Vocabulary Instruction for Secondary Students With Reading Disabilities: An Updated Research Review

This article presents an update and extension of the research on instructional methods for vocabulary learning by secondary-age students with learning disabilities. Seven studies that have been published since the last comprehensive review of the research were located. Four instructional methods were found to be the most effective: mnemonic instruction, learning strategies that utilized morphemic analysis, direct instruction, and multimedia instruction. In addition, peer-mediated instruction was found to be a successful approach for supporting vocabulary learning, although it was not possible to separate the effects of peer mediation from the instructional methods used. Implications for classroom practice and for future research are discussed.

[1]  J. Levin,et al.  Mnemonic Vocabulary Instruction for Learning Disabled Students , 1985 .

[2]  C. Bos,et al.  Effects of Interactive Vocabulary Instruction on the Vocabulary Learning and Reading Comprehension of Junior-High Learning Disabled Students , 1990 .

[3]  Jeffrey P. Bakken,et al.  Reading Versus Doing: The Relative Effects of Textbook-Based and Inquiry-Oriented Approaches to Science Learning in Special Education Classrooms , 1993 .

[4]  Sharon Vaughn,et al.  Collaborative Strategic Reading as a Means to Enhance Peer-Mediated Instruction for Reading Comprehension and Content-Area Learning , 2001 .

[5]  Thomas E. Scruggs,et al.  How to Summarize Single-Participant Research: Ideas and Applications , 2001, The Meta-Analysis Research in Special Education.

[6]  Diane Pedrotty Bryant,et al.  Vocabulary Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Review of the Research , 2003 .

[7]  Patricia F. Vadasy,et al.  How Cooperative Learning Works for Special Education and Remedial Students , 2003 .

[8]  C. Snow,et al.  Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy , 2004 .

[9]  Asha K. Jitendra,et al.  What Research Says about Vocabulary Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities , 2004 .

[10]  SAT Vocabulary Instruction for High School Students with Learning Disabilities , 2004 .

[11]  L. Fredrick,et al.  Teaching Vocabulary with Students with Learning Disabilities Using Classwide Peer Tutoring and Constant Time Delay , 2006 .

[12]  S. Vaughn,et al.  Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta-Analysis with Implications for Practice. , 2007 .

[13]  Debi Gartland Adolescent Literacy and Older Students with Learning Disabilities , 2008 .

[14]  Carolyn A. Denton,et al.  A Root Awakening: Vocabulary Instruction for Older Students with Reading Difficulties , 2008 .

[15]  Donald L. Compton,et al.  The Impact of Vocabulary Instruction on Passage-Level Comprehension of School-Age Children: A Meta-Analysis , 2009 .

[16]  Michael J. Kieffer,et al.  The Effectiveness and Ease of Implementation of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Linguistically Diverse Students in Urban Middle Schools , 2010 .

[17]  Nathern S. A. Okilwa,et al.  The Effects of Peer Tutoring on Academic Performance of Students With Disabilities in Grades 6 Through 12: A Synthesis of the Literature , 2010 .

[18]  Donald D. Deshler,et al.  The Effects of Strategic Morphological Analysis Instruction on the Vocabulary Performance of Secondary Students with and without Disabilities , 2011 .

[19]  Michael Hazelkorn,et al.  Science Vocabulary for All. , 2011 .

[20]  C. Espin,et al.  Improving Reading of Science Text for Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities , 2012 .

[21]  Audrey J. Leroux,et al.  Reading Comprehension Interventions for Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities , 2011, Journal of learning disabilities.

[22]  John Wills Lloyd,et al.  Using Evidence-Based Multimedia to Improve Vocabulary Performance of Adolescents With LD , 2014 .

[23]  M. Calhoon,et al.  Improving Science Vocabulary of High School English Language Learners With Reading Disabilities , 2015 .

[24]  Donald D. Deshler,et al.  Effects of Multimedia Vocabulary Instruction on Adolescents With Learning Disabilities , 2015, Journal of learning disabilities.