Exploring The Neural Correlates of Reading Comprehension and Social Cognition Deficits in College Students with ADHD

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Symptoms of this disorder have been shown to adversely impact academic and social functioning of those with ADHD. College students with ADHD, compared to their non-ADHD peers, are at increased risk for academic and social difficulties. Given the reading-intensive and socially-driven environment of the college campus, empirical literature examining the reading comprehension and social cognition of college students are wanting. The current investigation utilized the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) and Faux Pas Recognition test (FPRT) to assess reading comprehension and social cognition, respectively, in college students with (n = 3) and without ADHD (n = 9). The Short Story Task (SST) was administered during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural correlates of narrative comprehension and theory of mind (ToM) while reading short fictional stories of varying prose complexity. The ADHD and control groups did not differ in IQ, GPA, or scores of NDRT, FPRT, or SST, suggesting that they had comparable academic performance, narrative comprehension, and social cognition. The fMRI analysis of SST showed that the ADHD group demonstrated increased activation in the left anterior cingulate (ACC) and parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) while reading the complex story compared to the simple story. This differential activation was not observed in the CTRL group, suggesting that the ADHD group required more neural resources to process the emotional components of the complex story to achieve the comparable performance on the SST. The ADHD group additionally exhibited lower activation in the narrative comprehension and ToM networks (medial prefrontal cortex, Broca’s area, angular gyri). Collectively, these results indicate that while ADHD and CTRL groups did not differ behaviorally, they exhibit differential neural activation patterns in tasks related to narrative comprehension and social cognition. Further investigations may inform the development of educational and psychosocial interventions to improve academic and social functioning in young adults with ADHD

Effects of PowerPoint Presentations on Reading Comprehension of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Iranian Exceptional High Schools

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the role of PowerPoint presentation on reading comprehension of deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students in schools. Based on different studies, PowerPoint, a common multimedia tool, has a crucial role in teaching and learning through providing a suitable understanding of the text and motivating students. The present study aimed to examine the predictive effects of PowerPoint presentations on reading comprehension of D/HH students. As reported in the literature, reading levels of deaf high school students are equal to those of fourth grade hearing students. Therefore, a visual computer-mediated approach was implemented to monitor the reading comprehension progress of 20 D/HH students in Iranian high schools. The reading comprehension of the experimental and control groups were compared by conducting the Stanford Achievement Test and applying paired t-tests. Our findings indicated a significant difference between the mean reading comprehension scores of the two groups

Collaborative Pull-Out Literacy Classroom for Dually Served Students

This descriptive study examines the effectiveness of a collaboratively-taught classroom literacy skills and language acquisition delivery collaborative classroom for middle school students who receive both special education and ESOL services. Limited research was found on best practices for teaching dually-served students, yet a noticeable increase of evidence indicates that ELs with disabilities require accommodations for language development and/or modifications for their disability in order to achieve academic success. This research combines theories of additional language acquisition and special education to show their relationship to the needs of dually-served students; it will address problems of serving ELs with disabilities. This research explores if an increase in reading proficiency was evident due to the implementation of the collaborative classroom. ELs with disabilities did show an increase in reading proficiency within all middle school grade levels; the largest growth was within dually-served students in the collaborative classroom for the spring 16-week session. When the researcher analyzed grade level data, she discovered that 154% of ELs with disabilities in the collaborative classroom increased their Lexile level. Examining data and feedback from the collaborative classroom revealed unique patterns and findings that can contribute to the field of education. This study will help determine effective interventions that address dually-served students’ unique populations, which is at risk of dropping out of school due to disability, language, literacy, or a combination of these factors. Additionally, the research will address effective ways to maximize integration of content instruction to increase student reading performance within the collaborative classroom for dually-served students

Effects of RAP Paraphrasing and Semantic-Mapping Strategies on the Reading Comprehension of English Learners and Fully- English-Proficient Students with Mild-to-Moderate Learning Disabilities

This study, using a repeated measures design with alternating treatments, measured the effectiveness of traditional instruction, the RAP Paraphrasing Strategy, the semantic-mapping strategy, and a combination of these strategies on the reading comprehension skills of 11 English learners (ELs) with learning disabilities and 8 fully English-proficient students (FEPs) with learning disabilities (LD) in two high-school, mild-to-moderate, special-day, English classes. The students were taught each of these strategies for 540 minutes in 9 days of instruction. The same teacher taught all three strategies to both classes. Data were gathered from the IDEA Oral Language Proficiency Test, alternate forms of the Comprehension subtest of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, and a reading strategies steps quiz. After traditional instruction, all of the groups made gains in reading, although not statistically significant. The ELs with LD in Class 1 made strong reading gains following the first intervention (the RAP Paraphrasing Strategy), whereas the FEPs with LD in Class 2 made statistically significant reading gains following the first intervention (the semantic-mapping strategy). The ELs with LD in both classes and the FEPs with LD in Class 2 made statistically significant gains in reading after the second intervention, whereas the FEPs with LD in Class 1 made strong gains. Following the interventions, the ELs with LD remembered a higher percentage of the steps of the RAP Paraphrasing Strategy, whereas the FEPs with LD remembered a higher percentage of the steps of the semantic-mapping strategy. Each of the steps of the RAP Paraphrasing and semantic-mapping strategies were remembered by a majority of the students. It can be concluded that secondary-level ELs with LD may more easily remember the RAP Paraphrasing Strategy and benefit more from this strategy following traditional instruction than the semantic-mapping strategy following traditional instruction. In addition, secondary-level FEPs with LD may more easily remember the semantic-mapping strategy and may benefit more from this strategy following traditional instruction than the RAP Paraphrasing Strategy following traditional instruction. Finally, secondary-level ELs with LD and FEPs with LD make the highest reading gains when taught all three strategies (traditional instruction, the RAP Paraphrasing Strategy, and the semantic-mapping strategy)

Universal Design for Learning in K-12 Educational Settings: A Review of Group Comparison and Single-subject Intervention Studies

This literature review on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) included articles from January 1984 through June 2014. We (a) investigated the UDL educational framework without the inclusion of other major K-12 educational frameworks in learning environments, (b) reported researchers’ scope and depth of use of the UDL principles, and (c) focused our investigation on two research methods: group comparison and single-subject. We used the quality indicators for evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education to review, not rate, the final pool of five peer-reviewed articles. Results included analyses of the incorporation of UDL principles in all identified studies, highlighting the need for caution in promoting conceptual frameworks until sufficient empirical evidence is available to validate pedagogical utility in educational environments. We conclude that the UDL framework has merit but researchers must conduct studies that use group comparison and single-subject studies to independently test the UDL principles, guidelines, and checkpoints to increase the likelihood of causation in treatment outcomes

Developing a Curriculum for the ELA Inclusive Classroom That Meets the Shifts in the CCSS

Educators of 2019 are required to meet the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in inclusive classrooms while also engaging students in meaningful connections. The CCSS provide an outline of academic content, knowledge, and skills that students need in order to be college and career ready. Teachers are the connection between the standards, the academic content, and the students. It is up to the teachers to reach and engage their students by creating meaningful connections between the academic content and the real-world. Students who are engaged and making connections to the instructional material are creating learning that lasts beyond the classroom. Learning that lasts beyond the classroom means students are learning skills and strategies that they will utilize in the real-world. Education in 2019 should not be based on the goal of students memorizing academic content to only regurgitate that content on the standardized test. Students must engage in authentic learning activities that align with the changing CCSS while connecting their learning to the real-world. The following capstone project discusses the engaging strategies used in authentic learning that meet the changes in English Language Arts CCSS in an inclusive setting, while also cultivating learning that lasts beyond the classroom

The Relationship Between Teachers’ Understanding and Implementation of Differentiated Reading Instruction and Third-Graders’ Reading Achievement Scores

The purpose of this correlational study was to determine whether the predictor variables, teachers’ perceived understanding and implementation of differentiated instruction, as measured by the Understanding and Implementation of Differentiated Instruction survey, had a relationship to the criterion variable, third-grade students’ reading achievement, as measured by the mClass: Reading 3D Text Reading and Comprehension Test. Using convenience sampling, third grade teachers from six rural North Carolina counties were invited to participate in the study. Data from 54 third grade teachers who consented to participate were analyzed using a Pearson product moment correlation. The results of this study indicated that a statistically significant relationship did not exist between teachers’ understanding and implementation of differentiated instruction and third-grade students’ reading achievement scores

Breaking the Sound Barrier to Fluent Reading: an Evaluation of a Middle School Reading Intervention

The failure to read efficiently accounts for nearly 80% of the children who meet the criteria for a specific learning disability in America. Moreover, many of those children do not receive instruction that is sufficient to improve their reading achievement to within the average range. The current study examines the Breaking the “Sound” Barrier to Fluent Reading program by comparing pretest and posttest scores on individually administered and group statewide tests of reading achievement. The impact of IQ on progress is evaluated and discussed. Students’levels of reading proficiency preintervention and postintervention, as determined by the criteria set forth by the state of Pennsylvania and measured by the Pennsylvania State System of Assessment, are also evaluated and discussed. Findings are framed within a Response-to-intervention (RTI) model and recommendations are provided for implementation within a three-tiered system of service delivery

Research Synthesis: Effective Practices for Improving the Reading Comprehension of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The incidences of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continue to rise steadily increasing the need for research-based strategies to support this population in the core academic content area of reading comprehension. A research synthesis was conducted with the purpose of (1) reviewing existing research to determine effective practices for teaching reading comprehension to students with ASD, (2) identifying the features of effective practices that appear to influence comprehension outcomes, and (3) assessing the quality of the research related to comprehension strategies and students with ASD. A functional relation was identified between the increased reading comprehension of students with ASD and each of the instructional practices of anaphoric cueing, compare & contrast charts, cooperative learning, explicit/direct instruction, graphic organizers, question generation, read-alouds, reciprocal questioning, story structure and character event maps, and systematic prompts. Research in this area is limited and suggestions for both educators and researchers are provided

Direct instruction in blending and segmenting phonemes

The purpose of this study was to examine how third grade special education students\u27 reading abilities were affected after receiving direct instruction in phoneme segmentation and blending. During the study students spent an average of two weeks practicing segmenting phonemes and another two weeks blending phonemes utilizing various activities. The last weeks of the study focused on applying the skills into actual reading situations. The study showed benefits in various areas including the utilization of manipulatives in relation to phonemes. Students were also positively impacted directly after receiving the direction instruction and practice activities, as there was an increase in abilities after each section of instruction. When asked to utilize all skills together, students often needed teacher prompting to enact those skills in context. Overall, the study was looking at how well older students benefited from direct instruction in foundational skills. The results found there to be benefits even to older students