Secondary-Level Content By Studetns With Mild Disabilities

Effects of Audio Texts on the Acquisition of Secondary-Level Content By

Students with Mild Disabilities

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ñ"Ю Problem StatementÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK3

Ñ"Ю BackgroundÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK.4

Ñ"Ю Variable DefinitionsÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK4

Ñ"Ю Level of MeasurementÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK..6

Ñ"Ю Research of DesignÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK...7

Ñ"Ю Data CollectionÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK...8

Ñ"Ю Research QuestionsÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK.....9

Ñ"Ю Statistical MethodsÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK..10

Ñ"Ю ResultsÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK..11

Ñ"Ю RecommendationsÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK..12

Ñ"Ю EthicsÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK.13

Ñ"Ю ConclusionÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK14

Ñ"Ю ReferencesÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽKÐŽK15

Problem Statement

Research regarding the relationship among students with cognitive disorders, educational learning, and various learning techniques can be helpful in discovering ways to assist such students in educational advancement. This study investigates how the learning process of middle - to- high-school-aged students with a cognitive disorder can be influenced by the use of alternative instructional methods. It is believed that assistive technology will allow the students to develop academically as opposed to the traditional classroom setting. Reasons for this hypothesis could include that persons with a cognitive disability have major limitations in regards to learning adaptive skills (ÐŽ§Cognitive Disabilities,ЎЁ 2002), the general education curriculum is not designed for students with such disabilities, and the teaching material is considered high-level for the underdeveloped students. The findings, analysis, and recommendations of the study are discussed below.

Effects of Audio Texts on the Acquisition of Secondary-Level Content By

Students with Mild Disabilities

Cognitive disability is a disorder that limits one from being able to properly identify, understand, and respond to information. In the age range of 3 to 18, there are 30,000 people that have cognitive disabilities (ÐŽ§Cognitive Disabilities,ЎЁ 2002). These individuals are, many times, not separated in the educational system from students without cognitive disabilities. Students with the disability are learning material at a much slower pace, if they are learning at all. This is a growing concern as illustrated by the words of Dr. Brian Friedlander (2005): ÐŽ§...the trend is certainly shifting and today more than ever, students with high incidence disabilities are being educated in the mainstreamÐŽKteachers are now faced with educating all of our children in the mainstream classroomÐŽKЎЁ With such disability, the process of learning textbook material can be deemed difficult, tedious, and possibly unsuccessful.

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) is a nonprofit volunteer organization that is the nation's educational library serving people who cannot effectively read standard print because of visual impairment, dyslexia or other physical disability. Their mission is to create opportunities for individual success by providing, and promoting the effective use of accessible educational materials. Their vision is for all people to have equal access to the printed word. This paper is based upon a study conducted by this organization in effort to determine how helpful audio texts are in regards to students with disorders learning educational material.

Variable Definitions

Independent Variables

Independent Variables (IV) are variables that can vary or be manipulated by the experimenter. These variables are controllable and are considered the presumed cause. Dependent Variables (DV) are measured variables that should be passively observed by the experimenter for variation as a presumed result of the variation in the independent variable. Dependent Variables are considered the presumed effect.

In the Johns Hopkins study on the affects of audio texts on the acquisition of secondary-level content by students with mild disabilities, the independent and dependent variables are as follows:

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

Assignment to conditions Cumulative content acquisition

Classroom instruction and materials Short-term quizzes

Experimental procedures

Assignment to conditions

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions:

1) Audio/SLiCK group

2) Audio only

3) Control group

Group One received instruction while using audio books, Group Two received recorded text only,