SCIENCE-BASED ADVANCES IN THE SOCIAL DOMAIN OF LEARNING DISABILITIES

"I love to make them laugh because I can see that they are not only enjoying the lessons but also taking a role in them." (Christina Webb, winner of the 2005 Rodel Teacher Initiative, as cited in Young, 2004) Over the past 20 years, teachers have been under continuous pressure to increase students' academic achievement gains. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the latest effort in the 20+-year-old school reform movement, is a federal mandate that demands in part that school districts implement science-based instructional strategies to ensure that children meet the standards set forth in content curricula. Science-based interventions in the social domain are notably absent. This omission is unfortunate. Children's social status significantly impacts their participation in the reciprocal teaching-learning process. Many horror stories have detailed the adverse outcomes of ignoring the school's social milieu, from the tragedy at Columbine High School to the many students with learning disabilities who spend their school years depressed and lonely (cf., Margalit & Al-Yagon, 1994). Although schools define their mission and are evaluated based on students' academic achievement, the reality is that the mental and social health of classrooms impacts everyone's learning. This should not be the case, for multiple reasons. First, a comprehensive systematic body of research, established under the auspices of the Chicago Institute for Children with Learning Disabilities and replicated numerous times, demonstrated that children with learning disabilities are at high risk for experiencing social problems. This research established the need for educators to factor social relationships into curriculum and instruction design. Second, an impressive body of science also has accumulated, demonstrating that effective social interventions combine teaching adaptive social behaviors with effective teaching strategies. This combination produces greater learning gains than effective teaching strategies alone (cf., Borkowski, 1992; Schunk, 1984). First grade-teacher Christina Webb integrated several of these strategies (e.g., induced positive affect, feedback and contingent praise) into her daily routines. Unfortunately, the newspaper profile fails to mention the science that supports her strategies. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM IN LEARNING DISABILITIES The research we did at the Chicago Institute for Learning Disabilities produced consistent results detailing the types of social skills problems that students with learning disabilities were likely to experience (cf., Bryan & Bryan, 1983; Donahue, Pearl, & Bryan, 1983). Our efforts, replicated by other researchers across the past 30+ years, established time and again that students with learning disabilities are at risk for social problems across age (preschool through adulthood), race, settings (rural-urban), raters (parents, teachers, peers, self), and countries (United States, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa). Estimates consistently indicate that 38%-75% of the 2,800,000 students with learning disabilities in the United States have social problems (Baum, Duffelmeyer, & Greenlan, 2001; Kavale & Forness, 1995). Nonetheless, children's social skills and relationships receive a low priority among teachers and school districts. The social skills that teachers rate as essential for school success are compliance behaviors that affect classroom management (Kerr & Zigmond, 1986; Lane, Pierson, & Givner, 2004). What is important is that the child follows directions, cooperates with peers, and has self-control; that is, does what the teacher wants when she wants it, without disturbing anyone else. Although teachers may endorse strategies that promote cooperative learning and motivation, teachers do not use the motivating strategies they endorse. Pressure to increase standardized test scores increases teachers' reluctance to spend time on activities that are not tested by mandated standardized achievement tests. …