As a growing number of students with learning disabilities (LD) receive science instruction in general education settings, students with LD continue to perform significantly lower than their non-disabled peers. The shift from textbook-driven instruction to inquiry-based approaches to science learning supports students who struggle with reading. However, research continues to show that for students to fully access the science curriculum, it is critical to address effective ways to increase reading comprehension of expository science text. This meta-analysis identified 20 studies from 12 articles that evaluated the efficacy of such interventions. Effect sizes were calculated for each study. Across all studies, a mean effect size (ES) of 0.98 was obtained. Findings align with past research on reading comprehension of expository text indicating that students with LD benefit from explicit vocabulary instruction (ES = 1.25) and the use of multicomponent interventions (ES = 0.64) when reading science-related material.
This review investigates effective interventions for teaching algebra to students with learning disabilities and evaluates the complexity and alignment of skills with the Common Core State Standards in math. The review includes the results of 10 experimental and 5 single-subject designs (N = 15) producing a moderate overall effect size (g = 0.48). A total of five interventions were identified and analyzed across the studies using effect size data.
Many researchers have documented the interrelatedness of reading and behavior (McIntosh, Sadler, & Brown, 2012). Thus, research examining the best way to intervene with students who exhibit problems in both skill sets is merited. Recently, taking an integrated approach to reading and behavioral intervention has been suggested (Mooney, Ryan, Uhing, Reid, & Epstein, 2005; Stewart, Benner, Martella, & Marchand-Martella, 2007). In this study, we examined the effects of integrating a multicomponent self-monitoring intervention into a targeted reading classroom. Specifically, we used an ABAB withdrawal design (Kennedy, 2005) to determine the presence of a functional relation between a multicomponent self-monitoring intervention and the academic engagement and disruptive behavior of two middle school girls with reading and behavioral problems. Limitations as well as implications for research and practice are included.
This review examined classroom science instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A total of 11 group and single-subject studies were analyzed. Across all group studies, a conservatively calculated mean effect size of .471 was obtained indicating the interventions as a whole had at least a small to moderate impact on students' with EBD achievement. Findings were further analyzed by student characteristics, intervention type, dependent measures utilized, and study variables. A significant result of these subanalyses indicates that while additional research is needed, students with EBD may benefit from inquiry approaches provided the method implemented includes enough structure to ensure student engagement. Results also suggest that mnemonic instruction is highly effective at increasing students' with EBD knowledge and retention of science facts.
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