Vicky G. Spencer

Content Area Learning in Middle School Social Studies Classrooms and Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: A Comparison of Strategies.

This study investigated the use of integrated explicit strategy instruction in social studies classes using a peer tutoring format. Thirty students attending social studies classes in a middle school for students with emotional or behavioral disorders studied social studies content in a crossover design, in which all students received each of two instructional conditions. In one treatment condition, students served as peer tutors using a paragraph summary strategy. In the other condition, students received traditional instruction. After 4 weeks of tutoring, results indicated that students scored higher on content tests and on-task behavior while in the tutoring condition. Qualitative data suggested that students enjoyed peer tutoring relative to traditional instruction and reported that they would like to use it in other classes. Teachers agreed that peer tutoring and strategy instruction had exerted a facilitative effect on student performance. The authors discuss implications for practice.

Influencing Learning Experiences Let's Ask the Students!

VOL. 41, NO. 4, MARCH 2006 (PP. 244–248) For the past two decades, a great deal of research has been conducted on effective instruction and the variables that constitute effective teaching (Wittrock, 1986). This research has been critically important in identifying the things teachers should and should not do to maximize learning for all students (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2004). As educators, we often read journals and textbooks and attend conferences to hear what the experts have to say regarding the most effective ways to teach students. However, teachers seldom examine how students would characterize their own effective and ineffective learning experiences based on their personal experiences in the classroom. The authors therefore conducted a qualitative study to interview students with learning disabilities and explore their perceptions of effective and ineffective learning experiences. The interviewer asked students to describe their best and worst learning experiences within the classroom setting. Best was defined as “I really learned a Influencing Learning Experiences: