The Methodological Content of Teacher Education Programs in Learning Disabilities: Clearly Specialized and Impressively Current — Another View of Pugach and Whitten's Survey Results

Abstract

Conclusion: We believe the field owes Pugach and Whitten a debt of gratitude for conducting their survey of methodological content in teacher preparation programs in LD/mild handicaps. The field can only benefit from further research of this type. In addition to determining course content, future research should also ask the more difficult questions: Are preparation programs in LD/mild handicaps effective in training preservice special educators to apply the instructional approaches they emphasize (whatever they may be called)? Can learning disabilities professionals play a useful role in getting regular educators to replicate the application of research-based instructional strategies to prevent so many children from failing in the first place?

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Becker

W.C.

(1977). Teaching reading and language to the disadvantaged — what we have learned from field research. Harvard Educational Review, 47, 518–543.

Brophy

J.E.

Good

T.L.

(1986). Teacher behavior and student achievement. In Wittrock

M.C.

(Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 328–375). New York: Macmillan.)

Cooke

N.L.

(1984). Misrepresentations of the behavioral model in preservice teacher education textbooks. In Heward

W.L.

Heron

T.E.

Hill

D.S.

Trap-Porter

(Eds.), Focus on behavior analysis in education (pp. 197–217). Columbus, OH: Merrill.)

Engelmann

Carnine

D.W.

(1982). Theory of instruction. New York: Irvington.

Pugach

Whitten

M.E.

(1987). The methodological content of teacher education programs in learning disabilities: A problem of duplication. Learning Disability Quarterly, 10 (4) 291–300.

Rosenshine

Stevens

(1986). Teaching functions. In Wittrock

M.C.

(Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 376–391). New York: Macmillan.)

Todd

J.T.

Morris

E.K.

(1983). Misconception and miseducation: Presentations of radical behaviorism in psychology textbooks. The Behavior Analyst, 6, 153–160.

Wittrock

M.C.

(Ed.). (1986). Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.)