This Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Conversation Series on Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities was presented on May 16, 2022.
According to research, a student’s ability to solve mathematics word problems is one of the best school-age indicators of adults’ learning potential. Similarly, reading comprehension is a necessary skill and supports continued learning both during and after school.
A learning challenge with math word problems or reading comprehension may impact a student’s financial security or general quality of life in adulthood. But having both of these learning disabilities can be doubly impactful and is a serious and understudied public health problem.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center researchers are studying math problem-solving as a form of reading comprehension, with language comprehension connecting academic performance between the two critical areas of academic performance. Learning more about the connections among language comprehension, reading comprehension, and math word-problem solving may offer strategies for improving outcomes for both learning disabilities in a coordinated fashion. The research team has begun developing a hybrid form of intervention that they hope will positively impact outcomes in both math problem-solving and reading comprehension in students who struggle.
Presenters:
- Lynn Fuchs, Ph.D.., Research Professor of Special Education; Director of the National Institutes for Health Learning Disabilities Innovation Hub at Vanderbilt University; Co-Director, the U.S. Department’s National Initiative on Intensive Intervention in Reading and Mathematics Intervention
- Doug Fuchs, Ph.D., Nicholas Hobbs Chair and Professor of Special Education and Professor of Pediatrics; Co-Director, National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention (NCLii)
- Pamela Seethaler, Ph.D., Research Associate, Vanderbilt University Department of Special Education
- Jeff Neul, M.D., Ph.D., (moderator) Annette Schaffer Eskind Chair and Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center; Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neurology, Pharmacology, and Special Education
The VKC Conversation Series on Research in Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Series is designed to share research in plain, accessible language with the community while fielding questions from the audience. We invite anyone who is interested in learning more about VKC research to attend this event.
Last Updated: 5/18/2022 1:26:03 PM
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