Browsing by Subject "Learning disabled children--Education (Elementary)"

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Effects of number sense intervention on second-grade students with mathematics learning disabilities
(2005) Shih, Min-Yi; Sorrells, Audrey McCray
Research indicates that mathematical fact retrieval difficulty is one of the main manifestations of mathematics learning disabilities. Traditionally, interventions for fact retrieval difficulties of students with math learning disabilities have placed focus on mastery of algorithms and repeated practice; however, such instructions failed to address these students’ underlying cognitive deficits and can be insufficient and may hinder students’ development of mathematical competence in the long run. Empirical studies in neuropsychology have provided evidence that lack of number sense can casually affect individual’s math performance. Recently, researchers in the field of math learning disabilities have also pointed out that lack of number sense may causally affect fact retrieval performance of students with math learning disabilities. However, to date, no empirical study has been conducted to examine the effectiveness of number sense instruction on students with math learning disabilities. Therefore, the purposes of this study were: (1) to investigate the effectiveness of number sense instruction on fact retrieval performance of students with math learning disabilities; (2) to examine whether students with math learning disabilities who receive instruction in number sense can generalize their understanding of number and number systems to untaught math skills. A single subject multiple treatments (A-B-A-C and A-C-A-B) design across subjects was used to examine the effect of number sense instruction versus instruction using repeated practice on six students who showed early signs of math learning disabilities. Students were divided into two groups. Students in group 1 received number sense instruction followed by repeated practice; students in group 2 received repeated practice followed by number sense instruction. The results showed that students who received repeated practice followed by number sense instruction had better initial performance on fact retrieval. However, students who received number sense instruction followed by repeated practice had higher performance on fact retrieval toward the end and could generalize what they learned to more novel tasks, such as solving word problems.
Pre-referral interventions for English language learners
(2006) Martinez, Catalina Ana; Tharinger, Deborah J.; García, Shernaz B.
This study investigated the academic interventions developed by elementary school pre-referral teams for English language learners (ELLs), the profiles of ELLs referred to these teams, the background and experience of pre-referral team members, and the impact of the interventions. The participants were pre-referral teams at six elementary schools in a large, urban school district with high ELL enrollment. The study focused on the pre-referral process for 40 native Spanish-speaking ELLs experiencing academic difficulties who were referred to one of the six participating pre-referral teams. A descriptive design was utilized. Content analysis of existing written records, as well as data recorded on researcher-developed forms, comprised most of the data in this study. Teacher interviews provided additional contextual information. The findings revealed that all of these ELLs’ classroom teachers were knowledgeable in ELL instructional best practices, compared to about half the pre-referral team members. Furthermore, the prereferral process in this district seemed most effective at the first stage, in which ELLs’ teachers collaborated with their equally knowledgeable fellow teachers to develop classroom interventions. The ELL group was divided into three subgroups to facilitate the analysis of trends related to the outcomes of the pre-referral process. These groups were: ELLs who were referred to special education by the pre-referral team and who qualified for services as students with learning disabilities (LD) (SEQs, n=13), ELLs who were referred by the pre-referral team and did not qualify for services (SEDNQs, n=7), and those ELLs who were not referred to special education by the completion of this study (NSEs, n=20). Similarities in attendance and teacher profiles were noted for all three groups. Differences existed amongst the three groups in Spanish and English language proficiency, language program placement and academic failure histories. Further research is needed to determine the appropriateness of the specific interventions developed for failing ELLs. Further investigation on pre-referral team models used for addressing ELL needs is also needed to determine the effectiveness of these teams.