Relationship between second grade oral reading fluency and third grade reading

Oral reading fluency is a critical feature and outcome of early literacy instruction and it has amassed great attention as a powerful predictor of success at all levels of schooling. We examined relationships between second grade oral reading fluency scores and third grade end-of-grade reading achievement scores for students (N = 9562) in a large school district in the United States. Stakeholder interviews were also conducted. In our model, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension scores were moderately correlated; oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of subsequent achievement, followed by ethnicity; growth on oral reading fluency was not strongly associated with end-of-grade performance; and greater than 90% of students classified as ‘at risk’ on benchmark assessments performed poorly on third grade assessments. Stakeholders believed that oral reading fluency testing was not necessary above selected levels of proficiency. We discuss implications of our findings for future research and practice.     

Oral reading fluency as a screening tool with English learners: A systematic review

Students learning to read in more than one language are a growing population in schools. Early screening and identification of reading difficulties may lead to better outcomes for all students. Oral reading fluency (ORF) is one tool shown to be both a reliable measure of reading and an accurate method to identify students at risk for poor reading outcomes. This study synthesized available validity evidence for ORF with biliterates. All included studies (n = 31) were conducted with English language learners in grades K–8. Results suggested that although ORF is correlated with reading outcomes, the accuracy of ORF to identify English learners at risk of poor reading outcomes does not meet criteria. The strength of validity evidence differed by language proficiency of participants. Finally, the quality of the reviewed studies was low in critical areas.     

The effects of oral repeated reading with and without corrective feedback on middle school struggling readers

This study examines the effects of oral repeated reading, with and without corrective feedback, on the fluency and comprehension skills of 60 struggling readers in 7th Grade. Comparisons were made by group on narrative and expository reading ability and by comprehension question type. Students were randomly assigned to one of two reading groups (oral repeated reading with corrective feedback and oral repeated reading without corrective feedback). Participants in each group were required to repeatedly read a narrative and an expository passage. Statistical analyses (namely, repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA) were used to determine the overall effects on fluency and comprehension and differential effects demonstrated by groups on text type and comprehension question type. Results indicated that both forms of intervention improved fluency and comprehension. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Forecasting reading anxiety for promoting English-language reading performance based on reading annotation behavior

To reduce effectively the reading anxiety of learners while reading English articles, a C4.5 decision tree, a widely used data mining technique, was used to develop a personalized reading anxiety prediction model (PRAPM) based on individual learners' reading annotation behavior in a collaborative digital reading annotation system (CDRAS). In addition to forecasting immediately the reading anxiety levels of learners, the proposed PRAPM can be used to identify the key factors that cause reading anxiety based on the fired prediction rules determined by the developed decision tree. By understanding these key factors that cause reading anxiety, instructors can apply reading strategies to reduce reading anxiety, thus promoting English-language reading performance. To assess whether the proposed PRAPM can assist instructors in reducing the reading anxiety of learners, this study applies the quasi-experimental method to compare the learning performance of three learning groups, which are, respectively, supported by a CDRAS with individual annotations, collaborative annotations, and collaborative annotations with online instructor's support to reduce reading anxiety by the proposed PRAPM. The instructional experiment was conducted on Grade 7 students at Taipei Municipal Wan-Fang high school. Experimental results indicate that the average correct prediction rate of the proposed PRAPM in identifying the reading anxiety levels of learners was as high as 70%. Moreover, analytical results show that the collaborative annotation with online instructor's support for reducing reading anxiety by the proposed PRAPM indeed helps learners reduce reading anxiety, particularly for the male learners, showing that gender difference exists. Furthermore, based on online instructor's support for reducing reading anxiety by the proposed PRAPM, the correlation analysis also shows that the online instructor's interaction with the male learners is significantly correlated with the reading anxiety reduction. Furthermore, English-language learning performance of the three learners groups, which were given a CDRAS with different learning mechanisms, was significantly promoted.     

影响英语口语流利性因素分析及教学建议

随着我国对外开放的不断扩大,人们"面对面"的国际交流机会不断增加。言语交际能力的培养在外语教学中受到前所未有的重视。其中,口语的流利性成为培养学生言语交际能力的基本要求之一。通过对比国内外英语口语流利性的不同研究,探讨影响学习者口语流利性的因素,并力图在此基础上为英语口语流利性的培养提供教学建议。     

Examining learning rates in the evaluation of academic interventions that target reading fluency

The purpose of the current study is to determine whether single‐case intervention studies targeting reading fluency, ranked by traditional outcome metrics (i.e., effect sizes derived from phase differences), were discrepant with rankings based on instructional efficiency, including growth per session and minutes of instruction. Converging with prior findings, we found great variability in reported sessions and minutes of instruction across studies, as well as divergences in rankings based on outcome variables. These findings raise questions as to how literature syntheses on the topic of academic intervention are interpreted and how selection of evidence‐based intervention occurs.     

Benchmarking oral reading fluency in the early grades in Nguni languages

To prevent children from falling behind in the developmental sequence of reading, a shared vision of what reading success looks like is required. This paper provides the first benchmarks for early grade oral reading fluency that are necessary (albeit not sufficient) to read for meaning in three Nguni languages – isiZulu, isiXhosa and Siswati - belonging to the Southern Bantu family of African languages. In contrast with previous benchmarking methodologies, our approach is informed by a non-parametric analysis of longitudinal early grade reading assessment (EGRA) data, guided by reading development theory. The EGRA-type data used for this analysis is the largest compilation of data on early grade fluency in these languages, with comparative assessments for nearly 14,200 children. Analysing empirical regularities and reading trajectories, we identify a lower fluency threshold of 20 correct words per minute (cwpm) and an upper fluency benchmark of 35 cwpm for the early grades. These benchmarks contribute to guiding curriculum policy, provide specificity to improve tracking of literacy progress and address gaps in the literature on reading in African languages.     

Predicting ELL students’ beginning first grade English oral reading fluency from initial kindergarten vocabulary, letter naming, and phonological awareness skills

The precursors of early English reading success have been widely studied for native English-speaking students, and those findings have been generalized to the English language learner (ELL) student population. However, the development of English language acquisition may be different for ELL students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive role of English letter naming fluency, initial sound fluency, and vocabulary skills at the time of kindergarten entry for first grade English oral reading fluency and to examine the variability in language and literacy skills of ELL students by their demographic characteristics. The data for this study came from the Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network (PMRN), and were collected from Florida's Reading First schools. Letter Naming Fluency, Initial Sound Fluency, and Oral Reading Fluency components of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were used as measures. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to analyze the curvilinear growth of ELL students’ first grade oral reading fluency. The results of this study revealed that kindergarten English letter naming fluency was the best predictor and vocabulary skills were the second best predictor of oral reading fluency in the first grade, followed by initial sound fluency. On average, male ELL students compared to female ELL students, ELL students eligible for free or reduced price lunch eligibility (FRPL) compared to those not eligible for FRPL, and Hispanic ELL students compared to White ELL students read fewer words at the beginning of the first grade and showed a slower growth rate. English oral reading fluency scores of Asian ELL students were the highest.     

Reading comprehension difficulty is often distinct from difficulty in reading fluency and accompanied with problems in motivation and school well-being

Abstract

This paper examined if difficulty in reading comprehension (PISA) is distinct from difficulty in reading fluency and if the distinct types of reading difficulties are differently associated with learning motivation, school burnout, and school enjoyment. The participants were 1324 Finnish ninth graders. Findings suggested that difficulties in reading comprehension are often distinct from difficulties in reading fluency. Three reading difficulty groups were identified: (1) poor readers with both fluency and reading comprehension difficulties (n?=?46, 3.5%), (2) slow readers with only fluency difficulties (n?=?70, 5.3%), and (3) poor comprehenders with only reading comprehension difficulties (n?=?88, 6.5%). The slow readers had low scores only in reading-related motivation. Poor comprehenders and poor readers reported low motivation also in math and science, as well as higher level of burnout and lower school enjoyment than typical readers. The findings were similar for boys and girls.     

数字化技术背景下学习者自主学习能力培养探析

信息化时代学习者的自主学习能力及其培养已然成为当今教育研究的一个重要课题,文章通过对自主学习和数字化技术及其教育应用的概念解读,从基于数字化技术条件下的学习环境、学习资源和学习方式三个方面分析学习者自主学习能力的培养。     

Algorithmic versus teacher-led sequencing in a digital serious game and the development of second language reading fluency and accuracy

Recent years have seen a surge of calls for personalization of education. Automatised adaptivity in serious games has been advocated as a potential instantiation of such calls. Yet little is known about the extent to which personalised learning through automatised adaptivity poses an advantage for language learning over generalised teacher-led sequencing in digital, game-based learning environments. The goal of this paper is to address this question by comparing the learning outcomes in reading accuracy and fluency of didactic sequences designed by EFL teachers or by an adaptive algorithm. A total of 67 participants completed several proficiency and reading skills pretest and posttest and used the iRead system for 6 months. Results showed that all learners made progress in reading skills, but no significant differences were found between the two sequences in relation to the development of reading skills. It was also shown that adaptivity works best if it leads to increase in the number of games per feature. Results are discussed in the context of previous findings, and the role of adaptivity and sequencing is critically assessed.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic?

• Serious games have the potential to aid learning but empirical research is needed.
• Findings about the efficiency of serious games are mixed.
• Current and reviewed versions of the Simple View of Reading constitute a suitable framework to measure reading acquisition.

What this paper adds?

• It contributes to the growing corpus of research on digital serious games.
• It provides empirical evidence on the use of an adaptive system in formal education.
• Comparing a teacher-led sequence to an algorithmic adaptive sequence on the same digital serious game has never been done before.
• The paper shows the need to obtain both system-internal and system-external data in order to capture the impact of gameplay on the development of L2 reading skills.

Implications for practise and/or policy

• It sheds some light on how certain game designs may actually help practise with different degrees of intervention by teachers.
• It is interesting for teachers to use an adaptive sequence that they can check and intervene in if needed.

     

The digital reading path: researching modes and multidirectionality with iPads

This paper reports a study that examines the integration of tablet technologies such as iPads into literacy lessons to investigate how reading and meaning‐making occur within this digital medium. Specifically in this paper, we discuss the concept of reading paths as applied to physical and cognitive planes of meaning‐making. The paper reports on data collected as part of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded project involving researchers from Canada, the United States and Australia. The study is currently under way in schools in the three different countries where the researchers are observing students in classrooms in primary and secondary schools. The research is designed with a mixed methods approach coding video footage of dyads to enable close study of their interaction during literacy tasks incorporating iPads. Our findings show that the affordances of touch technology allow for multimodal, multidirectional reading paths. By tracking students' interactions with the digital platform through touch, it is possible to see navigation as evidence of the relationship between material and cognitive processes, which fosters metatextual awareness. These aspects of modes and new literacies construct a dynamic materiality for students' reading and writing. As a result, we propose that current awareness of the mode of gesture needs to be expanded to take into account haptic ways of learning.     

Theorising effective uses of digital technology with activity theory

ABSTRACT

Effective uses of digital technologies are vital to full inclusion in a network society. Digital-abilities researchers have produced several major frameworks, but these have generally not incorporated socio-contextual perspectives. To explore this lacuna, and engage in a reflective act of theorisation, activity theory is used to conceptualise four sub-systems of digitally mediated action. Eschewing technological determinism, humans are positioned as active agents capable of identifying, taking up, modifying and even subverting established technology uses in pursuit of meaningful objectives. At the same time, attention is given to contextual conditions shaping diverse activity systems supported by assemblages of humans and machines. Having theorised effective digital-technology uses through the lens of activity theory, the author reflects on this conceptual apparatus itself. In so doing, activity theory is characterised as a fertile, if complex and contested, future-oriented tradition that challenges individual-social dichotomies and addresses both humans and machines as mediators of activity, development and learning.     

信息技术在克服英语口语学习障碍中的运用策略研究

文章首先分析我国非英语专业大学生口语学习的主要障碍，指出口语学习的主要障碍有心理障碍和思维障碍。接着分析造成这些障碍的主要因素，认为既有主观因素也有客观因素。最后提出和探讨了应用信息技术克服大学英语口语学习障碍的四个学习策略。     

数字技术条件下中国电影艺术的反思

20世纪末,随着计算机技术的迅速发展以及应用领域的扩大,数字技术被迅速吸纳到电影的制作中,使电影艺术的表现手法与艺术语言日益丰富、不断创新。同时,也给电影艺术的长足发展带来了负面影响。中国电影要在数字技术语境下寻求健康发展之路,必须处理好科技与艺术、学习他人长处与保持自身特色、电影艺术的娱乐功能与教育功能的关系。     

Teacher facilitating of group learning in science with digital technology and insights into students’ agency in learning to learn

ABSTRACT

The study provides an insight into how teachers may facilitate students’ group learning in science with digital technology, which was examined when Norwegian lower secondary school students engaged in learning concepts of mitosis and meiosis. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the teacher’s assistance draw on Galperin’s conceptualisation of learning.

Findings reveal patterns in the teacher’s guidance: the teacher fulfilled the orienting, executive and controlling functions while assisting students in identifying the key features of mitosis and meiosis and solving the compare and contrast task. The teacher relied on and interplayed with the available mediational resources: compare and contrast task, digital animations, and collaborating peers. However, it was the compare and contrast task that demonstrated an approach to study scientific concepts which may have contributed to the development of learners’ understanding about to engage in learning in science. By adopting such an approach, learning activity has the potential to not only help students to achieve learning outcomes but it acquires a functional significance, becoming a tool in the learning process aimed at the development of students’ as learners. The digital animations, in turn, demonstrated scientific processes that were otherwise invisible for students and triggered group discussions. The study, therefore, raises questions about the need for practitioners’ awareness of the type of support the technology and other resources provide to assist both conceptual learning and enhancing students’ agency in learning to learn.     

Geeks,gamers, and girls: revealing diverse digital identities with membership categorisation analysis

ABSTRACT

The ‘digital imperative’ of contemporary education practice is without contention; however, much learning technology research has focused on pragmatic issues such as learning design, often founded on uncritically accepted claims about ‘digital natives’. This focus has come at the expense of learning theory. Alongside the scholarly voices calling for education research to redress this imbalance, there is increasing interest in the role played by technology not only in epistemological learning, but also in the ways technology is an identity issue. This paper explores how membership categorisation analysis opens up ways of understanding the role of technology for contemporary learner identities. Examination of student talk makes visible the diverse ways of being an iPad-using student, challenges widely-accepted constructions of contemporary learners as generationally uniform, and contributes to a more holistic conception of learning that accounts for the role played by technology in learning identity.     

数字媒体技术实验教学示范中心建设的探索与实践

以创建北京市级实验教学示范中心为契机,结合北京理工大学数字媒体技术实验中心建设和改革的具体案例,重点阐述北京市数字媒体技术实验教学示范中心建设的指导思想、实验教学改革、实验教学体系与内容、实验教学方法与手段改革、实验教学队伍、实验教学成果。