Teaching learning strategies to adolescent and adults with learning disabilities
B.K. Lenz, E.S. Ellis, D. Scanlon

The effective teaching of strategies is no easy feat. While it is simple enough to teach students with difficulties a series of steps (procedures), e.g., to locate the main ideas in text, it is quite a different matter for them to select and apply such a strategy, in a cohort of one or more others, to complete a task or solve a problem. After all, few academic demands are so pure and specific or simple as changing a tyre or a light bulb.

Therefore, in assisting students to create a strategy system, that is a combination of strategies, requires thorough planning and teaching to enable students to acquire each strategic 'building block' that can be used functionally.

Nowhere is a description, explanation and exposition of how this might be achieved more thoroughly delineated for educators (at least from my reading) than in the publications provided by the University of Kansas group. The centrepiece in this publication is the SIM model (Strategies Intervention Model). This framework is a reflection of the incredibly thorough research conducted under the direction of Drs. Gordon Alley, Donald Deshler, and Jean Schumaker. It consists of eight stages with students starting with a pre-test and moving eventually to the master stage. A goal is formulated at each stage and this needs to be fulfilled b efore students move on to the next.

The sheer technical detail and variety of strategy examples provided at each stage of the model are most impressive, particularly for those of us who may have underestimated the degree of thought and application necessary to enable the successful implementation of such strategies. However, just as important is the emphasis the authors place on promoting student motivation to accept and persist in meeting the requirements for learning. How to keep motivation high during the somewhat arduous process is one of the themes that can be tracked through the text.

This book is divided into four sections. These are:

Part 1: Critical features of effective strategies instruction

Part 2: Teaching the strategy

Part 3: Generalisation

Part 4: Strategies in inclusive classroom

Ultimately, the success of strategic interventions resides in students' abilities to use the target strategies in a planful fashion. To this end, the authors provide a rich 'nitty-gritty' guidebook based on the SIM model to explain comprehensively how this can be achieved.

Publisher: Pro-Ed, Austin, Texas
Available through Pro-Ed, Australia, PO Box 3161, Nerang East, Q. Phone 07 5596 0966