Factor Structure of Opportunity to Learn for Students with and without Disabilities

Abstract

Opportunity to Learn (OTL) stems from the basic premise that there is an important relationship between the quality and intensity of classroom instruction and students’ levels of academic success. For many students with disabilities, an emphasis on OTL has become national priority, yet measuring its impact is a complex challenge. The first purpose of this study was to explore the factorial validity of OTL using indicators found in the 2005 4th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study entailed confirmatory factor analyses for potential OTL factors including teacher preparation, professional development, classroom activities, and access to technology. Separate factor analyses were conducted using the reading and mathematics datasets. The authors then looked at the degree to which OTL factors influenced NAEP estimates of ability for both students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. The following three OTL factors differentially predicted student scores: classroom activities (reading), student constructed projects (reading), and using calculators for instruction (mathematics). For the remaining three reading factors and seven mathematics factors, there were no differences in the relationship between the factors and scores for students with and without disabilities.

How Visually Impaired Learners Construct Opportunities to Learn Mathematics?

“…OTL is widely viewed as a multifaceted concept (Goos, 2014). However, some scholars view OTL along the lines of learners with special educational needs (Cawthon et al, 2012;Taub et al, 2017). Cawthon et al (2012) stated that OTL might be concerned with raising learner engagement in inclusive settings, so as to ensure that learners with special educational needs access the general education curriculum.…”

“…Besides, OTL deals with learner placement in regular schools that practice inclusive education. A higher degree of OTL is not only determined by placement of learners with special educational needs in the least restrictive environment, but it should take into consideration that their needs are catered for through effective instructional approaches (Cawthon et al, 2012). Trevisan et al (2020) mentioned the learning opportunities generated by the use of the classroom as a professional teaching and learning environment.…”

Understanding the nature of learning and opportunities to learn created by work-integrated learning: A perspective in vocational education

“…The process construct of OTL may be seen as providing a way of understanding what goes on in the schooling process. This may be in terms of the student learning experiences (Chabongora & Jita, 2013); the quality and intensity of instruction (Cawthon, Beretvas, Kaye & Lockhart, 2012); utilisation of instructional time, instructional practices and pedagogical approaches adopted (Kurz, Elliott, Kettler & Yel, 2014); and cognitive demand of learning activities (Stols, 2013). Bruce-Davis, Gubbins, Gilson, Villanueva, Foreman and Rubenstein (2014) argue that instructional strategies and practices represent important ways to facilitate student learning through the manipulation of curriculum content, process and learning environments.…”

“…It is the contention of Fisher, Zeligman and Fairweather (2005) that the adoption of alternative instructional methods to the lecture enhances learning outcomes. Suskie (2015) notes that, when out-of-classroom experiences are organised correctly and integrated with academic experiences, they help students achieve critical learning outcomes. The WIL model of experiential learning is considered an instructional strategy that could facilitate the provision of the required skills for individuals (Cooper, Orrel & Bowden, 2010:4).…”