ABSTRACT
The cognitive sciences are concerned with understanding and explaining how humans learn, process information, remember, and solve problems. In this chapter, we illustrate the contribution of cognitive science to understanding the nature of learning disabilities (LDs) and to intervention design. We discuss historical and current influences of cognitive science, including how (a) academic interventions for LDs were motivated by schema theory and theories of metacognition and metacognitive development; (b) cognitive principles of learning have been applied to academic interventions; and (c) models of reading and mathematical cognition inform understanding of and interventions for dyslexia, reading comprehension disabilities, and math disabilities. Given the strong experimental tradition in LD intervention research, we suggest ways to more explicitly test principles and hypotheses based on cognitive science for their application to interventions for children with LDs.
