Gaye McNutt

A New Definition of Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual and presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction. Even though a learning disability may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (e.g., sensory impairment, mental retardation, social and emotional disturbance) or environmental influences (e.g., cultural differences, insufficient/inappropriate instruction, psychogenic factors), it is not the direct result of those conditions or influences.

The Effect of Syntax On Low-Achieving Students' Abilities To Solve Mathematical Word Problems

This study attempted to determine the influence of syntax on the difficulty of written mathematical problems with low-achieving eighth-grade students. Three tests, composed of increasingly more difficult sentence structures, were administered. These tests were developed at a fourth-grade level or below in reading vocabulary and mathematical computations. The subjects were functioning at a minimum fourth-grade achievement level for both reading and mathematical computations. The results revealed a significant difference between the test that contained the most complex syntax and the other 2 tests. Therefore, educators need to be aware of the syntactic structures contained in achievement tests and textbooks, and instruct students in developing a strategy that breaks difficult sentences into shorter sentences that are easier to read.

The Effects of Spelling Instruction: A Preliminary Study.

Gaye McNutt The University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma In schools, formal spelling instruction usually begins at the end of Grade 1 or at the beginning of Grade 2. Regardless of when the teaching of spelling is initiated, the teacher will probably use one of the many basal spelling series that are commercially available. Less frequently, the pupil may simply be taught to spell words from lists that are supposedly geared to grade levels. Or spelling intruction may be individualized completely and integrated into an experience story reading program. Occasionally, spelling instruction is not attempted at all. The purpose of this investigation is to study several commonly used approaches to the teaching of spelling in order to determine what programs, if any, are effective in aiding children to become proficient spellers. The first phase of this study involved locating one hundred teachers in Grades 3 through 8 who agreed to take part in the investigation. These teachers were asked to administer the Test of Written Spelling (1) to their pupils and to specify the particular method they used to teach spelling. The results would give the researchers information on the spelling achievement of each child in the sample and on the method of instruction being used to teach spelling in a particular classroom. Pupils in Grades 1 and 2 were not included in the sample because the tests were administered at the beginning of the school year, and it was believed that firstand second-

Services for Learning Disabled Adolescents: A Survey.

This article presents the results of a nationwide survey conducted to determine the types and availability of services being provided to learning disabled adolescents. Results are summarized under three main categories: procedures, services for learning disabled adolescents, and problems and needs. As a consequence of PL 94–142, public schools are moving to comply with the law; thus, much of the data in this survey must continually be updated and reanalyzed.

A Holistic Approach to Language Arts Instruction in the Resource Room.

Before leaving the resource room, two students file their folders. The four students just entering the room retrieve their folders: two continue working on written products they started several days earlier; one goes to the reading center to choose a new book to read; and one joins the students working with Ms. T., the teacher. Ms. T. is working with students who need specific help with punctuation in their own work. A pair of students sit together in a corner discussing material they have just read, while several others work independently, but occasionally stop to confer with one another. There are no worksheets, workbooks, or required basals in the room, but everyone is working on language arts.

Status of the Resource Room Model in Local Education Agencies: A Descriptive Study.

Although resource room programs are widely used, only limited information is available on implementation of this model. The purpose of the present investigation was to survey a nationwide sample of local education agencies (LEAs) to determine the status of this model at the local level and to identify the characteristics of resource programs as they are currently implemented. A questionnaire was sent to a 5% stratified random sample of LEAs with a 53.4% response rate. Results indicated that most local education agencies use resource room programs, and have done so for at least three years. Most programs are multicategorical. The majority of respondents indicated that they believed the programs were effective, and that they would continue to be used. A major conclusion from this study relates to the need for descriptions of model resource room programs and practices.

Up, Down, Over, Under Spatial Relationship Words

A series of workable techniques that help LD children understand and read spatial relationship words

A Reply from the Board of Trustees for DCLD

J. Lee Wiederholt, Robert Algozzine, Grace Bingham, Carol Bradley, Linda Brown, Virginia Brown, Tanis Bryan, Susan Gruber, Daniel Hallahan, Donald D. Hammill, Floyd Hudson, Tom Jeschke, Patricia Lane, Stephen C. Larsen, James Leigh, Isabelle Liberman, Reed Martin, Jay McLoughlin, Gaye McNutt, Carolyn Spearman Nelson, Anne Netick, Mary Poplin, D. Kim Reid, Robert T. Smith, Richard Tucker, Gerald Wallace, Judy Wilson