Prescriptive Teaching in a Summer Learning Disabilities Program

Abstract

The prevention and treatment of chronic failure has been a serious problem since the beginning of the American educational system. The intent of this study was to examine the academic achievement and changes in behavior related to a specified kind of curriculum during a six-week summer program. A unisensory perceptual training curriculum was selected in order to utilize the child's strongest perceptual area at the beginning of training, while weaker perceptual areas were avoided initially. Emphasis was on utilizing language cues as a compensatory behavior to strengthen perceptual deficits. The program was designed to alter the “learning sets“ and to modify the behaviors of children with learning disability manifested in chronic failure.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Balow, B. : The long term effect of remedial reading instruction. Reading Teacher, 1965, 18, 581–586.

Drew, C.J. , and Espeseth, V.K. : Transfer of training in the mentally retarded: a review. Exceptional Child. 1968, 35, 129–131.

Frostig, M. , and Horne, D. : The Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception. Chicago: Follett, 1964.

Frostig, M. , Lefever, D.W. , and Whittlesey, J.R.B. : A developmental test of visual perception for evaluating normal and neurologically handicapped children. Perceptual Motor Skills, 1961, 12, 383–389.

Piaget, J. : The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: Internat. Univ. Press, 1952.

Sabatino, D.A. : Identifying neurologically impaired children through a test of auditory perception. J. Consulting and Clin. Psychology, (accepted for publication).

Sabatino, D.A ., and Hayden, D.L. : The information processing behaviors and teacher judgments associated with school failure. J. Educ. Psychology, (accepted for publication).

Stark, J. : Teaching the aphasic child. Exceptional Child. 1968, 35, 149–154.

Stolurow, L.M. , and Davis, D.J. : Teaching machines and computer-based systems, in N. R. Glaser , (Ed.), Teaching Machines and Programmed Learning. Vol II: Data and Direction, Washington, D.C.: Nat. Education Assn., 1965, 162–212.