Oral and Written Compositions of Students with Learning Disabilities in the Content Area of Science

Authors

  • Jacqueline McFarland
  • Teri Shepard

Abstract

The present study examined differences between written and oral composition abilities for students with learning disabilities within the content area of science. Thirty-nine students with learning disabilities from three suburban middle schools participated in both written and oral science composition tasks which measured word count, word and sentence length, thought units (t-units), science references (defined as the level of science knowledge in written and oral contexts), and cognitive reflections (including classification, analogy, comparison, and scientific conclusion). Overall, the results indicated that the science reference scores were significantly higher in oral than written formats, and that significantly more sentences, although shorter, were used to write than tell the science stories. There were no significant differences between either oral and written word count or oral and written t-units. Little or no evidence of cognitive reflections was found in either format.

Issue

Section

Articles