Computer-Based Education for Learning Disabled Students: Teachers' Perceptions and Behaviors

A naturalistic study investigated the interactions among instructional elements of commercial courseware and learning disabled students and their teachers who used the material. Over a time span of 2 academic years, 62 students aged 9 to 18 and 7 teachers from five subject matter areas were observed and interviewed in regard to their day-to-day uses of 26 courseware packages. Findings reported in this article relate to teachers' strategies for introducing, augmenting, and integrating computer-based education (CBE) into ongoing instructional arrangements. Use of such interventions as amplifying directions, focusing students' attention, supplementing feedback, and teaching from the screen peaked during the introduction of new courseware and the provision of feedback and reinforcement. Integration strategies were neither elaborate nor systematically employed. Implications are noted for improving both courseware design and staff training in order to enhance the quality of students' and teachers' uses of commercial courseware.