Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, OWL LD, and Dyscalculia: Lessons from Science and Teaching

How can teachers provide effective instruction for students with learning disabilities while meeting the needs of all students? The second edition of this accessible text gives K–12 educators research-based answers, straight from two highly respected voices in the field. The first teacher training text to cover all four learning disabilities that require differentiated instruction; dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and oral and written language learning disability (OWL LD); this book prepares educators to deliver explicit and engaging instruction customised to the needs of their students. Critical insights from diverse fields blend with lessons learned from actual teaching experience, making this an ideal pre service text and a great in-service professional development tool.

This is the book teachers need to:

• strengthen instruction with current research findings from many fields—including genetics, neuroscience, linguistics, and education
• help all students (including students with specific learning disabilities) develop oral and written language skills and proficiency with math concepts and problem solving
• use differentiated instruction to organise their classrooms, routines, and lesson plans
• uncover both the why and the how of differentiated instruction, so they can adapt their teaching techniques as needed
• meet Common Core State Standards while addressing the learning needs of individual students
• apply a specific instructional framework that helps students overcome working memory inefficiencies and related problems
• create a positive learning environment that promotes intellectual engagement and social emotional development

What's New?

• A timely new chapter on using technology for accommodations and explicit instruction
• Research Lessons that demystify new findings
• Teaching Tips featuring educators’ voices of experience
• more on in-service preparation for educators on interdisciplinary school teams
• guidelines on addressing current challenges in the field
• coverage of specific learning disabilities related to math
• recommended practices for meeting Common Core State Standards

Table of Contents

About the Authors

Foreword Vincent C. Alfonso

Foreword R. Malatesha Joshi

Foreword Elaine R. Silliman

Preface

Acknowledgments

I Translation Science: Situating the Present in the Past and Future for Specific Learning Disabilities

1. Historical Context for Current Issues in Specific Learning Disabilities
2. Current and Future Directions in Defining and Differentiating Specific Learning Disabilities

II Translating Research Lessons into Teaching Tips for Developing Students K—12

3. Linking Assessment to Instruction for Handwriting
• Appendix 3A Assessment of Handwriting and Related Skills
• Appendix 3B Instructional Resources for Handwriting and Related Skills
• Appendix 3C Teacher Resources for Reaching Out to Parents
4. Assessment-Instruction Links for Word Reading/Spelling and Related Language Processes
• Appendix 4A Assessment of Word Reading, Spelling, and Related Skills
• Appendix 4B Instructional Resources for Word Reading, Spelling, and Related Skills
• Appendix 4C Instructional Programs Developed for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities
• Appendix 4D Teacher Resources for Word Reading and Spelling
5. Assessment-Instruction Links for Listening and Reading Comprehension and Oral and Written Language Expression
• Appendix 5A Assessment of Listening and Reading Comprehension, Oral and Written Expression, and Related Skills
• Appendix 5B Instructional Resources for Listening and Reading Comprehension, Oral and Written Expression, and Related Skills at the Vocabulary, Syntax, and Text Levels
• Appendix 5C Teacher Resources
6. Assessment-Instruction Links for Math Concepts, Computations, and Problem Solving
• Appendix 6A Assessment of Math Concepts, Computations, Problem Solving, and Related Skills
• Appendix 6B Instructional Resources for Math Concepts, Computations, Problem Solving, and Related Skills
• Appendix 6C Teacher Resources

III Systems Approaches to Schools, Families, and Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities

7. Classroom Organizational and Social-Emotional Climate Issues
8. Teaching Across the Content Areas of the Curriculum
9. Systems Approach to Teaching and Learning
• Appendix 9A Instructional Resources for Executive Functions
10. Co-occurring Specific Learning Disabilities and Twice-Exceptional Students
11. Use of Technology in Teaching

IV New Beginnings in Teaching Students with and without Specific Learning Disabilities

12. Preservice and In-Service Professional Development for All Educationally Relevant Disciplines
• Appendix 12A Resources and Model to Prepare Preservice General Education Teachers and Other Educational Professionals for Teaching Students with Specific Learning Disabilities
13. Cross-Disciplinary Communication and Collaboration
14. Free Appropriate Public Education for All Students, with and without Specific Learning Disabilities
• Appendix 14A Common Core Standards for Educational Policy Makers, Lawyers, Legislators, and Government Regulators: A Team Approach

References

Index

"Pinpoints the neurogenetic and behavioral relationships of specific learning disabilities and language disorders and shows how to inform interventions tailored to individual needs and patterns. [Berninger’s] experience in original research and clinical practice give a unique authenticity to her contributions in the world of translational science."
- Nickola Nelson, Western Michigan University

"A unique resource for teaching reading, writing and math from early childhood through adolescence that knits together developmental science and instructional science for the benefit of teachers working in day-to-day classrooms with diverse populations of learners."
- Judith Birsh, Certified Academic Language Therapist, Senior Fellow of Special Education, Relay Graduate School of Education.

"This book has it all... from historical perspectives to evidence-based assessment and intervention to current research advances. A must-read for all teachers of struggling readers."
- Marcia Henry, Professor Emerita, San Jose State University

"[The authors] advance an elaborated, evidence-based, and sound argument for the importance of explicit handwriting, keyboarding, spelling, and composition instruction — not only for students with dysgraphia, but for all students facing the daunting challenge of learning to write."
- Louisa Moats, President, Moats Associates Consulting, Inc., author of Speech To Print