Using Technology to Support the Writing of Adolescents with Disabilities

Abstract Adolescent students with disabilities can benefit from technology based interventions for writing instruction, but with so many different tools available, it can be difficult to determine how best to spend classroom time. Students with disabilities struggle with composition knowledge when compared to their typically developing peers (Bouck, Meyer, Satsangi, Savage, & Hunley, 2015; Englert, Zhao, Dunsmore, Collings, & Wolbers, 2007; Evmenova et al., 2016; Smith & Okolo, 2010). This article examines the benefits of using technology to support struggling student writers. The article seeks to connect research supporting technological tools with decisions made by classroom teachers. Four effective practices (the benefits of authentic audiences, the benefits of technology as a pre-writing scaffold, the benefits of word processing programs, and the benefits of computerized feedback) are examined. For each practice, the current research is synthesized, limitations are noted, and classroom applications are provided. Directions for future research and unanswered questions are discussed in the conclusion. Keywords: secondary writing, struggling writers, technology, word processin

Use of C-Map as a Cognitive Tool in Collaborative and Individual Concept Mapping for Enhancing ELL Students\u27 Reading Comprehension

Among those who teach English to English Language Learners (ELL), reading comprehension is considered an essential language skill critical for knowledge acquisition and information exchange. However, in various parts of the world, including Jordan, reading comprehension has been reported as a difficult area for ELL students to master. The purpose of this study was to investigate in-depth the impact of the use of the reading software C-map as a cognitive tool in collaborative and individual concept mapping to promote reading comprehension among ELL readers. The independent variable of this study was concept mapping, which functioned on three levels: collaborative, individual, and control groups. There were four dependent variables: reviewing, listing, enforcing, and overall reading comprehension. 106 ELL high school students from Jordan, aged 17-18 years, participated in the study as subjects, divided into three groups: a collaborative group of 32, an individual group of 36, and a control group of 38. All groups were instructed by the same high school ELL English teacher for 10 weeks. Both the ELL English teacher and the rater received training appropriate to their responsibilities. At the outset of the study, all ELL students took the same pretest individually. They then underwent orientation training appropriate to their groups. Over the course of the study, the students’ work was rated using the same rubric 10 times, one time per a week. At the conclusion of the study, all subjects took the same post-test individually. All instructional materials were accredited by the Jordanian Ministry of Education and the reliability and the validity of study instruments were ensured. The collected data was analyzed quantitatively using the independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA. Results, limitations, and recommendations were discussed and interpreted in light of study’s purpose, questions, and hypotheses

Differentiation According to Educators: Using the Delphi Approach

Differentiation is a well-known and popularly endorsed aspect of teaching. However, the lack of effective adoption and implementation of it as a practical classroom strategy suggests some uncertainty relating to the definition and indicates the challenge or difficulty of effective implementation. This study sought to investigate primary school teachers’ understanding of the idea and explores the educational concept through the Delphi technique, which uses both qualitative and quantitative methods (open-ended survey responses, Likert scale questions, semistructured questions and response to summaries of previous rounds). The main research question for the study is ‘what definitions can be generated in regard to the teaching and assessment strategies associated with differentiation among a group of teachers working in a similar environment?’, a series of secondary questions explore further aspects of teachers’ thinking about differentiation. Four rounds of surveys following the Delphi methodology were completed by 19 primary school teachers. A series of different questionnaire types were used to enable a panel of teachers to reach a final consensus by analysing and refocusing each subsequent round of survey questions. The data collected in each round produced a total of 38 teaching and 20 assessment strategies relating to differentiation. The final round led to 32 teaching strategies and 15 assessment strategies reaching consensus. This left a six teaching and five assessment strategies that did not reach consensus. A key to developing a better understanding of concerns among educators may be through the process of creating a shared definition by practitioners and not relying upon handed-down terms and definitions. By engaging teachers with an opportunity to jointly create, discuss, and reflect upon the meaning and strategies of complex pedagogy like differentiation through active consensus-building such as the Delphi methodology, schools and professional development leaders can address misconceptions and develop and reinforce a shared understanding and common vocabulary that enables collegial support to be timely, effective, and more importantly, understandable for the educator. While such consensus-building efforts like this research project are time-intensive, they are also valuable because the process allows teachers to engage in professional discourse that is meaningful for the teacher and perhaps better suited to support ongoing professional development efforts for increased implementation. This implementation of a best practices pedagogy like differentiation may,in turn, help improve student learning, which is ultimately the end goal of any educational endeavour

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES OF MOBILE-ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING AND MIND MAPPING IN THE TEACHING OF WRITING IN ESL CLASSROOMS

Mobile assisted language learning (MALL) is a highly popularmultidisciplinary study field which increasingly attracts the attention ofscholars around the world. Moreover, it has attracted the scholars whohave realized the potential to apply mobile technologies to enhancelearning. This paper explores the perspectives and practices of mobileassistedlanguage learning and mind mapping and their practices inteaching of writing in the ESL classrooms. Few aspects are covered likedefining MALL, theoretical perspectives drawn from MALL, relatingthese to the practice of MALL and mind mapping in writing, pedagogicalapproaches used in MALL and issues faced in the ESL writingclassrooms. Thus, it is showed that MALL can be incorporated intowriting by using it with several writing approaches and techniques whichcounterparts the pedagogical advantages in mobile language learningcontexts. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the reviewedstudies and it implicates that mobile learning and mind mapping has goodprospects for teaching writing to ESL students

Instructional strategies for enhancing learning disabled students' reading comprehension and comprehension test performance

Aquest estudi experimental es va crear per investigar l'efecte de la instrucció d'estratègies combinades en la millora de la comprensió lectora de textos narratius per 12-14 i 13-15 anys -Old alumnes dislèxics d'anglès com a llengua estrangera, així com la comprensió de textos expositius per 14-16 i 15-17 als seus homòlegs antics -Any. A més, l'estudi es va centrar en els efectes de la interacció del tractament amb estratègies combinades i el sexe dels participants (homes enfront de dones) i el tipus d'escola dels participants en l'estudi (control versus experimental, utilitzant un mètode de disseny factorial mixt on la variable de les condicions de tractament amb dos nivells (control davant experimental) es va utilitzar com una variable independent, es van utilitzar les variables de gènere i l'escola com a variable moderadora, i la comprensió lectora com a variable dependent. la instrucció estratègia combinada es compon d'organitzadors gràfics, presentacions visuals, mnemotècnic il·lustracions, exercicis d'ordinador, la predicció, la inferència, l'estructura del text de la consciència, la identificació de la idea principal, el resum, i el qüestionament sobre la millora de la comprensió lectora de textos narratius per als estudiants amb dislèxia a 12-14 i 13-15 anys -Old .No obstant això, l'estudi instrucció estratègia combinada no va incloure exercici equip per als estudiants amb dislèxia a 14-16 i 15-17 textos -Any d'edat, i el expositius i no es van utilitzar les narratives en 14-16 i 15-17 -any d'edat. Es van informar i van discutir a la llum de les investigacions prèvies i el context de l'estudi, així com les implicacions per a la instrucció a l'aula i més investigació Les troballes de l'estudi. La instrucció estratègia combinada es compon d'organitzadors gràfics, pantalles visuals, il·lustracions, exercicis mnemotècnics ordinador, la predicció, la inferència, l'estructura del text de la consciència, la identificació de la idea principal, el resum, i el qüestionament sobre la millora de la comprensió lectora de textos narratius per als estudiants amb dislèxia a 12-14 i 13-15 anys -Old alumnes.Este estudio experimental se creó para investigar el efecto de la instrucción de estrategias combinadas en la mejora de la comprensión lectora de textos narrativos por 12-14 y 13-15 años -old alumnos disléxicos de Inglés como lengua extranjera, así como la comprensión de textos expositivos por 14-16 y 15-17 a sus homólogos antiguos -Año. Además, el estudio se centró en los efectos de la interacción del tratamiento con estrategias combinadas y el sexo de los participantes (hombres frente a mujeres) y el tipo de escuela de los participantes en el estudio (control versus experimental, utilizando un método de diseño factorial mixto donde la variable de las condiciones de tratamiento con dos niveles (control frente experimental) se utilizó como una variable independiente, se utilizaron las variables de género y la escuela como variable moderadora, y la comprensión lectora como variable dependiente. La instrucción estrategia combinada se compone de organizadores gráficos, presentaciones visuales, mnemotécnico ilustraciones, ejercicios de computadora, la predicción, la inferencia, la estructura del texto de la conciencia, la identificación de la idea principal, el resumen, y el cuestionamiento sobre la mejora de la comprensión lectora de textos narrativos para los estudiantes con dislexia en 12-14 y 13-15 años -old .Sin embargo, el estudio instrucción estrategia combinada no incluyó ejercicio equipo para los estudiantes con dislexia en 14-16 y 15-17 textos -Año de edad, y el expositivos y no se utilizaron las narrativas en 14-16 y 15-17 -año de edad. Se informaron y discutieron a la luz de las investigaciones previas y el contexto del estudio, así como las implicaciones para la instrucción en el aula y más investigación Los hallazgos del estudio. La instrucción estrategia combinada se compone de organizadores gráficos, pantallas visuales, ilustraciones, ejercicios mnemotécnicos computadora, la predicción, la inferencia, la estructura del texto de la conciencia, la identificación de la idea principal, el resumen, y el cuestionamiento sobre la mejora de la comprensión lectora de textos narrativos para los estudiantes con dislexia en 12-14 y 13-15 años -old alumnos.This experimental study was set to investigate the effect of combined strategy instruction on improving the reading comprehension of narrative texts by 12-14 and 13-15-year –old dyslexic learners of English as a foreign language as well as the comprehension of expository texts by their 14-16 and 15-17 –year old counterparts. In addition, the study looked into the interaction effects of the treatment with combined strategies and the gender of the participants (male versus female) and the school type of the study participants (control versus experimental, using a mixed method factorial design where the variable of the treatment conditions with two levels (control versus experimental) was used as an independent variable, the variables of gender and school were used as moderator variable, and reading comprehension as dependent variable. The combined strategy instruction consists of graphic organizers, visual displays, mnemonic illustrations, computer exercises, predicting, inference, text structure awareness, main idea identification, summarization, and questioning on improving the reading comprehension of narrative texts for students with dyslexia in 12-14 and 13-15-year –old .However, the study combined strategy instruction did not include computer exercise for students with dyslexia in 14-16 and 15-17 –year old ,and the expository texts and not the narrative ones were used in 14-16 and 15-17 –year old. The study findings were reported and discussed in light of previous research and study context as well as implications for classroom instruction and further research. The combined strategy instruction consists of graphic organizers, visual displays, mnemonic illustrations, computer exercises, predicting, inference, text structure awareness, main idea identification, summarization, and questioning on improving the reading comprehension of narrative texts for students with dyslexia in 12-14 and 13-15-year –old learners

Technology-based reading intervention programs for elementary grades: An analytical review

In modern societies, the role of reading is becoming increasingly crucial. Hence, any impairment to the reading ability can seriously limit a person's aspirations. The enormous importance of reading as an essential skill in modern life has encouraged many researchers to try and find more effective intervention approaches. Technology has been used extensively to assist and enhance literacy learning. This analytical review aims at presenting a comprehensive overview of the existing research on technology-based or technology-assisted reading interventions for elementary grades, between 2000 and 2017, along with analyzing various aspects of these studies. After extensive research, 42 articles have met the inclusion criteria, which have evaluated a total of 32 reading programs. The studies are classified into six categories of phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and multi-component. Each reading category begins with a brief introduction. Then, the content and instructional mechanisms of each program in the category is explained, alongside the outcome of its interventions. It is found that vocabulary interventions, as well as using mobile, tablet and other non-computer technologies are massively overlooked. Furthermore, a very limited number of programs focused on fluency, none of them addressed all its components. In addition, despite the required long-term practice for fostering fluency, the reviewed studies have an average intervention time shorter than other intervention categories. This paper provides researchers and solution developers with an extensive and informative review of the current state of the art in reading interventions. Additionally, it identifies the current knowledge gaps and defines future research directions to develop effective reading programs

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Traditional versus Technology-based Instruction on Reading Comprehension of EFL Students

Reading is an essential skill for language acquisition, especially for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Reading comprehension is essential for academic success, thus teachers and researchers are consistently testing new strategies and resources to assist EFL students. Given the growing technological infrastructure many schools are forgoing traditional strategies for digital reading resources. Thus, the purpose of this meta-analysis investigates the effects of using strategy instruction versus technology-based instruction on the reading comprehension of EFL learners. A Meta-analysis of 17 studies (20 effect sizes) published between the years 2007 and 2016 was conducted. A three level inclusion and exclusion process was used to select studies based on the a priori criteria. The overall combined effect size for traditional strategies and technology-based strategies was (d=1.176), which is considered a large effect size. The findings of the moderator analysis suggest that the use of traditional reading strategy instruction or technology-based reading instruction is equally effective for supporting the reading comprehension of EFL students. Recommendations for enhanced teaching and learning are provided to support EFL student reading comprehension