TeachingLD

With Ken Kavale's death, DLD will have to elect two people into the presidential chain this year. Vice President Linda Siegel will move up to take Ken's place, so we shall need to elect both a vice president and a president elect. Please send nominations to Kathleen Marshall via our contact form.

With sadness, DLD notes the death of president-elect Kenneth A. Kavale. Before his death, Ken had planned most of DLD's annual conference (see accompanying announcement). In addition to having served DLD as a recently elected officer, Ken was the founding editor of Learning Disabilities Research, the forerunner to Learning Disabilities Research & Practice. Read an obituary here.

Students, if you're planning to attend the CEC convention in April and are interested in presenting a poster at DLD's reception, you should download a copy of the call for student poster proposals. Although these posters are not a formal part of CEC's conference, they are a great way to show your work to the many people who will be attending DLD's reception in Seattle. Snag the call for posters here.

Q: What do Jose Alvarado, Brian Bottge, Jennie Sue Flannigan, Steve Graham, Ann Graves, Charles Hughes, Susan Miller, Marjorie Montague, Rollanda O'Connor, Nicole Ofiesh, Karen Rooney, David Scanlon, & Naomi Zigmond have in common?
A: They'll all be in San Diego 23 and 24 October 2009 for DLD's annual conference, Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice. The good news is that you can be there, too! Just keep an eye on our Conferences page to learn how to register.

DLD's publication, Thinking About Response to Intervention and Learning Disablilities: A Teachers' Guide, is among the best selling items in the bookstore of the Council for Exceptional Children. Get a copy for yourself—follow this link to learn how to order one—and find out why folks are buying copies in bulk for in-service sessions.

Learn about the recent symposium hosted by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD;  DLD is a member) entitled "Transition to Higher Education for Students with Learning Disabilities: Building Effective Partnerships and Resources." Download documents about it and the NJCLD statement about adolescent literacy.

The Summer 2008 issue of New Times for DLD is now available!! Enter the Members Only section and click on Publications.

Members—HotSheets are Available!

Members—Need more ideas? Read LDR&P, our premier journal for professionals and others who work with students with LD.

Expert Connection

August 2008

Q: "I'm finding that with inclusion, my students have to write lots of essays. What can I do to help them with making their essays organized and coherent?"—Laura M., Highland Park, IL.

Teaching composition is a substantial task, but plenty of research indicates that it can be done. To address this question, we turned to Professor Linda Mason, one of the people who has contributed to educators' understanding of how to teach written expression effectively. Professor Mason, who teaches and conducts research at Pennsylvania State University, provides a quick overview of the complex processes involved in teaching students how to write essays. We're hoping to convince her to create a HotSheet on this topic, so that we can make it available to our members.—Eds.

Written composition is difficult for many students with learning disabilities (LD) and, given the demands of the inclusive classroom for essay writing, it is even more complicated these days. Of course, we should be providing careful instruction in written expression regardless of the setting, but your question is an excellent one.

• Read the rest of August 2008 Expert Connection here.
• See a list of all Expert Connection features.
• Be a part of Expert Connection. Send us your question about teaching students with learning disabilities.