Using graphic organizers on ipads to teach reading comprehension skills to high school students with moderate and severe cognitive impairments

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of using graphic organizers (GOs) to improve reading comprehension skills of five high school students with moderate to severe cognitive impairments. The baseline took place during first two weeks of the study, and the students were not provided with any GOs during this phase. The first intervention took place during the next three weeks, and the students were provided with traditional paper GOs during this phase. The second intervention took place during the final three weeks, and the students were provided with the GOs on the iPad during this phase. Average quiz scores were highest for three of the five participants after using the digital GOs, while the other two students performed best after using the paper GOs. Although individual student performance was somewhat inconsistent, the overall results support the use of digital GOs as a successful strategy for improving the reading comprehension skills of students with cognitive impairments