For each issue, TPS partners submit summaries of and links to online resources—articles, research reports, Web sites, and white papers—that provide research and current thinking relating to the theme. This issue's Research & Current Thinking focuses on supporting all students particularly those with disabilities.
Enhancing the Note-taking Skills of Students with Mild Disabilities — Joseph R. Boyle (2001).
LD OnLine® Web Site
“Teachers can improve the note-taking skills of students with mild disabilities by either modifying their presentation during lectures or teaching students how to use note-taking techniques. This article begins with a vignette and then describes how teachers can modify their lectures and how they can teach note-taking techniques to students. The two note-taking techniques described are strategic note taking and guided notes.” This article originally appeared in Intervention in School and Clinic, Volume 36, pp.221-224 ©2001 PRO-ED, Inc.
Graphic Organizers and Implications for Universal Design for Learning: Curriculum Enhancement Report — Prepared by Nicole Strangman, Tracey Hall and Anne Meyer.
National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC)
This paper introduces graphic organizers through a literature review of their research base and discusses “how the use of graphic organizers relates to students with disabilities and their ability to access the general education curriculum.” The paper also discusses the use of graphic organizers in support of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and includes general guidelines for UDL implementation and a list of web-based resources for further information.
Helping Children Learn to Read Texts That Compare or Contrast — Joanna Williams and Kendra Hall, Teachers College of Columbia University
The Center on Accelerating Student Learning (CASL) News, Number 8 - Summer 2003.
This issue of CASL News features research on an instructional program to improve reading comprehension of expository text (i.e., nonfiction or informational text) conducted at Columbia University. CASL was a five-year collaborative research effort supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) “designed to accelerate learning for students with disabilities in the early grades and thereby provide a solid foundation for strong achievement in the intermediate grades and beyond.”
How to Adapt Your Teaching Strategies to Student Needs — Kathleen Bulloch (2004)
Reading Rockets Web Site
“Teachers are often asked to modify instruction to accommodate students with learning or other disabilities. This article takes the mystery out of adapting materials and strategies for curriculum areas.” The author outlines strategies for adapting instruction for students who have difficulties with listening, with verbal expression, with reading written material, with writing legibly or expressing himself or herself in writing, or with spelling. Portions of this article were adapted from The Mystery of Modifying: Creative Solutions published by the Education Service Center.
Teaching History to Support Diverse Learners — National Center for Technology Innovation and Center for Implementing Technology in Education (2007)
LD OnLine® Web Site
“Instruction focused on students engaged in historical thinking is fairly new in educational research. This approach — often called Doing History — requires students to develop the skills historians and other social scientists use to construct an interpretation from multiple and conflicting sources. Since these sources often include songs, images, and documents, this approach is also labeled Media Literacy, a skill that applies to disciplines across the humanities and outside the classroom context (e.g., buying a product or voting for a political candidate). The positive effects this approach has on student learning have been observed in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms; however, too little attention is given to making this rigorous and engaging curriculum accessible to students with learning disabilities (LD), as federally mandated in recent legislation under Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) 1997 and 2004.” This article originally appeared as a “Tech Works” brief from the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) and the Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd).
Thinking with Language, Images, and Strategies — N. Mather, Sam Goldstein, Karyl Lynch, and Ann M. Richards (2001)
LD OnLine® Web Site
“Many students who struggle in school do not fall into traditional diagnostic categories. Some of these students are good at decoding but have difficulty with understanding the overall meaning of what they read. Some have typical language abilities but struggle with spatial organization. Others seem attentive and motivated but are unable to develop or revise their plans for completing homework and tests. These students often have weaknesses in the conceptual building blocks. This chapter reviews the abilities related to thinking with language and images and using strategies.” Chapter excerpted from Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management (pp. 271-277). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
