Interactive Reading Instruction: A Comparison of Proximal and Distal Effects of Instructional Conversations

This study examined the effects of an interactive approach, instructional conversations (IC), on the language and concept development of Hispanic students with learning disabilities. This study compared traditional instruction (basal approach) with instructional conversations. Results of proximal measures indicated higher levels of discourse and greater participation with IC than with a basal approach. The distal indexes yielded uneven results: evidence of greater understanding of the concept following IC but no differences in literal comprehension or postlesson narrative results. The overall results suggest that IC may provide linguistically rich learning opportunities for culturally diverse students with learning disabilities.