John R. Beattie

An Evaluation of Transition Components of Individualized Education Programs

This study evaluated the transition component of the individualized education programs (IEPs) of 94 high school students between the ages of 18 and 21—students with learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, moderate mental retardation, and emotional/behavioral disorders. The study examined the format of the transition component document, compliance with the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and reflections of best practices, as well as the differences in these aspects of IEP transition components among disability groups. Results indicated that although the majority of the transition components complied with IDEAs mandate, they lacked many of the essential elements reflective of best practices in transition.

Modifying Attitudes of Prospective Educators Toward Students With Disabilities and Their Integration Into Regular Classrooms

Abstract Prospective educators who completed an introductory special education course were participants in a study investigating whether attitudes toward students with disabilities and toward their integration into regular classrooms would be influenced by viewing videotapes that presented positive portrayals of persons with disabilities in regular settings and by the disability characteristics of the professor who taught the course. Results showed that those who viewed the videotapes expressed more favorable attitudes toward students with disabilities only when the course was taught by the professor with a visible physical disability. Attitudes toward the integration of students with disabilities into regular classrooms were not influenced by viewing the videotapes nor by the disability characteristics of the professor who taught the course. These results are discussed with reference to Yukers (1988) comprehensive review of the research on the effects of personal contact on attitudes toward persons with...

Relative Effects of Teacher-Directed and Taped Previewing on Oral Reading

An alternating-treatments design was used to investigate the relative effects of two previewing procedures on oral reading: (a) listening previewing, in which the teacher read the assigned passage aloud while the student followed along silently prior to reading the passage aloud; and (b) taped previewing, in which the student listened to prerecorded reading passages while following along silently prior to reading the passage aloud. Subjects were four elementary-aged learning disabled (LD) boys. Compared to a no-previewing approach, systematic previewing procedures were found to be related to higher performance levels. In addition, the listening procedure was differentially related to higher rates of words read correctly. Neither previewing procedure was related to changes in error rates. Implications of results are drawn for research and instruction.

Effects of Teaching Syllable Skills Instruction on Reading Achievement in Struggling Middle School Readers

Direct, explicit, and systematic instruction of critical skills has been a hallmark of effective teaching for many years. In this study, we implemented a quasi-experimental pre-/post-test design with nonequivalent groups to determine the effectiveness of syllable skills instruction on reading achievement. Classes were randomly assigned to control or treatment groups. Participants included middle-school students with high incidence disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their peers at risk for reading failure. The syllable skills intervention included instruction in syllable patterns, syllabication steps and rules, and accenting patterns. Students practiced skills by decoding and encoding nonsense and low-frequency mono- and multisyllabic words. Statistically significant differences were evident between pre-test and post-test scores for three dependent measures: (a) word identification, (b) word attack, and (c) reading comprehension. The treatment group demonstrated greater increase from pre-test to post-test on word identification, word attack, and reading comprehension; and the gap in fluency performance between the groups decreased. We discuss these outcomes with regard to their implications for practice and future research.

Using Count-Bys to Increase Multiplication Facts Fluency.

The count-by technique was taught to a 4th-grade student with learning disabilities. The procedure involved learning to translate a multiplication problem into a count-by problem (e.g., 3×4 translates into count by 3 four times — 3, 6, 9, 12). The student learned to count by numbers not typically taught in the curriculum (e.g., 4s, 7s, and 8s) as a way of quickly determining answers for difficult-to-master multiplication tables. Both oral and written count-bys were practiced prior to daily probes of multiplication facts. A multiple-probe design across multiplication tables indicated substantial increases in correct rate per minute. Rates maintained and generalized to other situations when count-by practice was withdrawn.