| Abstract: | Instructional components that positively influence performance of adolescents are identified based on a comprehensive meta‐analysis of intervention studies for students with learning disabilities. Explicit practice and advanced organization are basic instructional components in a number of successful intervention programs. The purpose of this article is to identify the components of various instructional models that best predicted effect sizes for adolescents with learning disabilities. Three important findings emerged. First, 8 instructional factors (Questioning, Sequencing and Segmentation, Explicit Skill Modeling, Organization and Explicit Practice, Small‐Group Setting, Indirect‐Teacher Activities (e.g., homework), Technology, and Scaffolding) captured the majority of intervention programs for adolescents with LD. Second, only the organization/explicit factor contributed significant variance (16%) to effect size. This factor included only 2 instructional components: advanced organization and explicit practice. Finally, the single most important instructional component related to high effect sizes was explicit practice (treatment activities related to distributed review and practice, repeated practice, sequenced reviews, daily feedback, and/or weekly reviews). |
