ABSTRACT
In this article we consider issues relevant to the future of mathematics instruction and achievement for students with learning disabilities. The starting point for envisioning the future is the changing standards for mathematics learning and basic mathematical literacy. We argue that the shift from behaviorist learning theories to constructivist and social constructivist theories (see Rivera, this series) provides an opportunity to develop and implement a hybrid model of mathematics instruction. The hybrid model we propose embeds, or situates, important skill learning in meaningful contexts. We discuss some examples of instructional approaches to complex mathematical problem solving that make use of meaningful contexts. Evaluation data on these approaches have yielded positive and encouraging results for students with learning disabilities as well as general education students. Finally, we discuss various ways in which technology is important for realizing hybrid instructional models in mathematics.
Subject(s)
Achievement , Education, Special , Educational Status , Learning Disabilities/therapy , Mathematics , Adolescent , Child , Concept Formation , Curriculum , Humans , Learning Disabilities/diagnosis , Problem SolvingABSTRACT
The relationship between energy intake, physical activity, and body fat was investigated in the baseline visit of 2379 black and white girls aged 9-10 y enrolled in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. Three-day food records, three-day physical activity diaries, physical-activity-patterns questionnaires, and an assessment of the number of hours of television and video watched were obtained. Multivariate-regression analyses showed that age, the number of hours of television and video watched, the percent of energy from saturated fatty acids, and the activity-patterns score best explained the variation in body mass index and sum of three skin-fold-thickness measurements for black girls. The best model for white girls included age, the number of hours of television and video watched, and the percent of energy from total fat. These results indicate that body fatness is related to energy intake and expenditure in both black and white girls. Longitudinal studies will help assess the value of these variables in predicting changes in body fat.
Subject(s)
Body Composition , Energy Intake , Leisure Activities , Obesity/ethnology , Physical Exertion , Black People , Body Mass Index , Child , Cohort Studies , Diet Records , Dietary Fats/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , National Institutes of Health (U.S.) , Skinfold Thickness , Socioeconomic Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires , Television , United States , White PeopleSubject(s)
Child, Exceptional/education , Language , Writing , Child , Cognition , Humans , Interpersonal Relations , Problem SolvingSubject(s)
Computers , Education, Special , Learning Disabilities/therapy , Microcomputers , Child , Humans , SoftwareSubject(s)
Attention , Learning Disabilities/psychology , Mathematics , Problem Solving , Child , HumansABSTRACT
Exploratory multidimensional scaling and confirmatory nonparametric procedures (Hubert and Levin, 1976) were used to represent data from similarity rating and sorting tasks performed on nine animal names. Confirmatory procedures demonstrated that the organization of the data from the two tasks was similar. Analyses of data from sorting tasks performed after reading two stories with the nine animals as main characters (Bisanz, LaParte, Vesonder, and Voss, 1978) suggested a change from pre-reading organization that was similar to the organization of the characters intended by the authors in one of the two stories. One of the two dimensions used to write the second story appeared not to be salient to the readers.
