Joan Rankin

Impact of graphic symbol use on reading acquisition

The purpose of this paper is to speculate about the relationship between the use of graphic symbols utilized by many individuals with severe communication disorders and the acquisition of beginning reading skills. In particular, the skills and processes necessary for individuals to be able to look at written words and determine their spoken counterparts are considered here. This discussion is based on the literature related to reading acquisition in normally developing young children, with logical inferences made to the population of individuals who are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users. Arguments are presented that suggest that the use of graphic symbols may facilitate specific components of print and word awareness, but that the overall impact of these symbol sets/systems on beginning reading may be minimal. Conclusions made are speculative in nature; future research is warranted.

The SM Rap--Or, Here's the Rap on Self-Monitoring.

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Influence of graphic symbol use on reading comprehension

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature examining the skills and processes related to reading comprehension and to speculate about the potential impact that graphic symbols used in many augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems might have on a persons ability to comprehend written text. Reading comprehension is defined and research describing the relationship between language knowledge and word and text level comprehension is described. The development of metalinguistic skills and their relationship to reading comprehension are presented. Finally, the potential impact of the use of graphic symbols for communication on the language variables related to reading comprehension is explored. We conclude that the use of certain types of graphic symbols may potentially develop select areas of metalinguistic knowledge related to reading comprehension. However, these conclusions are speculative in nature; future research is warranted.

Information-Processing Differences of College-Age Readers Differing in Reading Comprehension and Speed

The present study examined information-processing differences among four types of readers, specifically high comprehension–high speed, high comprehension–low speed, low comprehension–high speed, and low comprehension–low speed college-age readers. Performance was compared on a variety of information-processing tasks, including letter reordering, word reordering, reading span, verification of real words and nonwords, and verification of real sentences and nonsense sentences. Tasks were categorized as lower order tasks involving reaction time and/or elementary-word tasks, or higher order tasks requiring access of word meanings or semantic decision-making. Results indicated that good comprehenders tended to outperform poor comprehenders on all types of tasks. Although high-and low-speed readers performed differentially on some tasks, the pattern of results is less clear. Performance on tasks was discussed in light of speed and comprehension variables and type of information-processing task. Differences in working memory were proposed as a source of individual differences in reading performance.

How To Select Appropriate Software for Computer-Assisted Writing

Word processing has become increasingly available to students in schools as a writing tool. Word processing is viewed by many educators as a vehicle that may ease the writing process, help change the nature of composing, and create a qualitatively and quantitatively different kind of written product. Research on the impact of word processing on writing has shown that when using word processors, as compared to handwriting, students make surface-level revisions and produce slightly longer, neater, and more error-free texts. In addition, students of all age ranges demonstrate improved attitudes toward writing (Cochran-Smith, 1991). Computer-supported writing applications that offer features beyond those of common word processors may be used flexibly to provide additional writing support to students who are struggling (Hunt-Berg, Rankin, & Beukelman, 1994). Students who may benefit from computersupported writing range from individuals who have language-learning impairments to those with severe speech and physical impairments. Preliminary research with students who have learning disabilities has shown that word-prompt computer programs can significantly reduce spelling errors and improve attitudes toward writing (Sturm, Rankin, & Beukelman, 1994). In anecdotal reports, educators and practitioners have also discussed the positive changes seen in the writing of students with learning disabilities (LD) (e.g., longer, more cohesive text and fewer spelling errors) when computersupported features are provided. This article focuses on word processing programs that move beyond the typical features of word processors. As decisions about software are made, it is necessary to select features that provide the type and level of support needed for individual students. By employing a decisionmaking model that addresses writing needs, writing requirements, and individual writing characteristics, educators and practitioners can select software that is in alignment with individual student goals in the general school curriculum. This article describes three dimensions of the decision-making process, including (a) a writing needs checklist for prioritizing student writing needs, (b) a process for determining student writing requirements in home and school, and (c) assistive software features and their special considerations. The student writing needs checklist guides in gathering information from parents, teachers, and students in order to prioritize student writing needs. The description of software features and the writing requirements checklist can then be used to help determine what specific software addresses the writing needs of the student as he or she accomplishes the writing tasks needed to be successful at home and school.

Word Prompt ProgramsCurrent Uses and Future Possibilities

Word prompt programs are computer software programs or program features that are used in addition to basic word processing. These programs provide word lists from which a user selects a desired wor...

Elementary Reading Instruction

Publisher Summary Children are ready to begin learning how to read at about six years of age and do so in six to eight years. This chapter illustrates the concepts of excellent reading as constructively responsive reading, the information processing components that interact to produce constructively responsive reading, emergent reading during the preschool years, phonemic awareness, experimental research on primary-grades instruction, and comprehension strategies instruction. It also highlights the excellence of elementary literary teachers in detail. Good readers exert great effort comparing parts of text, holding disparate ideas in working memory while searching for related ideas throughout the text, and rereading to clarify how previously encountered information is related to parts of the text just covered. The most important principles of brain functioning is that most processing is broadly distributed across the brain rather than strictly localized. Good readers possess a great deal of declarative knowledge that can be used in conjunction with procedural knowledge as part of skilled reading. Preschoolers are active in the development of their own literacy, seeking out and initiating many behaviors that are literate and literacy fostering.

Alternative procedure to evaluate semantic classification

Two experiments were performed to assess the validity of two rank-ordering procedures for determining semantic associations. The experiments permitted determination of whether performance of physical-placement, rank-ordering tasks yielded similar results as traditional semantic categorization procedures (e.g., measuring priming effects and reaction times). Participants were young adults. They arranged exemplars in each category in orders reflecting degrees of association with category labels. The results suggest that rank-ordering approaches yield results similar to those obtained with traditional procedures and are appropriate for assessing semantic associations when the use of response time and priming effect measures are questionable, as is the case with some potential augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users. Such alternate procedures may be beneficial when attempting to match a clients unique organization of semantic information to an AAC system.

Effects of Differential Feedback Upon the Oral Reading Fluency of Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities

The effects of different types of feedback upon the oral reading fluency (number of words read per minute) of three secondary students with learning disabilities were analyzed to determine whether feedback affected the reading rate of the students. Feedback types included verbal feedback only, visual feedback in the form of performance graphs, and feedback regarding miscue analysis in conjunction with performance graphs. Results indicated that the visual feedback only condition yielded the greatest increase in overall reading rate. However, miscue feedback in conjunction with graphic feedback led to a greater increase in accuracy of words read per minute in timed readings.

Insurance Practices and Handicapped Children

cept of the person being labeled. 1 Additionally, there appears to be influences on significant other perceptions of the learningdisabled person as well. Although these influences probably exist, they are often difficult to measure. Other more concrete events, however, that have an impact on &dquo;labeled&dquo; students are observable and measurable. In discussing the practical problems faced by a family of a &dquo;special education&dquo; child, H. B. Robinson and N. M. Robinson emphasized the financial con-