Effects of Technology-Mediated Vocabulary Intervention for Third-Grade Students with Reading Difficulties

Abstract

In this experimental study, we examined the effects of a technology-mediated intervention to improve students’ understanding of academic vocabulary and its impact on measures of vocabulary and comprehension. The Vocabulators program was implemented in two states involving 24 teachers and 200 third-grade students identified as in need of supplemental vocabulary instruction. Individual students within each classroom were randomly assigned to treatment (n?=?100) or typical instructional practices (n?=?100) conditions. In the treatment condition, students received, on average, 29 lessons on vocabulary and comprehension. Results of linear regression analyses showed statistically significant and practical effects on experimenter-developed proximal measures of decoding (ES = 0.52), expressive vocabulary (ES = 0.78), receptive vocabulary (ES = 0.51), and near transfer measures of understanding vocabulary in sentences (ES = 0.65), and informational text comprehension (ES = 0.28). Group performance did not differ statistically on near transfer measures of sentence verification with vocabulary and narrative text comprehension as well as distal standardized measures of general vocabulary or reading comprehension. Findings suggest the potential impact of technology-based vocabulary/comprehension lessons to supplement typical instruction.     

Intervention Provided to Linguistically Diverse Middle School Students with Severe Reading Difficulties

This study investigated the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading intervention implemented with middle school students with severe reading difficulties, all of whom had received remedial and/or special education for several years with minimal response to intervention. Participants were 38 students in grades 6-8 who had severe deficits in word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Most were Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) with identified disabilities. Nearly all demonstrated severely limited oral vocabularies in English and, for ELLs, in both English and Spanish. Students were randomly assigned to receive the research intervention (n = 20) or typical instruction provided in their school's remedial reading or special education classes (n = 18). Students in the treatment group received daily explicit and systematic small-group intervention for 40 minutes over 13 weeks, consisting of a modified version of a phonics-based remedial program augmented with English as a Second Language practices and instruction in vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension strategies. Results indicated that treatment students did not demonstrate significantly higher outcomes in word recognition, comprehension, or fluency than students who received the school's typical instruction and that neither group demonstrated significant growth over the course of the study. Significant correlations were found between scores on teachers' ratings of students' social skills and problem behaviors and posttest decoding and spelling scores, and between English oral vocabulary scores and scores in word identification and comprehension. The researchers hypothesize that middle school students with the most severe reading difficulties, particularly those who are ELLs and those with limited oral vocabularies, may require intervention of considerably greater intensity than that provided in this study. Further research directly addressing features of effective remediation for these students is needed.     

Integrating Content Knowledge-Building and Student-Regulated Comprehension Practices in Secondary English Language Arts Classes

Abstract

In this experimental study we examined the effects of integrating teacher-directed knowledge-building and student-regulated comprehension practices in 7th- to 10th-grade English language arts classes. We also investigated the effect of instructional quality and whether integrating practices differentially benefitted students with lower entry-level reading comprehension. The study was conducted in 6 schools, involving 17 teachers and 921 students. Teachers’ English language arts classes were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 36) or typical practice comparison (n = 29) conditions, and all teachers taught in both conditions. Students in both conditions grew significantly from pretest to posttest on proximal measures of narrative (ES =.09) and expository comprehension (ES =.22), as well as a standardized distal comprehension measure (ES =.46); however, no statistically significant between-group differences were found. Although intervention fidelity did not significantly influence outcomes, observational data indicated that teachers increasingly incorporated comprehension practices in their typical instruction. Effect sizes indicated a differential influence of entry-level reading comprehension on proximal and distal comprehension with higher performing readers in the intervention condition benefiting more than their lower performing peers on expository comprehension.     

The Relations Among Oral and Silent Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Middle School: Implications for Identification and Instruction of Students With Reading Difficulties

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations among oral and silent reading fluency and reading comprehension for students in Grades 6 to 8 (n = 1,421) and the use of fluency scores to identify middle school students who are at risk for failure on a high-stakes reading test. Results indicated moderate positive relations between measures of fluency and comprehension. Oral reading fluency (ORF) on passages was more strongly related to reading comprehension than ORF on word lists. A group-administered silent reading sentence verification test approximated the classification accuracy of individually administered ORF passages. The correlation between a maze task and comprehension was weaker than has been reported for elementary students. The best predictor of a high-stakes reading comprehension test was the previous year's administration of the grade-appropriate test; fluency and verbal knowledge measures accounted for only small amounts of unique variance beyond that accounted for by the previous year's administration.     

An Experimental Evaluation of Guided Reading and Explicit Interventions for Primary-Grade Students At-Risk for Reading Difficulties

Abstract

Considerable research evidence supports the provision of explicit instruction for students at risk for reading difficulties; however, one of the most widely implemented approaches to early reading instruction is Guided Reading (GR; Fountas & Pinnel, 1996), which deemphasizes explicit instruction and practice of reading skills in favor of extended time reading text. This study evaluated the two approaches in the context of supplemental intervention for at-risk readers at the end of Grade 1. Students (n = 218) were randomly assigned to receive GR intervention, explicit intervention (EX), or typical school instruction (TSI). Both intervention groups performed significantly better than TSI on untimed word identification. Significant effects favored EX over TSI on phonemic decoding and one measure of comprehension. Outcomes for the intervention groups did not differ significantly from each other; however, an analysis of the added value of providing each intervention relative to expected growth with typical instruction indicated that EX is more likely to substantially accelerate student progress in phonemic decoding, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension than GR. Implications for selection of Tier 2 interventions within a response-to-intervention format are discussed.     

The Efficacy of Repeated Reading and Wide Reading Practice for High School Students with Severe Reading Disabilities

This experimental study was conducted to examine the efficacy of repeated reading and wide reading practice interventions for high school students with severe reading disabilities. Effects on comprehension, fluency, and word reading were evaluated. Participants were 96 students with reading disabilities in grades 9–12. Students were paired within classes and pairs were randomly assigned to one of three groups: repeated reading ( N  = 33), wide reading ( N  = 34), or typical instruction ( N  = 29). Intervention was provided daily for approximately 15–20 minutes for 10 weeks. Results indicated no overall statistically significant differences for any condition, with effect sizes ranging from −.31 to .27. Findings do not support either approach for severely impaired readers at the high school level. We hypothesize that these students require more intensive interventions that include direct and explicit instruction in word- and text-level skills as well as engaged reading practice with effective feedback.     

The Effects of an Intensive Reading Intervention for Ninth Graders with very Low Reading Comprehension

This experimental study examined the efficacy of a multicomponent reading intervention compared to a control condition on the reading comprehension of adolescent students with low reading comprehension (more than 1½ standard deviations below normative sample). Ninth‐grade students were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 25) and comparison (n = 19). Reading teachers provided instruction for 90‐min, five times every two weeks for approximately 80 sessions. Treatment effects for each outcome measure were estimated using repeated measure of analysis of covariance for measures of reading comprehension and fluency. Results indicate no statistically significant differences between treatment and comparison conditions. Repeated‐measures analyses of variance between students with lower and higher decoding skills indicated a statistically significant interaction between treatment condition and decoding ability on the WJ‐III PC and Bridge‐IT, with large effect sizes (η_p² .16 and .12, respectively), indicating that treatment was differentially beneficial for students with higher decoding skills.     

The Poor Get Richer: Heterogeneity in the Efficacy of a School-Level Intervention for Academic Language

We investigate the impact of a relatively brief cross-curricular intervention, Word Generation, on middle school students' development of taught academic vocabulary. Students (n = 8382) in forty-four middle schools in three urban districts were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment teachers implemented the program with minimal support and varying levels of commitment. Students in treatment schools scored almost a point higher on the curriculum-based vocabulary posttests than those in control schools (Hedges's g = 0.094, p < 0.05). Though there was no main treatment effect on the standardized measures of students' general vocabulary knowledge or reading comprehension, baseline-by-treatment interactions at the school and student level acted to attenuate the Matthew Effect in reading and vocabulary growth.     

Student Team Reading and Writing: A Cooperative Learning Approach to Middle School Literacy Instruction

The goal of this project was to create a middle school literacy program that was more responsive to the needs and abilities of early adolescents in urban middle schools. The program components included: (a) cooperative learning classroom processes; (b) a literature anthology for high interest reading material; (c) explicit instruction in reading comprehension; (e) integrated reading, writing, and language arts instruction; and (f) a writing process approach to language arts. The study was conducted in 5 schools in a large urban school district, 2 implementing Student Team Reading and Writing (STRW) and 3 comparison schools. The results indicated that the students in STRW had significantly higher achievement in reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, and language expression. The results suggest that a multifaceted approach to restructuring can effectively improve the achievement of students in urban middle schools.     

Promoting Acceleration of Comprehension and Content Through Text in High School Social Studies Classes

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Promoting Acceleration of Comprehension and Content Through Text intervention implemented with 11th-grade students enrolled in U.S. History classes. Using a within-teacher randomized design, the study was conducted in 41 classes (23 treatment classes) with 14 teachers providing the treatment. Students in the treatment condition performed significantly better than students in the typical instruction comparison condition on a measure of content acquisition at posttest (ES = 0.36), as well as 4 (ES =.22) and 12 (ES =.24) weeks following treatment. There were no differences between treatment and comparison groups on measures of social studies reading comprehension or more general reading comprehension.     

Reading and Integrated Literacy Strategies (RAILS): An Integrated Approach to Early Reading

The goal of this project was to develop and test the efficacy of a research-based early reading program that provided integrated reading instruction in kindergarten through 2nd grade. The Reading and Integrated Literacy Strategies (RAILS) program provided integrated instruction in word reading, vocabulary development, and comprehension to students in regular and self-contained special education classes in 2 schools serving low-income populations. Teachers provided explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, phonemic analysis, word reading, vocabulary development, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. Classes were organized so students received 2 periods of reading instruction daily, a longer morning period of instruction and a shorter afternoon review of instruction. The students in the RAILS program had significantly higher performance on standardized reading and language achievement tests, as well as on individually administered tests of phonemic awareness and reading fluency. The implications for research-based instructional practice that integrates instruction in word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension are discussed.     

Behavioral Attention: A Longitudinal Study of Whether and How It Influences the Development of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension Among At-Risk Readers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which teacher ratings of behavioral attention predicted responsiveness to word reading instruction in first-grade and third-grade reading comprehension performance. Participants were 110 first-grade students identified as at risk for reading difficulties who received 20 weeks of intensive reading intervention in combination with classroom reading instruction. Path analysis indicated that teacher ratings of student attention significantly predicted students’ word reading growth in first grade even when they were competed against other relevant predictors (phonological awareness, nonword reading, sight word efficiency, vocabulary, listening comprehension, hyperactivity, nonverbal reasoning, and short-term memory). Also, student attention demonstrated a significant indirect effect on third-grade reading comprehension via word reading but not via listening comprehension. Results suggest that student attention (indexed by teacher ratings) is an important predictor of at-risk readers’ responsiveness to reading instruction in first grade and that first-grade reading growth mediates the relationship between students’ attention and their future level of reading comprehension. The importance of considering ways to manage and improve behavioral attention when implementing reading instruction is discussed.     

Supplemental Fluency Intervention and Determinants of Reading Outcomes

This study replicates research on the efficacy of a repeated reading intervention with word-level instruction for students in Grades 2 and 3 with low to moderate fluency skills, examines differences between treatment implementers, and tests unique contributions of treatment-related variables on outcomes. Students from 13 schools were randomly assigned to dyads; dyads were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Schools were matched into treatment implementer groups (teachers or paraeducators) at study onset. Tutoring occurred during school hours for 15 weeks (M = 25.5 hr). Multilevel model results showed treatment students (n = 98) gained more than controls (n = 104) on measures of letter-sound knowledge (d = .41), fluency (d = .37–.38), and comprehension (d = .30–.31); students tutored by teachers gained more than their paraeducator-tutored peers on word reading and fluency. Finally, dyads tutored with greater fidelity gained more in word reading and fluency; dyads that read more complex words in their texts gained less on letter-sounds, fluency, and comprehension.     

A Synthesis of Morphology Interventions and Effects on Reading Outcomes for Students in Grades K–12

This article synthesized the morphology intervention studies conducted in English with students in kindergarten through 12th grade between 1986 and 2006. Seven studies were identified as focusing primarily on morphology instruction, including roots and affixes, and measuring one or more reading‐related outcomes (e.g., word identification, spelling, vocabulary, reading comprehension). Of those studies meeting the criteria, three studies were focused on word identification, three were focused on vocabulary acquisition, and one was focused on spelling. Although there was a wide range in effect sizes computed for the various outcome measures (?.93 to 9.13), findings indicated that stronger effects were associated with root word instruction (as opposed to affixes alone) and with morphology instruction that targeted students' reading developmental level in an age of acquisition pattern. In addition, results suggested that morphology could successfully be combined with training in other skills without adding instructional time.     

Impact of rapid reading skills training on reading rate and reading achievement among primary school students in China

Abstract

The current study examined the effects of a silent rapid reading skills training intervention on the reading rate and reading achievement of primary school students in China in order to determine the efficacy of the intervention and explore potential gender differences. A total of 108 Chinese primary school students were randomly assigned by the classroom to either an experimental (n = 54) or control (n = 54) condition. Students in the experimental group completed 12 sessions of rapid reading skills training designed to increase their ability to rapidly read Chinese text in silence. Students in the control group engaged in regular Chinese language curriculum for the same time period. After the three-week intervention period, students in the experimental group displayed significantly greater silent reading speed of Chinese characters (M?=?1331.26 characters per minute) compared to students in the control group (M?=?617.48 characters per minute; p?<?.001). Children in the intervention group also displayed a significantly greater effective reading rate (F = 87.11, p?<?.001, partial η²?=?0.46) at post-test compared to the control. Male students displayed greater increases in reading speed than female students. Neither intervention effect nor gender difference was evident for reading comprehension. Implications for educational interventions designed to increase silent reading speed among Chinese students are discussed.     

Reading comprehension instruction in Irish primary classrooms: key insights into teachers' perspectives on classroom practices

Despite a wealth of international research indicating the importance but also the dearth of explicit reading comprehension instruction in classrooms, current classroom reading pedagogy does not appear to have acknowledged and addressed this shortcoming to any significant degree. This is cause for some considerable concern, as today's students require effective, metacognitive reading comprehension strategies in order to succeed in a vastly expanding multi-literate textual environment. This paper will discuss a recent study, involving a survey (n=278) and interviews (n=12), which examined current beliefs and understandings regarding reading, as well as reading pedagogy and practice among teachers at primary level in Ireland. The findings revealed that current reading pedagogy, as indicated by the surveyed teachers, relies heavily on decoding instruction and an affective approach to reading while explicit comprehension instruction practice remains secondary and more the exception rather than the rule. The paper will attempt to examine possible reasons as to why current reading pedagogy remains ‘un-balanced’ in this manner while also exploring possible avenues for improvement.     

Transfer of a Listening Comprehension Strategy to Independent Reading in First-Grade Students

Instruction in narrative text structure on first graders' listening and reading comprehension was examined with a view to documenting strategy instruction and transfer of learning in beginning readers. Of interest was whether or not first-grade students (n=35) would, following instruction within the context of listening to stories, gain in listening comprehension and transfer this knowledge to support reading comprehension. A comparison group (n=31) received basal activities including listening to and reading stories. Results support teaching text structure concepts to beginning readers. At post-test, the intervention group demonstrated significantly higher listening comprehension, but not free recall, than the comparison group. Persistent group differences were found for reading comprehension. Intervention group students demonstrated superior comprehension in relation to all story elements and more frequently displayed metalinguistic awareness of text structure by labeling and giving examples of story structure concepts.     

The Impact of Vocabulary Instruction on Passage-Level Comprehension of School-Age Children: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

A meta-analysis of vocabulary interventions in grades pre-K to 12 was conducted with 37 studies to better understand the impact of vocabulary on comprehension. Vocabulary instruction was found to be effective at increasing students' ability to comprehend text with custom measures (d = 0.50), but was less effective for standardized measures (d = 0.10). When considering only custom measures, and controlling for method variables, students with reading difficulties (d = 1.23) benefited more than three times as much as students without reading problems (d = 0.39) on comprehension measures. Gains on vocabulary measures, however, were comparable across reading ability. In addition, the correlation of vocabulary and comprehension effects from studies reporting both outcomes was modest (r = .43).     

Reading Intervention for Poor Readers at the Transition to Secondary School

This study evaluated two 20-week reading interventions for pupils entering secondary school with reading difficulties. The interventions were delivered by trained teaching assistants (three 35-min sessions per week). 287 pupils (ages 11–13) from 27 schools were randomly allocated to three groups: reading intervention (targeting word recognition and decoding skills), reading intervention plus comprehension, or a waiting list control group. Neither intervention produced statistically significant gains in word reading but the reading intervention plus comprehension intervention produced significant gains in reading comprehension (d = 0.29) and vocabulary (d = 0.34). Further evaluations of methods to improve word reading in this population are needed.