Reading Instruction for Students With Learning Disabilities in Grades 4 and 5: An Observation Study

Abstract

Researchers conducted an observation study to explore the instructional practices of special education teachers ( N = 20) responsible for teaching reading to students with learning disabilities in Grades 4 and 5. With this study, researchers addressed gaps in previous related literature and improved understanding of how teachers spend their time teaching reading. Researchers observed 80 lessons and found that special educators addressed a wide range of instructional skills. The majority of teachers provided targeted phonics instruction, and overall, minimal instructional time was lost due to off-task behavior. Consistent with previous studies, teachers predominantly monitored reading comprehension by asking questions after reading, while reading comprehension strategy instruction accounted for a smaller proportion of instructional time. Researchers conducted focus groups to explore teachers’ perceptions of professional development and determine needs for future teacher training and research.

Teacher Certification Area and the Academic Outcomes of Students With Learning Disabilities or Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

“…These low achievement levels suggest that SWDs need instruction that is explicit, intensive, cohesive, engaging, responsive, and focused on teaching skills and strategies (Jones & Brownell, 2014); unfortunately, being assigned to a special education–certified teacher does not guarantee that students with LD or EBD receive this type of instruction (Ciullo, Ely, McKenna, Alves, & Kennedy, 2018; McKenna, Shin, & Ciullo, 2015; Swanson, 2008). Observational studies suggest that students with LD infrequently receive specific skill instruction in reading (Ciullo et al, 2018; McKenna et al, 2015; Swanson, 2008), students with LD infrequently receive individualized instruction (McKenna et al, 2015), and special education teachers spend little time on directly or explicitly instructing students in mathematical concepts (McKenna et al, 2015; Swanson, Solis, Ciullo, & McKenna, 2012). Fewer observational studies have examined the instruction that students with EBD receive, but those that have find that students with EBD are not receiving instruction that aligns with evidence-based practices in special education (Maggin, Wehby, Partin, Robertson, & Oliver, 2011).…”

Effective Reading Instructional Practices for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

“…More recently, McKenna et al (2019) did document comprehension strategy and comprehension monitoring instruction but observed little direct vocabulary or small-group instruction. When we look more broadly at reading practices for students with mild disabilities, similar sentiments have been described in observations of the classroom reading practices directed at students with learning disabilities, both at the elementary (Ciullo et al, 2019) and secondary (Wexler et al, 2018) school levels. The lack of observed research-based reading practices necessitates that teachers of students with EBD with co-occurring reading delays have ready access to professional resources to help them increase and improve implementation of research-based practices.…”

Reading Instruction for Students with Emotional Disturbance: A Mixed-Methods Investigation

“…Content validity was established using a multistep process that included a comprehensive literature review and expert panel review (see Swanson et al [2012] for a detailed description). The ICE-R has been used in previous reading observation studies investigating resource room instruction for students with LD (Swanson & Vaughn, 2010), response to intervention practices (Swanson et al, 2012), instruction provided to students with ED who attended a day and residential treatment program (McKenna & Ciullo, 2016), and instruction provided to fourth and fifth graders with LD who attended low SES schools (Ciullo et al, 2019). An addendum to the ICE-R (Ciullo et al, 2019) was also used in this study to obtain information on teacher use of text reading engagement methods (e.g., teacher use of supported oral reading, silent reading, round robin).…”

“…The ICE-R has been used in previous reading observation studies investigating resource room instruction for students with LD (Swanson & Vaughn, 2010), response to intervention practices (Swanson et al, 2012), instruction provided to students with ED who attended a day and residential treatment program (McKenna & Ciullo, 2016), and instruction provided to fourth and fifth graders with LD who attended low SES schools (Ciullo et al, 2019). An addendum to the ICE-R (Ciullo et al, 2019) was also used in this study to obtain information on teacher use of text reading engagement methods (e.g., teacher use of supported oral reading, silent reading, round robin). Furthermore, additional observation codes were created to account for instances in which teachers used reading instructional time to teach skills that focused on improving student engagement and behavior during reading instruction (e.g., goal setting, functional communication training Note.…”