Relationship between early development of spelling and reading

The research reported in this thesis examined the relationship between beginning spelling and reading. More specifically, it focussed on the relationship between the development of early reading and spelling in a context where the approach to early reading instruction includes systematic phonological awareness and decoding instruction. A critical assumption made by proponents of developmental early literacy models is that transfer of skills and knowledge from reading to spelling will occur spontaneously and without formal instruction (Frith, 1980). By contrast instruction-centred approaches make the assumption that there are critical pre-requisite skills that can and should be taught explicitly (Carnine, Silbert & Kameenui, 1997). The difference between these approaches is highlighted in the treatment of invented spelling, a popular activity in Western Australian junior primary classes. A series of studies was undertaken to examine the effect on invented and standard spelling performance of teaching Year 1 children phonological awareness and the strategy of sounding out words. Data were gathered from a range of settings using different research tools. The relationship between phonological awareness and beginning reading and spelling performance was explored initially through a single case study. A post-hoc study was then undertaken with a cohort of students who had received systematic decoding instruction to examine whether proficiency in the decoding of nonwords was related to spelling performance. This permitted an analysis of common sub-skills of decoding and encoding. In the main study the effect on different aspects of reading and spelling performance of using Let\u27s Decode, an approach that includes explicit phonological awareness and systematic decoding instruction, was investigated. In addition, an analysis was made of whether students who received explicit instruction in skills known to contribute to beginning reading and spelling produced superior invented spelling samples. A qualitative analysis was made of the. pre and post invented spelling tests of two pairs of students from the control and intervention groups matched on invented spelling and phonological awareness skills at the beginning of the year, and re tested at the end of Year 1. The final research question involved a single-subject research design to examine the effect of explicit instruction in isolating phonemes in words and prompts to \u27listen for sounds\u27 prior to, and during, the process of spelling words. The single case study revealed a child who was regarded as a competent speller and reader but who could only read words in a familiar context and who had developed a strategy for spelling words based on copying an adult model. This was interpreted as evidence supporting the need for phonological awareness instruction as a pre-requisite for spelling. The post-hoc analysis of a class of students who had received systematic decoding instruction showed that no student classified as a \u27good decoder\u27 could also be classified as a \u27poor speller\u27. This result was considered evidence of a strong link between the phonological knowledge that is required to decode and the role of alphabetic knowledge in spelling. The main study revealed phonological awareness and systematic decoding instruction was associated with superior invented and conventional spelling and reading performance on all reading and spelling measures. Of particular importance was the finding that students who commenced the study with very weak phonological awareness and who subsequently received systematic phonological and decoding instruction showed greater gains in invented spelling than matched students in the control condition. The single subject design showed the effectiveness of phonological awareness individualised instruction on invented spelling for weak students from both intervention and control conditions. It was concluded that the ability to invent spelling is improved when students receive explicit instruction in phonological awareness and systematic decoding but that some students, namely those with persistent weakness in phonological awareness, also require explicit prompts to apply their alphabetic knowledge to spelling words. The implications for instruction of these findings are discussed

Relationship between early development of spelling and reading

The research reported in this thesis examined the relationship between beginning spelling and reading. More specifically, it focussed on the relationship between the development of early reading and spelling in a context where the approach to early reading instruction includes systematic phonological awareness and decoding instruction. A critical assumption made by proponents of developmental early literacy models is that transfer of skills and knowledge from reading to spelling will occur spontaneously and without formal instruction (Frith, 1980). By contrast instruction-centred approaches make the assumption that there are critical pre-requisite skills that can and should be taught explicitly (Carnine, Silbert & Kameenui, 1997). The difference between these approaches is highlighted in the treatment of invented spelling, a popular activity in Western Australian junior primary classes. A series of studies was undertaken to examine the effect on invented and standard spelling performance of teaching Year 1 children phonological awareness and the strategy of sounding out words. Data were gathered from a range of settings using different research tools. The relationship between phonological awareness and beginning reading and spelling performance was explored initially through a single case study. A post-hoc study was then undertaken with a cohort of students who had received systematic decoding instruction to examine whether proficiency in the decoding of nonwords was related to spelling performance. This permitted an analysis of common sub-skills of decoding and encoding. In the main study the effect on different aspects of reading and spelling performance of using Let\u27s Decode, an approach that includes explicit phonological awareness and systematic decoding instruction, was investigated. In addition, an analysis was made of whether students who received explicit instruction in skills known to contribute to beginning reading and spelling produced superior invented spelling samples. A qualitative analysis was made of the. pre and post invented spelling tests of two pairs of students from the control and intervention groups matched on invented spelling and phonological awareness skills at the beginning of the year, and re tested at the end of Year 1. The final research question involved a single-subject research design to examine the effect of explicit instruction in isolating phonemes in words and prompts to \u27listen for sounds\u27 prior to, and during, the process of spelling words. The single case study revealed a child who was regarded as a competent speller and reader but who could only read words in a familiar context and who had developed a strategy for spelling words based on copying an adult model. This was interpreted as evidence supporting the need for phonological awareness instruction as a pre-requisite for spelling. The post-hoc analysis of a class of students who had received systematic decoding instruction showed that no student classified as a \u27good decoder\u27 could also be classified as a \u27poor speller\u27. This result was considered evidence of a strong link between the phonological knowledge that is required to decode and the role of alphabetic knowledge in spelling. The main study revealed phonological awareness and systematic decoding instruction was associated with superior invented and conventional spelling and reading performance on all reading and spelling measures. Of particular importance was the finding that students who commenced the study with very weak phonological awareness and who subsequently received systematic phonological and decoding instruction showed greater gains in invented spelling than matched students in the control condition. The single subject design showed the effectiveness of phonological awareness individualised instruction on invented spelling for weak students from both intervention and control conditions. It was concluded that the ability to invent spelling is improved when students receive explicit instruction in phonological awareness and systematic decoding but that some students, namely those with persistent weakness in phonological awareness, also require explicit prompts to apply their alphabetic knowledge to spelling words. The implications for instruction of these findings are discussed

The effects on the phonological processing skills of disabled readers of participating in direct instruction reading programs

This thesis examines the effects of phonics-emphasis Direct Instruction reading programs on the phonological processes of students with teacher-identified reading problems in nine northern and western Melbourne primary schools. The students (131 males and 75 females, mean age 9.7 years, standard deviation 1.2 years) were assigned to the treatment condition or to wait-list comparison groups. Based on the results of a program placement test of rate and accuracy, students were assigned to one of two entry points into the Corrective Reading program (A, B1). The students in the intervention group received 60-65 lessons (in groups of five to ten students) from teachers at their schools, or, for some students, at a resource centre for surrounding schools. An additional study, with younger (mean age 8.8 years) less advanced readers involved a similar design and teaching approach. The pr ogram, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, was presented to thirteen students in two settings. When compared with a similar cohort of wait-list students, the students in each program made statistically significant and educationally important gains in such phonologically-based processes as word attack, phonemic awareness, and spelling; and, statistically significant gains, of at least moderate effect size, in phonological recoding in lexical access and phonological recoding in working memory. A further question involved the prediction (from pretest scores) of those students who would not make progress in word attack solely from the reading programs. In this thesis, only the presence or absence of the reading programs predicted improvement in word attack. The studies in this thesis contribute to the long-standing debate on how best to ensure that children learn to read; to the understanding of the relationship between phonemic awareness and reading; to an understanding of the effects of the current system on at-risk children; and, how additional or alternative approaches more attuned to the findings of reading research may improve the effectiveness of the system

The effect of a music intervention on the temporal organisation of reading skills

This study investigated the reading behaviour of school children following participation\ud in a rhythm-based music intervention. The investigation was inspired by pupils' progress\ud in music lessons after using the rhythm-based music intervention. Little empirical work\ud has been done on metre and learning. This project has focused upon 'temporal regulation'\ud and 'temporal integration' as a possible learning pathway linking the music intervention,\ud as an entrainment activity to reading behaviour. The theoretical framework draws upon\ud multi-disciplinary areas of literature to converge on metre as an organisational feature\ud common to music and language.\ud The methodology of this small scale research project involved three stages. First, three\ud empirical explorations of the music intervention used a mixed experimental design. The\ud randomly selected participants were school children, 8-10 years of age. Secondly, a\ud small, randomly selected sample of school children with below average capability in\ud reading comprehension or reading fluency, took part in a two-treatment experimental\ud design comparing the music intervention and a phonics intervention. The third stage, a\ud trial in two schools, investigated whether the effects of the rhythm-based music\ud intervention were sustained when the music intervention was directed by school staff.\ud Although only small samples were involved, a consistent effect was found in gains in\ud reading comprehension for below average capability readers, following participation in\ud the music intervention. In the two-treatment design, positive effects were found for rate\ud of reading, reading comprehension and phonological discrimination but not for reading\ud accuracy. In the trial in two schools, effects were found for reading comprehension,\ud reading accuracy in both schools and rate of reading in one school suggesting that the\ud music intervention may be suitable for use as part of the music or the literacy programme\ud in schools. Overall the data suggested that the rhythm-based music intervention had a\ud positive effect on children's reading behaviour

The impact of an explicit, multisensory, phonics intervention programme on the professional development of the English foreign language teacher

The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers in Israel who participated in the Explicit Multisensory Phonics Intervention Programme. Previous research focused on changes in knowledge, practices, student attainment, and beliefs. Changes from negative to positive self efficacy were not examined, and a model for the professional development of the English foreign language teacher did not exist. The conceptual framework is based on an integration of the concept of self efficacy with theories of professional development and literacy acquisition. Literacy acquisition is based on the knowledge and practice components of the process of professional development in this research. The process of professional development is set in motion by a sense of negative self efficacy. The attainment of content knowledge is followed by a change of practices and thereafter improved student attainment, leading to changes in teachers’ beliefs and positive self efficacy. The research questions seek to clarify teachers’ incentives for joining the programme, their standard of content knowledge and perceptions of the impact of the process of professional development. A mixed methods approach was used. The content knowledge of teachers was tested with a pre and post test. A questionnaire about the process of professional development was sent to teachers who had participated in the programme since 1991. Several unstructured interviews were held. Results showed that the teachers’ sense of negative self efficacy and failure in the field initiated their need for professional development. The impact of the process of professional development was: increased knowledge, changed practices and beliefs, claimed student attainment and positive self efficacy. The research contributes to knowledge by empirically supporting a theoretically based model for the impact of the process of professional development of English foreign language teachers. Positive and negative self efficacy are key factors in the process of professional development and knowledge is the basis of this process. These conclusions have practical applications for teacher training.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Dogs, working memory and educational achievement: Barking up the wrong tree or an effective mechanism for facilitating cognitive acuity?

A mixed methods convergent design was used to investigate the involvement and role of a school dog with 13, seven year olds and 24 university students over three phases: a desk based survey; the identification of children’s working memory skills used in the dog’s presence when reading; and comparing maths and vocabulary school based tasks in both ‘live’ and ‘Virtual Reality’ (VR) settings. The findings provided insights into how the dogs’ presence affected learning within the classroom. Cross-age correlations were found for specific working memory skills between the adults and children. The data from both age groups revealed a significant effect of a live (as opposed to VR) dog’s presence for the language-based activities and suggested that there is potential for dogs to increase resilience and confidence in mathematical tasks. Using ‘virtual reality dogs’, significant effects were found for language abilities, corroborating previous research. Results clearly indicated that it is primarily the individual learner’s initial response to the task itself which determines the personal achievement and attainment, with the presence of a dog having a secondary effect. Further research is required into establishing the greatest benefits from working with a dog with respect to the measurement of progress mediated by social, academic and learning needs. The finding in this research that the effect of animal assisted learning is somewhat equivocal and idiosyncratic has implications for the widely used ‘read to dogs’ schemes in schools, together with the hours, working conditions and the perceived necessity of having full time school dogs. Animal assisted learning, in this study, showed benefits for some participants, but the effect was not universal. Such a finding suggests that a specific, individual, specialist academic teaching approach may be required to gain the greatest benefit from animal assisted intervention and animal assisted education in the future

An Analysis of Reading Skills Instruction Provided To Special and General Educators In Their Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Education

More than half of all school-age children in the United States read below grade level (NCES, 2012a). Seventy-five percent of all special education referrals are due to poor reading skills (NCES, 2012b). The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services reports that 50% or more of students with disabilities score at or below the 20th percentile on reading assessments (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Once children fall behind in the acquisition of reading skills, intense intervention is needed to reach an adequate level of reading accuracy (Torgesen, 2008). Unfortunately, struggling readers lose practice time for each month and year they are behind, thus making it extremely difficult to improve their reading. (Torgesen, 2008). Parents, educators, and politicians continue to examine current reading instruction in schools. In 1997, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development formed the National Reading Panel (National Reading Panel, 2000). The panel consisted of professors, educators, and parents who reviewed over 100,000 research-based articles and reports. The purpose of the review was to identify the basic components necessary to teach reading (NRP, 2000). In 2000, the results of this study were published in the National Reading Panel Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction, Reports of the Subgroups. From this assessment, the five big ideas of reading instruction were identified: (a) phonemic awareness, (b) phonics, (c) vocabulary, (d) fluency, and (e) comprehension (NRP, 2000). The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of knowledge and type of reading instruction training received by general and special educators in their teacher education and in-service programs. Teachers currently enrolled in master level courses at 13 universities completed a questionnaire via a web link. The universities that participated were: University of Nevada Las Vegas, California State University Monterey Bay, California State University Fullerton, San Diego State University, Arizona State University, University of North Carolina Greensborough, University of Georgia, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Southern Connecticut State University, St. Cloud University, Emporia State University, Eastern Illinois University, and Wichita State University. Convenience sampling was used in the design of the study through the selection of universities. However, the teacher participants were representative of educators from rural, town, suburban, or city settings. Results from the study indicated that special education teachers receive more reading skills instruction overall compared to general education teachers in their pre-service programs. Conversely, the data indicated similar outcomes for special and general education teachers during their in-service trainings. A need for improvement in reading skills instruction for special and general education teachers during their in-service trainings is needed