We compared the effects of two approaches to decoding on the word reading skills of struggling first-grade students: decontextualized, teacher directed decoding practice with manipulative letters and embedded, incidental decoding practice. Participants were 98 students at risk for reading disability. We randomly assigned participants to three…

The authors argue that insufficient attention has been given to foundational concepts in special education. Two classes of foundational concepts are discussed: human constructions and logico-mathematical facts. Four human constructions are examined: (1) making teaching most important, (2) discriminating among ideas, (3) choosing conceptual models,…

There is limited research demonstrating direct instruction (DI) as an effective language intervention for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disabilities (DD). Existing research has shown that instruction using partial implementation of DI programs resulted in student learning (Ganz, 2007) and instruction using whole…

A modified system of least intrusive prompting was used to teach middle school students with moderate intellectual disability who were emergent readers to comprehend short passages of text. Text passages were summaries of the chapters of age-appropriate novels rewritten for a beginning reading level. Time delay was used to teach the participants…

Many students struggle with writing skills. This study focuses on three students (second and fourth grades) who were classified with a learning disability by their school. These children had writing goals and objectives (i.e., characteristics of having dysgraphia) included in their Individual Education Plan. In a single case design format, each…

High school students with learning disabilities often have difficulty expressing their thoughts in writing. At the secondary level, writing becomes paramount to successfully navigating the curriculum and expressing knowledge. In this study, the effectiveness of Self-Regulated Strategy Development for POW (Pick my idea, Organize my notes, Write and…

Paraeducators are an integral part of instruction in public schools. This study used a multiple baseline across participants design to investigate the ability of a paraeducator to deliver Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction in narrative writing. The paraeducator taught the POW + WWW, What = 2, How = 2-story writing strategy to…

This investigation compared the use of traditional instruction with that of classwide peer tutoring using materials containing embedded mnemonic strategies to provide strategic information and supplemental practice of important content. Eight inclusive seventh grade social studies classes with 186 students, of whom 42 were classified with mild…

This study examined the efficacy of a brief math intervention using cognitive behaviour instruction (CBI) supplemented by a mnemonic cue system for a 5th grade student with math computation and fluency difficulties. Regrouping operations in addition and subtraction were the targeted skills. Curriculum-based measurements were conducted at the end…

We examined writing instruction in the middle school context from the perspectives of special and general education teachers via focus groups and rating scales. We found that special and general educators alike valued a balanced approach to teaching writing, that both groups held a positive view of their teaching efficacy, and that both groups…

Many states now use large-scale testing programs as a major mechanism in their educational accountability efforts. With the mandated participation of students with disabilities in large-scale testing programs, it is possible to use large-scale testing results to examine special education efficacy at the school level. We used special and general…

This article first outlines the logic of null hypothesis testing and the problems of using it to evaluate special education research. It then presents three alternative metrics, a binomial effect size display, a relative risk ratio, and an odds ratio, that can better identify important treatment effects using illustrative data from recently…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a multimedia program to teach three adolescent students with moderate intellectual disabilities to make purchases using a debit card and an automated payment machine (APM). Results indicated that the program was effective in teaching generalized operation of APMs with a debit card. (Contains…

Teacher self-reports of the frequency of currently advocated early literacy practices in Grades 1 through 3 were entered into regression models in an effort to predict 3rd-grade outcomes. Explicit skill instruction was a significant predictor of higher passing rates on a state examination and lower rates of special education referral but was also…

This article reviews 24 meta-analyses concerned with special education interventions and draws tentative conclusions about the relative power of interventions as determined by magnitude of mean effect size for each. Highest effect sizes were obtained for use of mnemonic strategies, reading comprehension strategies, behavior modification, and…