The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of text structure
instructions using a graphic organizer on the reading abilities and interest of students
with intellectual disabilities.
In an attempt to solve those questions, the investigator screened 30 students
diagnosed with intellectual disabilities among those who received special education at
elementary schools in C-gun, K Province. After assigning 15 of them to each the
experiment group and the comparison group, the investigator administered a program
of text structure instructions using a graphic organizer to the former group three to
four times per week in total 20 sessions over eight weeks and provided direct
teaching to the latter group for the same period.
First, the experiment group, to which the program of text structure instructions
using a graphic organizer, showed statistically significant differences in the areas of
word understanding and vocabulary selection compared with the comparison group
that received direct teaching.
Second, the experiment group, to which the program of text structure instructions
using a graphic organizer was administered, showed no significant differences between
the pre- and post-test scores compared with the comparison group that received
direct teaching.
In short, a strategy for text structure instruction using a graphic organizer is more
effective for help students with intellectual disabilities improve their reading skills
than direct teaching. Although it did not have huge impacts on their interest in
reading, there is no doubt that it can work as a clue to stimulate their interest in
reading.