Students with Learning Disabilities Learning and Teaching Theories

Behavioral Approach Based on premise that the environment greatly influences behavior Much emphasis placed on teacher’s role in arranging classroom for optimal learning

Direct Instruction More important to develop instructional sequences that systematically teach than to spend time attempting to understand the inner workings Academic Focus –Concentrates on improving specific academic skills without dealing with inferred process deficits

Direct Instruction continued Unit of Instruction –Highly structured –Task analysis Sequence of Academic Skills

Data-Based Instruction Use of Curriculum-Based Measurements to Establish Performance Standards –Material selection –Test administration –Performance display and interpretation –Decision-making framework

Data-Based Instruction continued Individually Referenced Data Systems –Direct measurement –Repeated measurement –Graphing data –Long-range goal performance monitoring –Short-range goal performance monitoring –Data analysis and instructional decisions

Stages of Learning Acquisition Stage Proficiency Stage Maintenance Stage Generalization Stage Adaption Stage

Perspectives on the Behavioral Approach Successful in teaching students with learning disabilities Some issues persist concerning its application

The Cognitive Approach Focuses on instruction that is consistent with how a student thinks when learning tasks Learner is critical agent in how information is being processed

Specific Abilities Approach Specific abilities serve as foundation for learning and performance and attention to deficits in these specific abilities provide basis for intervention efforts

Developmental Approach Focuses on the psychological changes that take place in an individual and parallel biological growth Attempts to speed up developmental process may cause learning problems or those with learning disabilities go through same developmental stages but go through them differently

Information-Processing Approach Components –Long-term memory –Executive processing –Pre-perceptual processing –Perceptual processing –Recognition processing –Integrating processing and short-term memory –Contextual demands

Teaching Methods for Cognitive Disabilities Theory into Practice Instructional Paradigms –Reductionist –Constructivist Integration of Paradigms –Functionalist approach –Integration across academic areas –Integration of direct instruction and cognitive strategies instruction