Poster #14 - From Process to Product: Fostering the Literacy of Students With Intellectual Disabilities Through Reciprocal Teaching

• In Event: 64.090 - MTCC Poster Session 15
  In Poster Session: 64.090-2 - Reading, Literacy, and Language Supports for All

Abstract

Reading instruction delivered to students with intellectual disabilities includes little focus on reading for meaning. The goal of this study is to examine the efficacy of Reciprocal Teaching in enhancing acquisition of reading comprehension strategies of students with intellectual disabilities using quantitative and qualitative measures. This study compares 20 students exposed to reciprocal teaching with 20 students exposed to traditional methods of literacy instruction. Results indicate that reciprocal teaching is an effective method of fostering literacy of students with intellectual disabilities. These findings challenge the common perception that literacy is an organic impossibility for people with intellectual disabilities. Moreover, the results add to recent research in sociocognitive instruction that supports the need to modify prevailing methods of reading instruction.

Author

• Miriam Alfassi, Bar-Ilan University