Teaching Content Area Material to Learning Disabled Students

Abstract

This study examined the relative effectiveness of two approaches to teaching learning disabled students literal comprehension during content area instruction. An approach which utilized an advanced organizer in the form of a visual spatial display was compared to a method in which students were presented content via text. In each treatment, students studied content in groups and were given explicit study strategies. Twenty-four fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade LD students were randomly assigned to one of the treatments. Teaching was done in groups with daily sessions lasting approximately 50 minutes for 9 consecutive school days. The dependent measures were (a) three five-item probe tests, (b) a nine-item posttest, and (c) a five-item transfer test. Results indicated that on probe and posttests there were significant positive effects for the group taught with visual displays. There were no significant differences on the transfer test. The instructional implications of these findings are discussed.