Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p20611"

Goals. Reading comprehension is thought to be a complex, transactional process of generating meaning from text. Although the research of comprehension has been extensive, the study of reading comprehension in the intellectually disabled has gained less traction. However, it seems that reading comprehension in the intellectually disabled is affected by the same underlying processes as in other groups, and some of them appear to be able to benefit from reading comprehension interventions.. The goal of this Master’s Thesis was to develop material suitable for teaching reading comprehension to students with ID. The focus of the research was to study the reading comprehension of ID students and to determine whether the material was suitable for instruction. Methods.The research was conducted as a mixed methods design. The participants were 6 special education students from years 6‒9; of which five had a confirmed diagnosis of ID. The participants used the material with researcher direction for 6 weeks, and their reading comprehension skills were tested pre- and post intervention. The participants were observed during practise period and testing, and they contributed by expressing their own opinion of the teaching material. Results and conclusions. The research indicated that the reading comprehension skill of the participants was below the mean for first grade students. During the practise period the reading comprehension skills of two of the participants increased, and they were able to answer with more length and accuracy in a free recall test. As a group, the participants appeared to regard the teaching material positively, and they were able to complete most of the exercises when offered support. However, one of the exercises proved to be difficult for all of the participants to master. The conclusion ot the present study is that the material may benefit some students with ID, but requires further development. The testing of the intellectually disabled participants also proved challenging, which may indicate a need for research into tests suitable for students with ID.