Chapter 11: Graphic Organizers as Aids for Students with Learning Disabilities

In this chapter we discuss the use of graphic organizers for teaching academic content with students identified as having a learning disability (LD). This topic is of growing importance as an increasing number of students with LD are spending the majority of their school day in general education content area classes (e.g., science, social studies, English) who are expected to perform at the same level as their nondisabled peers. We begin this discussion with a review of the theoretical underpinnings of why graphic organizers (GOs) can be effective when helping students understand and remember academic content and how existing theories lead to effective design and use of GOs. These theories are then linked to certain learning problems many students with LD have (e.g., working memory, linking prior knowledge with new information). Finally, we review published investigations examining the effectiveness of GOs with students with LD, most of which show them to be effective across a variety of content areas and for both near and far recall tasks. We conclude with instructional implications based on both theoretical and applied research.