Learning Disability Quarterly

The purpose of the two studies reported in this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of extended vocabulary instruction during storybook reading with kindergarten students within a small-group intervention setting. Extended vocabulary instruction is characterized by explicit teaching that includes both contextual and definitional information, multiple exposures to target words in varied contexts, and experiences that promote deep processing of word meanings. In Study One, we compared extended instruction of target words to incidental exposure. In Study Two, we compared extended instruction to embedded instruction (i.e., providing simple definitions within the context of the story). Our findings indicated that extended instruction resulted in greater word learning than either incidental exposure or embedded instruction. Moreover, students maintained much of their understanding of word meanings six to eight weeks after instruction. Implications are discussed in relation to a tri-level approach to vocabulary instruction and intervention for kindergarten students at risk for language and reading disabilities.

Given the importance of both academic and self-determination skills for students with disabilities, it is important to identify efficient ways to deliver instruction in these essential areas. This literature review synthesizes intervention research that has examined the effects of self-determination interventions on academic skills for students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Our findings revealed that self-management interventions were most often studied, followed by interventions that combined self-management with one or more other self-determination components. Effects ranged from very weak to very strong. Effects were strongest when (a) interventions that combined self-management with goal setting were used to increase students' productivity, and (b) goal-setting interventions were used to improve math skills. Most of the studies included in the review were of high quality; however, some areas could be improved.

This study assessed the efficacy of experimental analysis for determining a best intervention program for improving oral reading fluency for students with learning disabilities. Following a two-session baseline condition, four treatments to increase reading fluency (repeated reading, listening passage preview, repeated reading with easier material; and listening passage with easier materials) were administered in one session each for the purpose of briefly assessing which method was most effective for each student. The methods producing the highest response rate for each student were then subjected to an extended analysis. Finally, the best interventions for each student were implemented and their effectiveness was monitored across time. Functional relationships among the number of words read correct per minute and best intervention programs determined through brief experimental analysis were shown for all students in instructional passages. Generalized outcomes were consistent only when a reinforcement criterion for generalization was applied. Additionally, the best intervention program had an effect on the number of recalls for instructional passages. The results suggest that experimental analysis is an effective procedure for determining the comparative usefulness of instructional methods to increase oral reading fluency, especially within the context of a thorough educational assessment.

The effects of using the Embedded Story-Structure (ESS) Routine in a literature course were investigated. A heterogeneous group of 79 ninth graders, including 14 students with LD, were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, with instruction occurring in groups of 12 to 14 students in general education literature classes over a nine-day period. ESS instruction focused on three reading strategies: (a) student self-questioning, (b) story-structure analysis, and (c) summarizing. Instruction for the alternative condition, called comprehension skills instruction (CSI), was comprised of a package of research-based reading interventions. Statistically significant differences were found between groups in favor of the ESS Routine on measures of strategy use, story-structure knowledge, and unit reading comprehension. Moreover, results indicated equivalent gains for ESS students regardless of disability versus nondisability category.