CASL investigators conducted research in public school classrooms in New York and Tennessee. At these sites, CASL investigators offered varied instructional expertise and used these areas of expertise to extend effective instructional methods to grades K-3 for children with disabilities.

In New York, Joanna Williams developed methods to help students learn and apply problem-solving strategies for enhancing reading comprehension. These methods focused on basic and higher-order skills, such as understanding a story's plot and identifying a story's theme. These methods also helped children connect stories to their personal experiences.

In Tennessee, Doug Fuchs and Lynn Fuchs developed peer-mediated learning and continuous progress-monitoring programs in reading and mathematics. In reading, the methods focused on the sound structure of spoken language, connecting sound structure to text, as well as comprehending text. In math, the methods emphasized computation, concepts and applications, and extended mathematical problem solving.

Steve Graham and Karen Harris developed strategy, self-regulation, and instructional techniques to enhance writing development. This included strategies children can use to plan, to revise, and to edit their written work; self-regulation procedures for managing these strategies and the writing process; and instructional techniques for improving handwriting and spelling.

In addition, CASL investigators contributed their areas of instructional expertise to work collaboratively as a center. This collaboration resulted in a framework for providing children with disabilities in the primary grades instruction that incorporated an explicit dual focus on basic and higher-order skills, that merged effective practices, and that promoted fluency, maintenance, and transfer of reading, writing, and mathematics skills. The goal was to build comprehensive approaches that insure that young students with disabilities achieve successful outcomes.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

U.S. Dept. of Education