Effectiveness of a Concept Teaching Routine in Enhancing the Performance of LD Students in Secondary-Level Mainstream Classes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of Concept Diagrams and a related Concept Teaching Routine when used by regular class teachers to present concepts to heterogeneous groupings of students, including learning disabled pupils, in regular classrooms. The study focused upon both teachers and students. The teachers' ability to prepare Concept Diagrams and to implement a Concept Teaching Routine in the classroom was measured. Students were evaluated relative to performance on Tests of Concept Acquisition, regular classroom tests, and notetaking before and after implementation of the Concept Teaching Routine. Results indicated that teachers can select concepts from content material, prepare Concept Diagrams from those concepts, and present concepts to their classes. Both students with learning disabilities and students without learning disabilities showed gains in their performance on Tests of Concept Acquisition and in notetaking when the Concept Teaching Routine was used in the classroom. Gains in performance on regular tests were associated with the Concept Teaching Routine combined with a review procedure.