W. Donald Crump

PEER ACCEPTANCE, TEACHER PREFERENCE, AND SELF-APPRAISAL OF SOCIAL STATUS AMONG LEARNING DISABLED STUDENTS

Social integration, one aspect of mainstreaming, has become an increasing concern with educators working with learning disabled students. Previous results generally have indicated a low peer status for learning disabled students. The purpose of this study was to compare the peer status of learning disabled children served in mainstream programs with their nonlearning disabled peers and to explore (1) the relationship of teacher preference and social status among children, and (2) the accuracy of self-appraisal of social status among learning disabled and nonlearning disabled students. Findings concerned with peer status were similar to previous research. In addition, learning disabled students were found to be less preferred by teachers. A significant relationship between teacher preference and social status was observed in 78% of the classrooms. Results for self-appraisal of social status were somewhat different from previous research. Implications for research, curriculum, and teacher education are discussed.

Teaching HOTS in the Middle and High School: A District-Level Initiative in Developing Higher Order Thinking Skills.

The call for the teaching of thinking skills has been underscored by national reports on educational reform. This report describes a school district initiative addressing thinking skills instruction through inservice education.

Effects of Discourse Mode on the Syntactic Complexity of Learning Disabled Students' Written Expression

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of discourse mode on the syntactic complexity of the written expression of learning disabled students at three grade levels. A film without narration was used to elicit written language samples in each of the two discourse modes, description and argumentation. Two measures of syntactic complexity — average length of T-unit and Syntactic Density Score — were employed to determine differences between the two modes. In addition, sentence types and syntactic patterns were examined as indices of syntactic complexity. Results of the investigation and implications of these results are discussed.

The Relationship of Visuospatial Skills and Verbal Ability to Learning Disabilities in Mathematics

Learning disabilities In mathematics have received relatively little attention despite the social relevance of basic arithmetic ability. Early theories of mathematics disability viewed visuospatial and visuomotor skills as critical. This study examines verbal skills in addition and finds them to be equally important. - G.M.S.

Teacher Involvement and Early Identification of Children with Learning Disabilities

Research on early identification of learning disabilities shows little consensus as to its feasibility. A review of programs geared to early intervention, after identification, indicates mainly inconclusive results or no follow-up and evaluation at all. The teacher as a key person in early identification and diagnosis is stressed. Teacher observations, together with continuous daily evaluation, seem to be the best course available under the circumstances.

SYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE ORAL LANGUAGE OF LEARNING DISABLED AND NORMAL STUDENTS AT THE INTERMEDIATE AND SECONDARY LEVEL

Syntax is a crucial component of oral language development. Frequently, learning disabled childrens oral language development is characterized by syntax problems. Hence, since deviations in oral language development may form the basis for identification of learning disabilities, adequate indices of oral language development are needed. The purpose of this study was to explore two indices of syntactic development in oral language, the T-unit and the Syntactic Density Score. Learning disabled students and a matched group of normally achieving peers were compared on these indices at four age levels. Results are reported for each measure along with a discussion and implications.

Alternative Reading Strategies: A Case Study.

Reading research is usually conducted on large groups of students making generalization to individual cases difficult. A useful alternative to traditional research strategies is found in case studies. This study reports the reading progress of a learning disabled student over a four-year period. The reading instruction program initially chosen employed a skills approach; later this was changed to a modified holistic approach. Differences in outcomes of the two approaches are reported along with implications for reading instruction.

Reading Flexibility of Learning Disabled and Normal Students at Three Grade Levels

Reading flexibility refers to a persons ability to adjust both reading rate and method to the specific purpose for reading. Proficient readers exhibit reading flexibility by paying attention to the information in print that is most relevant to their purpose. Poor readers, on the other hand, do not exhibit reading flexibility and, instead, become bound to the print. Only limited research has been undertaken to investigate the degree of reading flexibility in the learning disabled population. This study compared reading flexibility among learning disabled and normal students at three grade levels. Methods included a measure of reading rate and reading comprehension under two separate conditions or purposes for reading. Results are reported in terms of differences between the two populations as well as trends across grade levels for each population.

Response Instability on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale

Nicholaus Paal received his PhD in clinical psychology from Ohio University. He is presently assistant professor of psychiatry at the Child Study Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. S. Otho Hesterly received his PhD in clinical psychology from Louisiana State University. He is presently associate professor of psychiatry at the Child Study Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Julia Wepfer completed her MA in clinical psychology at the University of Arkansas and took a post-masters traineeship at Child Study Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She remained on the faculty and is finishing a PhD. Her special interest is family therapy. Requests for reprints should be sent to Dr. Paal at 4301 W. Markham, Little Rock, Ark. 72201.