Reading Programs for Learning Disabled Children - Research Paper Example

?Reading Programs for Learning Disabled Children Learning disability is a brain disorder related to the learning skills of a person. Learning disability is directly associated with the power of brain to control human activities. A person with learning disability faces difficulty in receiving, analyzing, and storing information because the brain of that person is not able to perform learning functions properly. The people with learning disabilities are not able to learn as quickly as normal people do. There are various forms of learning disabilities, which include concentration or focus disability, perception disability, and many other forms. Let us discuss some of the scholarly journal articles related to reading programs for learning disabled children in order to find out how reading programs can be used to improve the learning abilities of the children. Article # 1 The first article, which I have selected for discussion, is Repeated Reading Intervention for Students with Learning Disabilities: Status of the Evidence. The authors of this article have focused on the need of repetition of the reading intervention for the children. “For students with or at risk for learning disabilities, developing fluency with reading connected texts remains a formidable challenge” (Chard, Ketterlin-Geller, Baker, Doabler, & Apichatabutra, 2009). The authors have stressed on the use of repeated reading practices that should be designed to provide the children with multiple exposures to the same words. Repeated reading facilitates the students in reading and rereading the same text multiple times (Chard et al., 2009). According to the article, decoding difficulties should also be removed because they make learning process difficult for the students. “Decoding difficulties limit students' opportunities to read texts, decrease students' exposure to words, limit vocabulary learning, and hamper the development of content-area expertise through reading comprehension” (Chard et al., 2009, p. 263-281). Repeated reading can also be labeled as evidence-based for the students with learning disabilities. The findings of this article show that the repeated reading interventions can play an important role in improving the learning abilities of the children because the children can learn different words and their meanings quickly if they are shown those words repeatedly. The exposure to the same word through different ways can enhance the ability of the brain to capture the image and meaning of that word. The teachers of the learning-disabled children can determine the efficacy of repeated reading approaches in order to bring some improvement in the learning and comprehension skills of the children. For most students, oral reading can be associated with improved fluency and comprehension skills (Chard et al., 2009). The teachers can make great use of repeated reading interventions in the classrooms of the learning-disabled children by creating their lesson plans accordingly. The teachers can use the same words in different scenarios making the children familiar with those words. Chard et al. (2009) state, “As students repeatedly read the same content, it is likely that they will practice the same words multiple times, increasing the likelihood they'll be able to automatically retrieve those same words in future exposures” (p. 263-281). So, if the teachers give repeated exposure to the same words, the children will be able to understand those words in a very quick manner. Article # 2 The second article, which I have selected for discussion is, Evidence-Based Strategies for Reading Instruction of Older Students with Learning Disabilities. In this article, the authors have found that over a quarter of students from the 8th grade and more than one-third students belonging to the 4th grade are not able to read well. These students cannot understand their lessons properly and find it difficult to acquire some new knowledge or information from grade-level text. “For students with learning disabilities, the numbers are more troubling” (Roberts, Trogesen, Boardman, & Scammacca, 2008, p. 63-69). This article focuses on different features of evidence-based instructions for the children who find it difficult to learn or read their lessons properly. Five main areas of learning and reading for the learning-disabled children include word study, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and motivation (Roberts et al., 2008). The authors of this article suggest teachers to use evidence-based teaching program because it is one of the most beneficial tools for improving literacy skills of the children. Roberts et al. (2008) state, “For students identified as having LD, wide reading or repeated reading by itself should never substitute for systematic, explicit instruction in word study and comprehension strategy use” (p. 63-69). The findings of this article can be used in the classrooms of learning-disabled students through incorporating evidence-based teaching programs in the teaching strategy. Teachers can help the students improve their learning abilities by proving them with evidence-based instructions in all key areas of teaching. Students identified with learning disabilities need interventions that should not only accelerate new vocabulary acquisition but should also provide depth of knowledge about words in multiple contexts in order to facilitate the students (Roberts et al., 2008). Article # 3 The third article, which I have selected for discussion, is Overview of Computer Interventions with Students with Learning Disabilities. The authors of this article have provided us with computer based reading techniques for making the students improve their learning abilities. Computer assisted learning includes such mechanisms which are able to attract students’ attention towards the learning processes. Although the researchers in this field are doing some work, still they need to merge and define their efforts in order to produce a well-structured mechanism of computer-assisted learning. The article provides computer based solutions to the difficulties, which special students face during the processes of reading, writing, and storing information. Some of the most appropriate methods described in this article include computer-based testing, learning through images, and helping the students recognize different things through images. The practice of reading skills through computers can result in improving the learning abilities of the children (Stetter & Hughes, 2009). Computer based education can provide a personalized and interactive learning environment for the learning-disabled students (Stetter & Hughes, 2009). The findings of this article can be used in the classrooms of disable students. In classrooms, learning-disabled students can be assigned as·sign   tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2.  additional instructional time to interact with the computer using a program that should provide practice and understanding of key areas. It is the responsibility of the schools to provide special facilities and proper environment to the children in order to make them overcome their disabilities using a creative environment. Teachers of learning-disabled students should continuallycon·tin·u·al   adj. 1. Recurring regularly or frequently: the continual need to pay the mortgage. 2. ..... Click the link for more information. look for additional strategies and computer-based instruction methods to get success in improving comprehension skills of the students (Stetter & Hughes, 2009). Article # 4 The fourth article, which I have selected for discussion, is Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies to Students with Learning Disabilities: a Review of Research. The authors of this article have researched reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities. The article describes the factors, which cause learning disabilities in the children because those factors are directly associated with the learning abilities of the children. Although a clear list of factors that cause learning disabilities is not very clear, still the researchers have found some relevant factors. Some of those factors include brain disorders, mothers who take high level of alcohol during pregnancy, and surroundings of a child. The authors of this article found that brain is the main controller of all human activities including learning, reading, and writing activities. So, if the brain of a child lacks the ability to perceive different things properly, learning disability occurs as a result. Learning disability also leads to reading disability, which is very common in most of the children having learning disabilities. After discussing the factors that cause learning disabilities in children, the authors described the procedures, which are used to find out effective instructional methods for the children having learning disabilities. The narrative and expository text comprehension research by Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker (2001) found that instruction in reading strategies could consistently improve the comprehension performance for the learning-disabled students. The instructional methods for improving the expository text comprehension are also discussed in the article. The authors conclude their discussion on some of the critical issues related to learning disabilities in children, which include increased use of socially mediated instructions, need to use multiple strategies for bringing improvement in the comprehension abilities of the students, and effectiveness of specific learning strategies compared with flexible frameworks that are used to structure dialogue on text read. Methods like direct teaching and cooperative learning are very effective not only to make learning-disabled children improve their learning abilities but also to improve comprehension of the narrative texts (Gersten et al., 2001). Teachers should not only incorporate careful modeling but also should provide extensive feedback to the students in order to ensure inclusion of comprehension strategies into reading (Gersten et al., 2001). Teachers should also make extensive use of instructional strategies such as development of scoring guide, use of specific language for teaching, and use of graphic organizers to improve reading and learning abilities of the students. The lecturer should speak slowly as it helps the students understand the lecture and meanings of different words (Gersten et al., 2001). Videotapes, discussions, and case studies are also some of the effective reading programs for the learning-disabled children (Gersten et al., 2001). Therefore, teachers can play an effective role in bringing improvement in the learning-disabled children because if they use appropriate instructional strategies during teaching, the students can get significant benefits in the form of improved learning and comprehension abilities. References Chard, D., Ketterlin-Geller, L., Baker, S., Doabler, C., & Apichatabutra, C. (2009). Repeated Reading Intervention for Students with Learning Disabilities: Status of the Evidence. Exceptional Children, 75(3), 263-281. Gersten, R., Fuchs, L., Williams, J., & Baker, S. (2001). Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies to Students with Learning Disabilities: a Review of Research. Review Of Educational Research, 71(2), 279-320. Roberts, G., Torgesen, J., Boardman, A., & Scammacca, N. (2008). Evidence-Based Strategies for Reading Instruction of Older Students with Learning Disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 23(2), 63-69. Stetter, M., & Hughes, M. (2009). Overview of Computer Interventions with Students with Learning Disabilities. Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2009, 17(2), 3986-3989. Articles attached: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3130/is_3_75/ai_n31564635/ http://www.jstor.org/pss/3516086 http://faculty.rcoe.appstate.edu/koppenhaverd/5710/read/readingLD/robertsetal08.pdf http://www.editlib.org/noaccess/31280 Read More