Michael Solis

University of California, Riverside | UCR · School of Education "SOE"

The authors conducted a synthesis of studies of reading comprehension interventions for middle school students (Grades 6-8) identified with a learning disability. They identified 12 studies between 1979 and 2009 with treatment and comparison designs and 2 single-participant studies. Findings from the studies indicate large effect sizes for research...

We describe findings from a series of longitudinal studies utilizing a response to intervention framework implemented over 3 years with students in Grades 6 through 8 with reading disabilities and poor reading comprehension. Students were identified based on reading comprehension scores in Grade 5 (n = 1,083) and then randomized to treatment or com...

We conducted two separate but related single-case studies using alternating treatment designs to investigate the effects of two single-component reading interventions: question development and anaphoric cueing. In each study, we compared a typical intervention approach (study one, question development; study two anaphoric cueing) to an alternate ap...

This experimental study examined the efficacy of a multicomponent reading intervention compared to a control condition on the reading comprehension of adolescent students with low reading comprehension (more than 1 ½ standard deviations below normative sample). Ninth grade students were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 25) and comparison (n = 19...

This experimental study examined the efficacy of a multicomponent reading intervention compared to a business-as-usual comparison condition on the reading comprehension and content area vocabulary outcomes of adolescent students with low reading comprehension. We randomly assigned 9th-grade students with low reading comprehension to a researcher-pr...

Students who receive special education services are entitled to receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that provides an appropriate level of benefit. Although IEP content is informed by policy mandates and practice recommendations, research has yet to investigate the degree to which school practice is in alignment. The purpose of this in...

Research on prosody suggests it is an important consideration for both reading fluency and reading comprehension however research on how to teach prosody is limited. This systematic review expands the understanding of prosody by examining intervention studies of prosody focused on instruction to improve syntax and phrasing outcomes. A total of 18 s...

This investigation examined the impact of preintervention word‐reading ability on reading comprehension outcomes for ninth graders with learning disabilities, reading difficulties, and English learners in treatment and comparison conditions. Secondary data analyses were conducted for two separate but related experimental studies of intensive readin...

Background For students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), improving reading comprehension is critical for increasing both their opportunities for successful postsecondary experiences including attending college and obtaining meaningful employment. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of a multicomponent reading interven...

The purpose of this post hoc analysis was to analyze if pre-intervention word reading skills contributed to intervention response on reading comprehension outcomes. High school students with reading difficulties were randomized to a business as usual (BaU) or treatment condition that provided 2 years of an intensive, multicomponent word reading and...

Observation research can shed light on the degree to which students have access to research based instruction and intervention. In this systematic review of reading observation research for students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, we sought to identify trends in the settings and student populations investigated and research...

Aim: We conducted two separate but related multiple baseline with alternating treatment single-case design studies to investigate the effect of the same reading intervention for students with autism spectrum disorder being implemented under different conditions. Method: We conducted a researcher-implemented study in a public school (Study 1) and a...

This article discusses use of a multicomponent intervention to develop the reading skill and performance of grades 4 to 8 students identified with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Reading intervention targets for this population are vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Reading intervention elements involve explicit vocabulary instructi...

This presentation provides findings from multiple syntheses investigating the impact of reading and/or behavioral interventions on reading and behavioral outcomes for students with behavioral difficulties. Additionally, presenters will discuss how to implement cross-age tutoring models as interventions for this student population, as well as the re...

It was almost winter break, and Ms. Salvador, the reading specialist at Awbrey Park Elementary School, was reviewing the fifth-grade progress-monitoring reading data for students receiving intensive small-group reading interventions. She noticed that several students were not making the reading gains that they had expected. Ms. Salvador and her tea...

Although there is a substantial body of observation research investigating the manner in which reading instruction is provided to students with learning disabilities (LD), there is little research in this area involving students with and at-risk of emotional disturbance (ED). The purpose of this investigation was to contribute to the limited corpus...

This simultaneous replication single-case design study investigated a vocabulary and main idea intervention with an aspect of text choice provided to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Five middle school students with ASD participated in two instructional groups taught by school-based personnel. Results were initially mixed. These result...

This study examined the effects of reading interventions from single-case design studies for students with and at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders in grades K-12 using a quantitative synthesis. Seventeen studies met the selection criteria of having one or more dependent variables meeting WWC design standards with or without reservations....

This multiple baseline across participants study examined the efficacy of a data-based individualization word study intervention for students with autism spectrum disorder (N = 5) and low word reading skills. An experienced interventionist provided 1:1 word reading instruction in 30-minute sessions five times per week for an average of 10 sessions...

Research in adult cognitive neuroscience addresses the bidirectional relationship between attentional selection and prior knowledge gained from learning and experience. This research area is ready for integration with developmental cognitive neuroscience, in particular with educational neuroscience. We review one aspect of this research area, learn...

The majority of students receiving special education services for emotional disturbance (ED) receive a significant amount of instruction in general education classrooms, which emphasizes curriculums based on college and career readiness standards. In turn, those teachers who provide instruction to students with ED in inclusive settings are responsi...

We examined the effectiveness of a researcher-provided reading intervention with 484 fourth graders with significant reading difficulties. Students were randomly assigned to one year of intervention, two years of intervention, or a business-as-usual comparison condition (BAU). Students assigned to two years of intervention demonstrated significantl...

This article reports a synthesis and meta-analysis of intervention studies investigating the effects of team-based learning on content knowledge outcomes. Team-based learning is a particular set of instructional components most often used in higher education classrooms. Authors of team-based learning reviews report that team-based learning improves...

This experimental study examined the effectiveness of a text-based reading and vocabulary intervention with self-regulatory supports for 4 th graders with low reading comprehension. Students with standard scores on the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test between 1.0 standard deviation (SD) and 0.5 SD below the normative sample were included (N=44) and ra...

This Campbell systematic review examines the effectiveness of school‐based Mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) on cognition, behavior, socio‐emotional outcomes and academic achievement. The review summarizes 61 studies and synthesizes 35 studies, with a total of 6,207 student participants. MBIs have a small, statistically significant positive ef...

Despite the importance of replication for building an evidence base, there has been no formal examination to date of replication research in special education. In this review, we examined the extent and nature of replication of intervention research in special education using an “article progeny” approach and a three-pronged definition of replicati...

We conducted an alternating treatment research design to investigate the effects of a multicomponent reading comprehension intervention on reading comprehension performance and task refusal behavior of three elementary students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study also sought to investigate the effects of utilizing teacher-directed instr...

This study examined the effectiveness of a researcher-provided intervention with 4th-graders with significant reading difficulties. The intervention emphasized multi-syllable word reading, fluent reading of high frequency words and phrases, vocabulary, and comprehension. To identify the participants, 1,695 fourth grade students were screened using...

Research findings have suggested that reading deficits and problem behaviors are positively related. This synthesis investigated how reading interventions impact behavioral/ social skill outcomes by reviewing studies that included: (a) a reading intervention without behavioral/ social skill components, (b) behavioral/ social skill dependent variabl...

Reading comprehension is difficult for many students with disabilities, including those with specific learning disabilities. However these students can be explicitly taught strategies to improve their comprehension abilities. One such strategy is teaching students story grammar in order to provide them with a framework for understanding narrative t...

Objective: We investigated the effects of embedding the perseverative interest (PI) of a child with autism (i.e. cars) within texts on reading comprehension. Methods: A PI text condition (text altered to include cars) was compared with a non-PI text condition (same story without cars inserted) in an alternating treatment design. Dependent variab...

This randomized control trial examined the efficacy of team-based learning implemented within 11th-grade social studies classes. A randomized blocked design was implemented with 26 classes randomly assigned to treatment or comparison. In the treatment classes teachers implemented team-based learning practices to support students in engaging in dial...

We describe findings from a series of longitudinal studies utilizing a response to intervention framework implemented over 3 years with students in Grades 6 through 8 with reading disabilities and poor reading comprehension. Students were identified based on reading comprehension scores in Grade 5 (n = 1,083) and then randomized to treatment or com...

The authors synthesized reading intervention studies conducted between 1980 and 2012 with K-12 students identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Nine single-subject design studies, one quasi-experimental study, and two single-group design studies met the criteria for inclusion. Findings from the studies indicate that modifying instructional...

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content acquisition and reading comprehension treatment implemented by eighth-grade social studies teachers. Using a within-teacher design, the eighth-grade teachers' social studies classes were randomly assigned to treatment or comparison conditions. Teachers (n = 5) taught the same instructional con...

This study reports on the perceptions and instructional practices of Grades 3 through 5 special education teachers in a school district that implemented a multitiered response to intervention (RTI) framework for the previous 5 years. The authors used focus groups and interviews to examine special education teachers’ perceptions of RTI. In additio...

A summary of inclusion and co-teaching syntheses was conducted to better understand the evidence base associated with collaborative models of instruction. Collectively, the syntheses represented 146 studies. The syntheses investigated research on collaborative models; student outcomes; teachers' attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions; and students' pe...

Adolescent students with learning disabilities (LD) often struggle with comprehending complex text structures used in middle and high school content-area classes (Williams, 1998, 2000). Compared to students in the upper elementary grades, middle school students are expected to read greater amounts of information across subject areas (Gajria, J...