Public education: The next generation |
| |
| Abstract: | Abstract Keith Stanovich (1986) uses a biblical allusion the “Matthew Effect”; when discussing the acquisition of reading Stanovich (1986) claimed that in the acquisition of reading, as with the acquisition of what are deemed to be many of life's prizes, the mote one has, the more one gets This is often expressed as the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer In essence, when a student has demonstrated high skills within an area, they are encouraged to increase this ability with extra practice, resulting in even higher standards. The characteristics of the Gifted and Learning Disabled (GLD) student generally mean that the student will display subject‐specific weaknesses, subject‐specific strengths and often have poor organisational skills. Some GLD students may display academic weakness across the curriculum and demonstrate their ability with higher order thinking skills purely orally! Gifted students without a specific learning disability do not display such extremes in their academic endeavors. Thus, the “Matthew Effect”; when applied (in reverse) to the GLD student means that where a student has an underlying academic weakness, enjoyment of that subject is decreased, practice is limited, and standards are not raised to a level commensurate with intellectual potential. That is in the case of many GLD students, the poor get poorer (obviously, this would depend upon the level of specific learning disability, as some students are barely affected at all). Inevitably, success in school subjects links directly to motivation, perceptions of self‐ efficacy and self‐image. It should be no surprise that successful students are motivated, have high expectations of self‐efficacy, and good self image. Successful students would have positive affective characteristics, and thus, unsuccessful students would have the reverse. It is important to define what is meant by assistive technology, as it could be argued that a rubber pencil grip or even a ruler might be considered assistive technology (Bryant &; Bryant: 1998, Bryant, Erin, Lock, Allan &; Resta: 1998; Lewis: 1998). Raskind and Higgins (1998:27) supply the following definition of assistive technology as “any technology that enables an individual with LD to compensate for specific deficits.”; Lewis (1998: 16) says that it is “any technology with the potential to enhance the performance of persons with disabilities”;. Lewis (1998) continues by saying that the purpose of assistive technology is firstly, to build on one's strengths, counterbalancing any weaknesses, and secondly, to provide alternative ways of performing a task. Indeed, Lewis (1998 17) likens assistive technology to a “cognitive prosthesis”;. The focus of this article will be on electronic assistive technology, with an emphasis on software programs suitable for use by middle and upper secondary gifted and learning disabled students. Thus, access and accommodation are key words. The ability of a student to access required programs and differentiation by accommodation are vital issues at the heart of electronic assistive technology. A definition of Gifted and Learning Disabled would (loosely) be, any gifted student who also has a specific learning disability. Students such as these will display elements of giftedness and elements of a specific learning disability Emphasis will be on the development of academic strengths, not on remediation of academic weaknesses. It is not the intention of this article to review interactive software programs which supply remedial work for phonics awareness, language, mathematical or reading difficulties. Reviews of such programs are available through subject‐interest journals or software suppliers. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
