Preparing Students with Learning Disabilities for Careers in Math and Science by Achieving Curriculum Standards

目标：该项目的目标包括缩小学习障碍学生与非学习障碍学生在数学方面的成绩差距；加强教育专业人士在数学方面的准备，以便进入专上院校修读数学、科学、工程和技术方面的课程和学位；以及在全国范围内以课程和在线教程的形式传播教学资源，这些资源与课程标准相一致，已被验证可以提高学习障碍学生的成绩。该提案建立在一个主要的内部资助项目的基础上，该项目被称为“混合评估与教学计划”（BAIP），该计划由两种经过验证的干预措施组成，一种是教师在教学中使用的课程，另一种是学习障碍学生独立使用的在线教程。这两种干预措施都符合数学课程标准。该研究计划旨在调查课程和教程对数学LD学生成绩的影响。研究的意义和智力价值：国家教育成果中心在2004年报道，不仅LD学生的表现低于全国所有学生，而且随着学生年龄的增长，差距实际上越来越大（Thurlow &Wiley, 2004）。研究发现，患有LD的学生在数学课程中的表现通常比预期低两到四个年级（Parmar & Cawley, 1997）。许多LD学生在与州标准相关的评估中表现不佳（Thurlow, Albus,Spicuzza, &; Thompson, 1998）。瑟罗等人确定，只有34%的残疾学生通过了国家基本数学技能测试，而非残疾学生的这一比例为83%。这是一个严重的问题，因为LD学生的标准越来越高，需要更高水平的数学和推理技能来满足高中及以后的要求。在不到20年的时间里，每四份工作中就有一份需要技术技能（Tarlin, 1997，引自inJarrett， 1998），而且许多职业需要扎实的数学基础。如果学生在早期没有体验过基于标准的课程，他们将在通过NCLB要求的基于标准的评估时处于不利地位。只关注高等教育干预措施，以增加数学、科学和技术职业中学习障碍人士的存在，未能认识到研究表明，学习障碍人士在数学、科学和技术领域的代表性不足。研究策略：我们建议研究BAIP在将地方课程与国家课程标准和州范围内的评估相结合方面的效果，作为提高LD学生表现的模型。课程和教程是根据NCLB为3,4,5,6,7,8和10年级开发的。计划采用两种不同的实证方法。首先，课程测试将直接与内容挂钩。这些测试将进行试点，以确保其有效性和可靠性。一旦质量测试可用，将在针对目标学生的课程使用之前和之后进行管理。在这个“实验组”测试的同时，我们将用相同的方法对其他具有可比性的学生进行前后测试。由于缺乏干预的随机化，我们将无法控制组等效性，并且考虑到前后测试措施将不相等，协方差分析程序将用于控制“课前”教学组差异。这种方法将在学校内使用，随着参与者数量的增加，将依靠分层线性模型进行更稳健的实证研究。因此，在六个月内，我们将准实验性地研究课程对学习的影响。最后，学生项目得分结果将进行描述性评估，以指导我们进行所需的课程更改。将对经历(a)教师授课、(b)辅导课、(c)辅导课和(d)与残疾和非残疾同龄人一起学习的残疾学生进行比较。建议研究的更广泛影响：绝大多数有学习障碍的学生在通识教育课堂上接受数学指导。因此，该项目有可能使所有教师受益，最终使所有学生受益。

Objectives: The objectives for this project include reducing the achievement gap between theperformance of students with learning disabilities and their non-disabled peers in math;enhancing the math preparation of individuals with LD to enter postsecondary institutions topursue programs and degrees in math, science, engineering, and technology; and the nationaldissemination of instructional resources in the form of lessons and online tutorials aligned withcurriculum standards that have been validated to improve the achievement of students with LD .This proposal builds from a major internally funded project identified as the BlendingAssessment with Instruction Program (BAIP) that is comprised of two validated interventions inthe form of lessons for teachers to employ in their instruction and online tutorials forindependent use by students with LD. Both interventions are aligned with curriculum standardsin math. The research initiative is designed to investigate the effects of the lessons and thetutorials on the achievement of students with LD in math.Significance and Intellectual Merit of Research: National Center for Educational Outcomesreported in 2004 that not only were students with LD performing below all students across thecountry, but also that the gap actually grew significantly larger as students got older (Thurlow &Wiley, 2004). Research has found that students with LD typically function two to four gradesbelow expectancy across the mathematics curriculum (Parmar & Cawley, 1997). Many studentswith LD perform poorly on assessments that are tied to state standards (Thurlow, Albus,Spicuzza, & Thompson, 1998). Thurlow et al determined that only 34% of students with LDpassed a state test on basic math skills, versus 83% of their non-disabled peers. This is ofserious concern given that students with LD are held to increasingly higher standards and willneed higher-level math and reasoning skills to meet the demands of high school and beyond. Inless than 20 years, one in every four jobs will require technical skills (Tarlin, 1997, as cited inJarrett, 1998), and many careers require a strong basis in math. If students do not experience astandards-based curriculum at an early age, they will be disadvantaged when being assessedvia a standards-based assessment as required by NCLB. To focus only on postsecondaryinterventions to increase the presence of persons with LD in math, science and technologycareers fails to recognize what research demonstrates as the contributor to the underrepresentationof persons with LD in the math, science and technology fields.Research Strategy: We propose to research the effects of BAIP in aligning local curricula withnational curriculum standards and statewide assessments as a model for improving the performance of students with LD. The lessons and tutorials are developed for grades 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, and 10 in compliance with NCLB. Two distinct empirical approaches are planned. First,lesson tests will be directly tied to content. These tests will be piloted to assure their validity andreliability. Once quality tests are available, they will be administered prior to and followinglesson use with targeted students. In concurrence with this "experimental group" testing, we willpre and post test other comparable students with the same measures. As we will not be able tocontrol for group equivalence due to the absence of randomization to intervention, and alsoconsidering that the pre and post test measures will not be equivalent, analysis of covarianceprocedures will be used to control "pre-lesson" instructional group differences. This method willbe used within schools and as numbers of participants increase will carry out more robustempirical studies relying on hierarchical linear modeling. Thus in six months we will quasiexperimentallyresearch the impact on learning of the lessons. Finally, student item scoreresults will be evaluated descriptively to guide us regarding needed lesson changes.Comparisons will be made across students with LD who experience (a) the lessons taught byteachers, (b) tutorials, (c) lessons and (d) tutorials with disability and non-disabled peers.Broader Implications of Proposed Research: The vast majority of students with LD receivetheir math instruction in the general education classroom. Thus, the project has the potential tobenefit all teachers and, ultimately, all students.