Papers by Rollanda O'Connor
An intervention using morphology to derive word meanings for English language learners
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
Special Education Teachers Integrating Reading with Eighth Grade U.S. History Content
Learning Disabilities Research & Practice
Exceptional Children
This study was designed to test the effects of activity-based phonological instruction delivered ... more This study was designed to test the effects of activity-based phonological instruction delivered by five classroom teachers on the phonological skill development and reading and writing outcomes of kindergarten children with ( n = 31) and without ( n = 57) disabilities, and children repeating kindergarten ( n = 19) placed in general and self-contained classes. Teachers in the treatment received 10 inservice training sessions spaced over the school year and implemented from 100 to 281 activities during the 6-month intervention. Outcomes for treated children were compared with children matched for type (general or repeating kindergartners, or children with mild disabilities) in classrooms using the same background prereading curriculum. Results suggest that intervention delivered by nonresearch personnel can be an effective way to improve the literacy outcomes of children with a broad range of ability.
Accommodations for Individual Differences without Classroom Ability Groups: An Experiment in School Restructuring
Exceptional Children, 1994
This study examined an alternative approach for organizing reading and language arts instruction ... more This study examined an alternative approach for organizing reading and language arts instruction to accommodate individual differences in reading ability. The approach featured Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC), conducted without ability groups, with cross-age and peer tutoring, supplementary phonics instruction for some students, and classroom-based instruction from compensatory and special education teachers. Students in regular, remedial, and special education were included in an experimental and a control school. We found significant effects on reading vocabulary, total reading, and language scores in favor of the experimental school; but on several other measures, including behavior ratings, we did not detect treatment effects.
Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 2015
Tier 3 interventions are necessary for students who fail to respond adequately to Tier 1 general ... more Tier 3 interventions are necessary for students who fail to respond adequately to Tier 1 general education instruction and Tier 2 supplemental reading intervention instruction. We identified 8 students in 3 rd and 4 th grade who had demonstrated a slow response to Tier 2 reading interventions for three years. Students participated in a researcher-developed Tier 3 intervention for 8 weeks that focused on skill development in word analysis, word identification, and reading rate. Prior to Tier 3, students were making minimal growth in reading; however, during Tier 3, the 8 students demonstrated strong growth on measures of word identification and reading rate.
First-grade effects of teacher-led phonological activities in kindergarten for children with mild disabilities: A follow-up study
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice
... activities in kindergarten for children with mild disabilities: A follow-up study. O'Con... more ... activities in kindergarten for children with mild disabilities: A follow-up study. O'Connor, Rollanda E.; Notari-Syverson, Angela; Vadasy, Patricia. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, Vol 13(1), Win 1998, 43-52. Abstract. ...
Issues in assessment for intervention in implementation of responsiveness to intervention models
Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities, 2011
ABSTRACT
Two approaches to reading instruction with children with disabilities: does program design make a difference?
Exceptional children, 1993
This study examined the effects on reading achievement of variation in program design and tested ... more This study examined the effects on reading achievement of variation in program design and tested the hypothesis this Distar Reading Mastery's (Engelmann & Bruner, 1988b) demonstrated effects with disadvantaged children in Project Follow Through can be generalized to children with disabilities. We compared the effects of two synthetic phonics reading programs, Direct Instruction (DI) Reading Mastery I and II and Addison Wesley's Meet the Superkids and The Superkids' Club, (Rowland, 1982a, 1982b) for 81 children in transitional kindergarten special education classes. No significant achievement differences were evident for the instructional program either at the end of the treatment year, or on follow-up testing 1 year later. However, among children who made advanced progress, the DI group showed larger reading gains.
Teaching phonological awareness to young children with learning disabilities
Exceptional children, 1993
This study examined the feasibility of teaching phonological manipulation skills to preschool chi... more This study examined the feasibility of teaching phonological manipulation skills to preschool children with disabilities. Forty-seven children, 4-6 years old, enrolled in a special education preschool, were randomly assigned to receive training in one of three categories of phonological tasks (rhyming, blending, and segmenting) or a control group. Results indicated that children were able to make significant progress in each experimental category, but that they demonstrated little or no generalization either within a category (e.g., from one type of blending task to another type of blending task) or between categories (e.g., from blending to segmenting). Although the children's level of cognitive development significantly predicted some learning outcomes, it did not appear to limit the learning of phonological tasks.
We can all agree that reading is one of the principal tools for understanding our humanity, for m... more We can all agree that reading is one of the principal tools for understanding our humanity, for making sense of our world, for advancing the democratic ideal, and for generating personal and national prosperity. We can agree that ability to read allows us to achieve three important goals: building knowledge (e.g., learning about the physical world); acquiring information for accomplishing
Dynamic Strategic Math Assessment Probe
PsycTESTS Dataset, 2000
Poor Responders in RTI
Theory Into Practice, 2010
States and districts have been encouraged to consider responsiveness to scientifically based inst... more States and districts have been encouraged to consider responsiveness to scientifically based instruction and intervention (RTI) as one of many markers of eligibility for special education under the category of learning disabilities. In this article, the authors describe variations in determining responsiveness, and cultural and linguistic characteristics of poor responders. They argue that even though early intervention helps many students
Comparison of Phonological Training Procedures in Kindergarten Classrooms
The Journal of Educational Research, 2000
The authors compared the effect of 2 phonological training procedures—segmenting and blending, or... more The authors compared the effect of 2 phonological training procedures—segmenting and blending, or first sound identification and rhyming—on the acquisition of reading and spelling skills among kindergarten children. Sixty-one low-skilled kindergartners were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 strategy groups. Children received 20–30 min of instruction in small groups that met twice a week for 10 weeks. Both groups improved
Prediction of Reading Disabilities in Kindergarten and First Grade
Scientific Studies of Reading, 1999
... Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [Journal Article]. Prediction of reading disabilities in kinder... more ... Citation. Database: PsycINFO. [Journal Article]. Prediction of reading disabilities in kindergarten and first grade. O'Connor, Rollanda E.; Jenkins, Joseph R. Scientific Studies of Reading, Vol 3(2), 1999, 159-197. doi: 10.1207/s1532799xssr0302_4. Abstract. ...
Variations in Practice Reading Aloud: Ten Versus Twenty Minutes
Scientific Studies of Reading, 2013
In this study we compared effects of practice time reading aloud to an adult on improvement in re... more In this study we compared effects of practice time reading aloud to an adult on improvement in reading rate and comprehension. Eighty-one poor readers in 2nd and 4th grade, including 38 English Learner students (ELs), served as their own controls by participating in two practice conditions, each 3 times per week for 7 weeks: (a) 10 min reading aloud one-to-one
New England Journal of Medicine, 2007
Developmental impairments in children have been attributed to persistent middle-ear effusion in t... more Developmental impairments in children have been attributed to persistent middle-ear effusion in their early years of life. Previously, we reported that among children younger than 3 years of age with persistent middle-ear effusion, prompt as compared with delayed insertion of tympanostomy tubes did not result in improved cognitive, language, speech, or psychosocial development at 3, 4, or 6 years of age. However, other important components of development could not be assessed until the children were older.
Reading and Writing, 2000
Twelve very poor readers in May of first grade, including four with disabilities, were randomly a... more Twelve very poor readers in May of first grade, including four with disabilities, were randomly assigned to one of two daily tutoring conditions designed to teach children to read regularly spelled short words by one of two methods: blending sounds to form words, or cumulative introduction of whole words. Both treatments included letter/sound correspondences and spelling words in the reading set. At the end of ten sessions, no differences were found between the treatment outcomes; however, delayed posttests one week later found differences favoring the blending treatment on reading and spelling instructional words, and on transfer to words composed of known letter sounds.
Learning Disability Quarterly, 1997
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
Increasing the Intensity of Intervention in Kindergarten and First Grade
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 2000
... 48 O'CONNOR: LAYERS OF INTERVENTION ... Other classes used the Macmillan– McGraw-Hil... more ... 48 O'CONNOR: LAYERS OF INTERVENTION ... Other classes used the Macmillan– McGraw-Hill reading series (The Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Reading/Language Arts Pro-gram, 1993), which emphasized high-frequency words. ...
Teachers Learning Ladders to Literacy
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 1999
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Papers by Rollanda O'Connor