Reading Comprehension of Expository Science Material and Students With Learning Disabilities: A Comparison of Strategies

This study compared the effects of comprehension-fostering strategies on science and social studies texts with 54 eighth-grade students with learning disabilities who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) text-structure-based strategy, (b) paragraph restatement strategy, or (c) traditional instruction. In the text-structure-based condition, students were taught to identify three types of passages (main idea, list, and order) and to apply passage-type specific reading strategies. In the paragraph restatement condition, students were taught to apply a paragraph restatement strategy to all three types of passages. In the traditional instruction condition, students were taught to read passages, answer comprehension questions, and review responses. After instruction, students read and studied unfamiliar science and social studies passages and were given immediate, delayed, and transfer tests. Results indicated that text-structure-based reading strategies had a singnificant effect on (a) recall of central and incidental information over traditional instruction on immediate, delayed, and transfer tests; and (b) recall of central, but not incidental, information over the paragraph restatement strategy on all measures. Moreover, the paragraph restatement condition statistically outperformed the traditional instruction condition on all measures. Regardless of instructional condition, all students reported that the strategies were beneficial and that others should learn these strategies. Findings indicate that eighth-grade students with learning disabilities can learn, apply, and transfer complex text-structure-based strategies.