Cynthia C. Griffin

Effects of Graphic Organizer Instruction on Fifth-Grade Students

Abstract This study was undertaken to examine two fundamental questions related to the use of graphic organizer instruction with fifth-grade, normal-achieving students: (a) Does graphic organizer instruction facilitate comprehension, recall, and transfer of information contained in an expository textbook? and (b) To what degree is explicit instruction necessary for independent generation and use of graphic organizers by students? In four experimental conditions, participants read social studies information with or without the graphic organizer. The conditions were further separated by the presence or absence of explicit instruction. Participants in the control condition received traditional basal instruction, as prescribed by the teachers manual of the district-adopted textbook. Participants in all groups performed comparably on acquisition and retention measures. However, when required to read and recall novel social studies content, participants receiving the graphic organizer and explicit instruction ...

Word Problem-Solving Instruction in Inclusive Third-Grade Mathematics Classrooms

The authors examined the effectiveness of strategy instruction taught by general educators in mixedability classrooms. Specifically, the authors compared the mathematical word problem-solving performance and computational skills of students who received schema-based instruction (SBI) with students who received general strategy instruction (GSI). Participants were 60 3rd-grade student participants randomly assigned to treatment conditions. Teachers pretested and posttested participants with mathematical problem-solving and computation tests, repeatedly measuring their progress on word problem solving across the 18-week intervention. Both SBI and GSI conditions improved word problem-solving and computation skills. Further, results show a significant difference between groups on the word problem-solving progress measure at Time 1, favoring the SBI group. However, this differential effect did not persist over time. The authors discuss implications for future research and practice.

Mathematical Word Problem Solving in Third-Grade Classrooms.

The authors conducted design or classroom experiments (R. Gersten, S. Baker, & J. W. Lloyd, 2000) at 2 sites (Pennsylvania and Florida) to test the effectiveness of schema-based instruction (SBI) prior to conducting formal experimental studies. Results of Study 1 conducted in 2 3rd-grade, low-ability classrooms and 1 special education classroom indicated mean score improvements from pretest to posttest on word problem solving and computation fluency measures. In addition, student perceptions of SBI according to a strategy satisfaction questionnaire revealed SBI as effective in helping solve word problems. Results of Study 2, which included a heterogeneous (high-, average-, and low-achieving) sample of 3rd graders, also revealed student improvement on the word problem solving and computation fluency measures. However, the outcomes were not as positive in Study 2 as in Study 1. Lessons learned from the 2 studies are discussed with regard to teaching and learning mathematical word problem solving for different groups of students.

Prereferral Intervention: Encouraging Notes on Preliminary Findings.

We review studies of prereferral intervention models and their effects on such variables as referral rates, student achievement and behavior, and consumer satisfaction. The models were found to vary in organization; some involved collaboration among a group of teacher colleagues, and others involved formal consultation between a teacher and a specialist. The work of Chalfant and Pysh best exemplifies the former; the work of the Fuchses and their colleagues best exemplifies the latter. The research to date has been more formative than summative in nature, and success has been achieved in different ways. Collaborative models enjoy great consensual validity and widespread adoption; research on consultative approaches has identified variables responsible for the success of behavioral consultation. We call for additional research and demonstration and advocate more systematic analysis of collaborative approaches and more widespread implementation of consultative ones.

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GRAPHIC ORGANIZER INSTRUCTION ON THE COMPREHENSION AND RECALL OF SCIENCE CONTENT BY STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

This study examined the effect of graphic organizers on learning‐disabled students’ acquisition and recall of science content. Twenty‐eight fifth‐ and sixth‐grade students with identified learning disabilities from three special education resource classrooms were taught content on fossil fuels. Students were randomly assigned to either a graphic organizer condition (GO) or a no‐graphic organizer condition (NoGO) and taught identical content from the basal science text for a 4‐day period. Three measures were administered the day after treatment completion to assess the effects of graphic organizers on immediate recall and comprehension: (1) oral‐free retell, (2) production tasks, and (3) choice‐response tasks. Two weeks later, students were given production and choice‐response tasks only. Results of multivariate analyses of variance indicated no statistically significant differences between the mean performance of students in the GO and NoGO conditions on either the immediate posttests, F (4, 20) ‐.75, p ....

The Effect of Graphic Organizers on Students' Comprehension and Recall of Expository Text: A Review of the Research and Implications for Practice.

Many students, particularly those who are difficult to teach, find learning from expository text materials a difficult task. We review the use of the graphic organizer as a means to assist students in the complex act of making sense of content‐area (e.g., science and social studies) text. After exploring the theoretical and historical foundations of the graphic organizer, we review the current research. Finally, we derive implications for the classroom teacher and future research.

Schema-Based Strategy Instruction in Mathematics and the Word Problem-Solving Performance of a Student with Autism.

The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary results on the use of schema-based strategy instruction to teach addition and subtraction word problem solving to a fourth grade student with autism. The student was taught to use schematic diagrams to solve three types of addition and subtraction word problems. A multiple probes across behaviors single-case design was used, with solving each of the three problem types treated as a separate behavior. Interpretation of results indicated that the participant’s ability to solve all types of one-step addition and subtraction word problems improved following instruction. Improvement also generalized to problems with unknowns in the initial and medial position and was maintained over time.

Phonological Awareness Instruction for Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school students with learning disabilities (LD) identified as having phonological awareness deficits could improve their phonological awareness skills after instruction, and if these skills could impact word recognition skills. Forty middle school students with LD who were identified as having phonological awareness deficits were matched and split into two groups, A and B. Both groups received the same type of phonological awareness instruction. Results indicated that there was no group effect for the word identification subtest. However, there was main effect for occasion; for both groups, posttest scores were significantly higher than the midtest scores, and midtest scores were significantly higher than the pretest scores. With respect to the CTOPP scores, results showed an interaction effect. Followup t-tests indicated that for the midtest, Group A significantly outperformed Group B on the CTOPP, suggesting that the intervention had an effect on phonological awareness skills. Both groups also had significantly higher posttest scores compared to the pretest scores, implying that both groups improved their phonological awareness skills over time.

Beginning Teachers in Special Education: A Model for Providing Individualized Support.

In the face of acute personnel shortages, large numbers of beginning special education teachers are abandoning their chosen careers. Under the best of conditions, novice special educators are both a valuable and fragile resource with even the most motivated and best prepared experiencing frustration, stress, and disillusionment. In this article we describe a model for providing individualized and comprehensive support for beginning special educators. The underlying assumption of the model is that support for beginning teachers must take into account the full series of dynamic interacting factors that are (a) specific to the individual and (b) specific to the teaching environment and tasks that are to be accomplished. After describing the interacting factors in the model, we provide recommendations for implementation of the beginning teacher support model.

Improving Collaborative Teacher Education Research Creating Tighter Linkages

Although collaborative teacher education programs have grown in number over the past two decades, we still do not understand the ways in which these programs, or the practices in those programs, improve the preparation of inclusive teachers. At a time when teacher education’s viability is being questioned, it is problematic that little information exists about the validity and impact of collaborative programs. To justify collaborative teacher education programs and improve the science of teacher education more broadly, the authors propose a framework for conducting research on collaborative teacher education—one that can be used to analyze current research and inform future efforts. In this article, the authors build a framework for studying collaborative teacher education, emphasizing linkages among theory, innovation, and outcomes. The authors then analyze the collaborative teacher education literature according to this conceptual framework, drawing conclusions about the current state of collaborative teacher education research and making recommendations for the future.