 80% of those with reading difficulties have a phonological core deficit (Lyon, 1996). Difficulty with learning sounds that make up words significantly impacts students' ability to read. Even after receiving research-based instruction, students with learning disabilities (LD) demonstrate slower growth in word analysis ability and fluency in comparison with their peers without disability (Katz, Stone, Carlisle, Corey, & Zeng, 2008). Compounding this issue, students with attention problems exhibit limited impulse control that can adversely affect struggling readers who require more focal attention on decoding than their typically achieving peers (Rabiner, Coie, & CPPRG, 2000). Furthermore, their ability to retain and master skills is often displayed inconsistently. Effective Reading InstructionResearch has identified instructional practices associated with higher reading outcomes for students with disabilities. These practices include direct explicit reading instruction that addresses individual deficits in a logical scope and sequence of instruction (Carnine, Silbert, Kame'enui, & Tarver, 2004). Explicit instruction of reading entails teacher modeling (Regan & Berkeley, 2012), ongoing feedback with guided practice (Rupley, Blair, & Nichols, 2009), and ample independent reading practice (Hall, Hughes, & Filbert, 2000).Providing these elements of effective reading instruction can be challenging given the diverse needs in today's classroom. Inclusive classrooms include students with varied disabilities, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, atrisk learners, and/or students who are gifted and talented (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010). Differentiated instruction is 497261S ED48210.