title: Improving the Historical Knowledge and Writing of Students With or At Risk for LD.
abstract: In this study, we explored the potential of two forms of discussion (disciplinary vs. traditional) for 39 sixth- and seventh-grade students with or at risk for learning disabilities (LD), before writing historical arguments. Nine teachers who led small group discussions in six heterogeneous social studies classrooms implemented the intervention. Students who were involved in disciplinary discussions ( n = 19) scored statistically higher than their peers who engaged in traditional discussions ( n = 20) on a measure of historical knowledge (partial η2= .23); they also wrote essays with better persuasive quality (partial η2= .43) and greater evidence of historical thinking (partial η2= .40). A delayed posttest delivered 8 weeks after instruction ended revealed that students in the experimental condition continued to write in more historically sophisticated ways than did students in the comparison condition (partial η2= .19). Challenges, however, remain for struggling learners who must now meet basic and advanced disciplinary literacy goals.
authors.affiliation: 1 Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De La Paz
authors.affiliation: 2 Communication Disorders, Special Education, and Disability Services, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Wissinger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000381:Agraphia / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D004410:Dyslexia / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004519:Education, Special / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006664:History; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D013334:Students; D014956:Writing
keywords: discussion; historical writing; students with and at risk for LD