Searching for the Best Model for Instructing Students With Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Students with learning disabilities (LD) comprise a heterogeneous group so no general instructional model can be recommended for all of them.Thus, the title of this article might seem to be somewhat of a misnomer.Nevertheless, some common general principles for teaching students with LD can be assumed to exist.Effective interventions include some instructional components that capitalize on these principles.Although these principles often operate in different ways with different students, in different content areas, and in different settings, they can be used in designing effective remediation programs for LD students.In this article, findings are summarized related to a comprehensive educational intervention research synthesis for students with learning disabilities (Swanson, Hoskyn, & Lee, 1999) that attempts to identify the principles underlying effective instruction.Although there have been several technical reports related to this synthesis (e.g., Swanson, 1999; Swanson & Hoskyn, 1998; Swanson & Sachse-Lee, 2000), the purpose of this article is to consider more directly the practical aspects of the findings.More specifically, the focus will be on the question: What instructional components or activities characterize highly effective intervention programs for students with LD?On the surface, identifying key instructional components that improve LD students' performance might seem to be a relatively simple, although time-consuming, task.One could simply take all the studies published in refereed journals that yield positive outcomes for students with LD and then summarize the instructional principles that make up those studies.In fact, most syntheses that attempt to translate research to practice rely on such procedures.Such an approach is problematic, however, because the published literature is biased toward reporting positive treatment outcomes (e.g., Begg, 1994).A quick perusal of the published literature reveals a plethora of published treatments (i.e., bona fide instructional models) reflecting a diversity of approaches that yield positive outcomes for students with LD.Such a state of affairs has been called a "Dodo bird" effect (e.g., Lubrosky, Singer, & Luborsky, 1975).Taken from a conclusion of the Dodo bird in Alice in Wonderland (Carroll, 1965/1962), the bird stated, "Everybody has won, and all must have prizes" (p.412).Unquestionably, this effect is disconcerting when attempting to search for some general principles of effective instruction.

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