Charles A. MacArthur

Learning Disabled Students' Composing Under Three Methods of Text Production Handwriting, Word Processing, and Dictation

The purpose of this study was to investigate how different methods of text production affect the writing processes and products of LD students. Eleven fifth and sixth grade LD students, selected for their experience with word processing, composed and revised stories using handwriting, dictation, and word processing. Dictated stories were significantly longer, were of higher quality, and had fewer grammatical errors than handwritten or word processed stories. The handwritten and word processed stories did not differ on any of the product measures, including length, quality, story structure, mechanical or grammatical errors, vocabulary, or mean T-unit length. However, differences between handwriting and word processing were found on the process measures of composing rate and revisions. Implications for writing in struction with LD students are discussed.

Knowledge of Writing and the Composing Process, Attitude Toward Writing, and Self-Efficacy for Students With and Without Learning Disabilities

Twenty-nine seventh- and eighth-grade (21 males and 8 females) and 10 fourth- and fifth-grade (7 males and 3 females) students with learning disabilities, as well as 18 seventh- and eighth-grade (14 males and 4 females) and 11 fourth- and fifth-grade (7 males and 4 females) normally achieving students, were administered an interview designed to assess their knowledge of writing and the composing process, attitude toward writing, and self-efficacy as a writer. Students with learning disabilities were found to have less mature conceptualizations of writing than their normally achieving counterparts. Furthermore, while students with learning disabilities were generally positive about writing, they viewed it less favorably than their regular classmates. Finally, there were no differences between the two groups of students in their evaluations of their competence in either writing or carrying out the processes underlying effective composing.

Technology applications for students with literacy problems: A critical review

This review covers research published in the past 15 years on the use of technology to teach or support literacy among students with mild disabilities. First, the review addresses research on computer-assisted instruction and on synthesized speech feedback to improve phonemic awareness and decoding skills. Second, it reviews work on the use of electronic texts to enhance comprehension by compensating for reading difficulties. Finally, it considers research on a variety of tools to support writing. The discussion addresses both substantive and methodological issues.

Using Technology to Enhance the Writing Processes of Students with Learning Disabilities

This article reviews the ways that computers can support writing by students with learning disabilities, with an emphasis on applications that go beyond word processing. Following an overview of research on word processing is a discussion of software that assists with the basic processes of transcription and sentence generation, including spelling checkers, speech synthesis, word prediction, and grammar and style checkers. Next, applications that support the cognitive processes of planning are reviewed, including prompting programs, outlining and semantic mapping software, and multimedia applications. Finally, the use of computer networks to support collaboration and communication with diverse audiences is addressed.

Spelling Checkers and Students with Learning Disabilities: Performance Comparisons and Impact on Spelling

We conducted two studies to investigate the benefits and limitations of spelling checkers with students with learning disabilities (LD). Study 1 compared the performance of 10 common spelling checkers in suggesting correct spellings for 555 unique misspellings from the writing of 55 students with LD in Grades 5 through 8. Study 2 investigated the success of 27 students with LD from Grades 6 through 8 in correcting their spelling errors with and without a spelling checker. Results indicated that spelling checkers are helpful but also have significant limitations. Unaided, students in Study 2 corrected 9% of their errors, with the spelling checker, they corrected 37% of their errors. Spelling checkers failed to identify 26% and 37% of errors in Studies 1 and 2, respectively, because the errors were other words correctly spelled. On average, spelling checkers suggested the correct spelling for approximately 55% of the identified errors, although the spelling checkers in Study 1 varied widely in performance. When the correct suggestion was provided, students usually (82% of the time) were able to select the correct word. Implications for instruction and design of spelling checkers are discussed.

Evaluation of a writing instruction model that integrated a process approach, strategy instruction, and word processing

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a model of writing instruction that integrated word processing, strategy instruction, and a process approach. Teachers established a social context for writing in which students worked on meaningful tasks, shared their writing with peers, and published their work for real audiences. The classroom structure supported extended cycles of planning, drafting, and revising. Teachers supported the development of writing strategies through conferencing and explicit instruction in strategies for planning and revising. Word processing supported fluent production of text, revising, and publishing. The experimental model was implemented for a full school year in 12 classes with 113 students with learning disabilities. Students in the experimental classes made greater gains in the quality of their narrative and informative writing than 94 students with learning disabilities in 10 control classes.

Student Assistant for Learning from Text (SALT) A Hypermedia Reading Aid

Student Assistant for Learning from Text (SALT) is a software system for developing hypermedia versions of textbooks designed to help students with learning disabilities and other low-achieving students to compensate for their reading difficulties. In the present study, 10 students with learning disabilities (3 young women and 7 young men ages 15 to 17) in Grades 9 and 10 read passages from a science textbook using a basic computer version and an enhanced computer version. The basic version included the components found in the printed textbook (text, graphics, outline, and questions) and a notebook. The enhanced version added speech synthesis, an on-line glossary, links between questions and text, highlighting of main ideas, and supplementary explanations that summarized important ideas. Students received significantly higher comprehension scores using the enhanced version. Furthermore, students preferred the enhanced version and thought it helped them learn the material better.

Word Processing with Speech Synthesis and Word Prediction: Effects on the Dialogue Journal Writing of Students with Learning Disabilities

Five students, ages 9 and 10, with learning disabilities and severe writing problems wrote in dialogue journals to their teacher. They used a standard word processor during baseline phases and a word processor with speech synthesis and word prediction features during treatment phases. The special features had a strong effect on the legibility and spelling of written dialogue journal entries for four of the five students. During baseline, the writing of these four students ranged from 55% to 85% legible words and 42% to 75% correctly spelled words. All four increased their percentage of both legible and correctly spelled words into the 90–100% range.

The Impact of Computers on the Writing Process

Computers are powerful and flexible writing tools that can have a significant impact on the writing process and on the social context for writing in the schools. This article examines the key features of word processing, reviews the research on word processing, and discusses other computer applications that can support writing instruction.

Reading Component Skills of Learners in Adult Basic Education

The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components is needed because available measures were neither developed for nor normed on ABE populations or with nonnative speakers of English. The study included 486 students, 334 born or educated in the United States (native) and 152 not born or educated in the United States (nonnative) but who spoke English well enough to participate in English reading classes. All students had scores on 11 measures covering five constructs: decoding, word recognition, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test three models: a two-factor model with print and meaning factors; a three-factor model that separated out a fluency factor; and a five-factor model based on the hypothesized constructs. The five-factor model fit best. In addition, the CFA model fit both native and nonnative populations equally well without modification, showing that the tests measure the same constructs with the same accuracy for both groups. Group comparisons found no difference between the native and nonnative samples on word recognition, but the native sample scored higher on fluency and comprehension and lower on decoding than did the nonnative sample. Students with self-reported learning disabilities scored lower on all reading components. Differences by age and gender were also analyzed.