Evaluating the impact of video-based versus traditional lectures on student learning

Copyright ©2010 International Research Journals. This full-text open access article is available at the link below.Although, computer assisted learning and multimedia programs have emerged into higher education institutions, there is no clear evidence that such a movement can improve student learning. This study was conducted to provide an objective assessment of the impact of lectures with the use of video clips on student learning over traditional teaching methods. Five university students participated and experimental control was achieved using an alternating-treatments design. Overall, students experienced sixteen 5-minute lectures, half on kinesiology and half on psychological issues for children, delivered by either traditional or video-based methods. Results showed that teaching material based on video clips was at least as equally effective as standard teaching lectures. Similar data were collected during 1-, 2-, and 3-week follow-up measures. These results come in agreement with the current literature reinforcing the suggestion that the use of videos in education may hold great promises.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund

Dyslexic Students: Success Factors for Support in a Learning Environment

This study examines possible success factors when developing technical solutions for dyslexic students. Findings in the literature, in a web survey answered by students and in the experiences from the development process at the Medical Faculty Library, Lund University, were used to find out potential success factors and difficulties. The literature found describes what dyslexia is, the situation for dyslexic students and available technical compensatory devices. One conclusion is that it is important to recognize the needs of individual students and choose flexible technical solutions

A systematic literature review of the organisational arrangements of primary school-based reading interventions for struggling readers

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Background: This paper presents findings from a systematic literature review which explored the delivery arrangements of school-based reading interventions for struggling readers aged 5-8 years. Methods: Databases were searched for published and unpublished studies from 1970-2017 which employed an RCT or quasi-experimental design. 64 texts that met the inclusion criteria were categorised according to targeted tier based on the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. Results: Findings showed that tier 2/3 interventions targeting pupils who did not respond to whole class teaching (tier 1) were almost exclusively delivered in pull-out sessions by people other than the classroom teacher. Conclusions: At present, certain delivery arrangements appear to be used more than others in reading interventions conducted with young pupils in schools. This could reflect practices already used in primary schools and suggests that pupils who are identified for tier 2/3 support might have less access to their teacher’s time and expertise

Augmenting efl vocabulary learning and reading comprehension through mobile phone-based vocabulary learning tasks and computer-based reading activites

EFL reading is a crucial input that is central to one’s academic progress, work environment, and social interactions. EFL reading is a complex process because there are many factors that play their part in successful reading experience. EFL vocabulary is one the most important factors in reading process as it provides the basis for the interaction between the text and the reader. Experts have been hard at work to devise means and ways to improve EFL reading comprehension. Since technology has permeated our lives, they have turned to technology to assist in the process of EFL reading. The use of technology in EFL reading instruction has been through two platforms: computers and mobile phones. The present study seeks to combine the affordances of these two platforms to augment EFL vocabulary learning and reading comprehension of students in Preparatory Year Programme (PYP) at a public university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also aims to study the students’ attitude towards EFL in general and towards the combined usage of these platforms to enhance EFL reading comprehension and EFL vocabulary learning in particular. The participants were students (N = 131) divided into four preformed groups, (n = 65) male and (n = 66) female students. The study spanned a period of six weeks and had a mixed methods design. One group of males (n = 32) and one of females (n = 34) formed the control group while the other two groups of males (n = 33) and females (n = 32) were given the treatment. Research instruments used for data collection were an achievement test, two questionnaires and a semi-structured interview protocol. All data collection instruments were developed by the researcher and were piloted, for reliability and consistency. The treatment comprised of two strands that were vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension. The subjects in the treatment condition received multi glossed vocabulary through mobile phones using WhatsApp tool while computer-generated reading activities made with Hot Potatoes tool were administered in language laboratory. The control groups were taught through traditional classroom method which follows a presentation, practice and production model. Pre-test and post-test data and data from questionnaires were analysed through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Data from the semi-structured interviews was discussed qualitatively. Findings of the study revealed that the treatment groups outperformed their counterparts in the control groups both in vocabulary and reading comprehension components of the achievement test. Results of the questionnaire for the treatment group showed that the treatment had positive impact on attitudes and perception of the participants towards EFL reading in general and they reported positive attitudes towards the use of WhatsApp and Hot Potatoes as learning platforms. The findings also indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the performance of male and female groups in treatment group on the basis of gender. The results of the study highlighted yet again that technology can be used as an effective assistive tool to augment vocabulary learning and to enhance reading comprehension skills of EFL learners. The findings of the study also suggested that simple computers and mobile phones can be used as learning platforms

A Meta-Analysis of the Long-Term Effects of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, and Reading Comprehension Interventions

Much is known about short-termbut very little about the long-termeffects of reading interventions. To rectify this, a detailed analysis of follow-up effects as a function of intervention, sample, and methodological variables was conducted. A total of 71 intervention-control groups were selected (N = 8,161 at posttest) from studies reporting posttest and follow-up data (M = 11.17 months) for previously established reading interventions. The posttest effect sizes indicated effects (dw = 0.37) that decreased to follow-up (dw = 0.22). Overall, comprehension and phonemic awareness interventions showed good maintenance of effect that transferred to nontargeted skills, whereas phonics and fluency interventions, and those for preschool and kindergarten children, tended not to. Several methodological features also related to effect sizes at follow-up, namely experimental design and dosage, and sample attrition, risk status, and gender balance

The effectiveness of the virtual reading gym online intervention for grade three to six learners with reading difficulties

Background: Research suggests that most South African learners are not achieving the expected literacy outcomes of their grades. Compounding the literacy crisis is the paucity of South African research related to information and communication technology (ICT)-based reading intervention, which may have potential for population-based service delivery. Aims and Objectives The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the Virtual Reading Gym (VRG) online intervention for grade 3 to 6 learners with reading difficulties. The objective was to describe changes in learners’ reading skills (accuracy, rate, vocabulary and comprehension) after VRG intervention. Design Two studies were carried out: (1) A retrospective analysis used data from a previous study conducted in mainstream schools which used peer reading mentors; (2) A prospective study in a school for learners with special educational needs that had speech-language therapist led intervention. Both studies used matched subject pre/ post intervention designs. Methods and Procedures In Study 1, matched pairs were retrospectively created to form a sample (n=20, 8 males and 12 females, 10 intervention group and 10 control group) of grade 3 to 6 learners. In Study 2, the prospective study, participants (n=20, 14 males and 6 females, 10 intervention group and 10 control group) were grade 3 to 6 learners from a school for learners with special educational needs in Cape Town. For both studies, the intervention group received VRG intervention 3 times per week (30 minutes per session) for 10 weeks. The control group continued with regular school activities. Independent samples t-tests for gain scores were used to analyse results. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with intervention participants from the prospective study. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the transcribed interview data. 5 Results For the retrospective analysis there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups’ reading accuracy, rate, vocabulary and comprehension improvements at the completion of the VRG intervention. Similarly, the prospective study found no statistically significant differences between the reading accuracy, vocabulary or comprehension gains of learners in the intervention and control groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups’ gains on one measure of reading rate. The thematic analysis findings were that learners expressed enjoyment of the VRG and intervention experiences, valued the role of the reading partners, believed they had made literacy skill gains, described self-competency improvements, expressed the belief that the VRG could result in reading improvements, and portrayed positive attitudinal and behavioural changes related to reading. Discussion The study contributes by investigating the potential of one practical solution to South African learners’ reading difficulties and adding to the limited local evidence base on ICT reading intervention. Although an intervention effect could not be demonstrated in this study, the changes noted in reading rate and qualitative findings suggest the potential for impact. The discussion considers some explanations for the findings, suggestions for improving interventions such as the VRG, and lines of future research that could be developed to support South African children in their struggles with reading

Orthographic Learning in Arabic-Speaking Primary School Students

The aim of this study was to examine how Arabic-speaking children construct orthographic representations and to identify cognitive/linguistic abilities that may facilitate novel word learning. The research involved first examining factors associated with single word reading and spelling accuracy in Arabic-speaking monolingual children and Arabic-English bilingual children, in order to separate universal from script-dependent predictors. Because Arabic is diglossic (i.e., two varieties of the language, one spoken, and one for literary purposes), it was considered important to include print exposure as a measure in investigating factors associated with single word reading and spelling. Thus, Study 1 involved the development of Title Recognition Tests (TRT) in Arabic and in English. Participants were children from grades three to five; 86 students participated in the development of the lists in Study 1a, and 76 in the development of the revised lists in Study 1b. Both lists were reliable and were used in the subsequent studies. Study 2 involved examining predictors of single word reading and spelling (receptive vocabulary, phonological processing, RAN, TRT, and orthographic matching) in 86 third- to fifth-grade bilingual children and 116 third-grade monolingual children. For the bilinguals, PA emerged as the strongest predictor of reading and spelling in Arabic. In English, verbal STM and orthographic matching were predictors for the younger bilinguals. PA was the strongest predictor of reading and spelling for the monolinguals. In Study 3, novel word learning in Arabic was examined using a paired-associate learning task, orthography present or absent and varying visual complexity (ligature and diacritics). The 116 monolingual children from Study 2 participated. Child-related predictors of novel word learning were examined. Results revealed that presence of orthography facilitated learning. There was evidence that consonant diacritics are a source of difficulty, but diglossic phonemes may also be responsible for reading difficulties documented in Arabic

Entwicklung und Evaluation eines silbenbasierten Leselehrgangs bei Schülerinnen und Schülern mit geistiger Behinderung

Trotz insgesamt unzureichender Datenlage deuten nationale wie internationale Untersuchungen an, dass ein bedeutender Teil der Schülerinnen und Schüler mit geistiger Behinderung das Schriftlesen im engeren Sinne erlernen kann. Allerdings zeigen internationale Studien, dass die Lernprogression im Vergleich zu nichtbehinderten Kindern deutlich verzögert ist. Eine besonders kritische Hürde im alphabetischen Leseerwerb stellt für Schülerinnen und Schüler mit geistiger Behinderung die Lautsynthese beim rekodierenden Lesen dar. Meist sind Kinder zwar in der Lage, die Buchstaben graphemweise in Laute zu übersetzen, sie können diese aber häufig nicht miteinander verschmelzen (Euker, Koch & Kuhl, 2016). Kuhl, Euker und Ennemoser (2015) konnten zeigen, dass sich deutschsprachige Schülerinnen und Schüler mit geistiger Behinderung durch eine Förderung mit dem silbenbasierten Material des Kieler Leseaufbaus (Dummer-Smoch & Hackethal, 2011) im rekodierenden Lesen von Pseudowörtern verbesserten. Ein Trainingseffekt auf das Dekodieren von Wörtern, also das Entschlüsseln von Wortbedeutungen, blieb allerdings aus. Die Autoren führen dies u.a. auf das für Kinder mit geistiger Behinderung vergleichsweise komplexe Trainingsmaterial zurück. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war daher die Entwicklung und empirische Evaluation eines silbenbasierten Lesefördermaterials (Adaption des Kieler Leseaufbaus: Dummer-Smoch & Hackethal, 2011), welches die spezifischen Bedürfnisse von Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung berücksichtigt. Der Lehrgang richtet sich an Schülerinnen und Schüler in allen Klassenstufen, die zwar über grundlegende Vorläuferkompetenzen verfügen (Buchstabenkenntnis und Phonologische Bewusstheit), aber dennoch beim alphabetischen Leseerwerb scheitern (Euker, Koch & Kuhl, 2016). Im Rahmen einer motivierenden Geschichte mit Außerirdischen werden die Schüler in einem dreiphasigen Lehrgangskonzept vom Lesen erster einfacher KV-Silben über die Synthese unbekannter KV-Gruppen bis hin zum Lesen einfacher, lauttreuer Wörter geführt. Wesentliches Merkmal des Förderkonzepts ist die Betrachtung von K(onsonant)-V(okal)-Gruppen. Die Ausnutzung der Reimanalogie zwischen KV-Silben soll den Schülern einen Zugang zur Lautsynthese ermöglichen. Lehrgangsbegleitend finden in allen Phasen Übungen zu den Vorläuferkompetenzen sowie zur Automatisierung gelernter Inhalte statt. Über einen Zeitraum von sechs Monaten erhielten 63 Schülerinnen und Schüler mit geistiger Behinderung (8 bis 17 Jahre) wöchentlich zwei bis drei Schulstunden entweder eine silbenbasierte Leseförderung mit dem adaptierten Fördermaterial oder folgten als Kontrollgruppe dem üblichen Leseunterricht. Die Förderung wurde von zuvor geschulten Lehrkräften der Schulen durchgeführt. Beide Gruppen waren in den Vortestwerten hinsichtlich ihrer schriftsprachlichen und phonologischen Kompetenz sowie der Intelligenz- und der Arbeitsgedächtnisleistung vergleichbar. Mit einem Prä-Posttest-Follow-Up-Design wurden die Trainingserfolge überprüft. Die Follow-Up Erhebungen fanden drei bzw. sechs Monate nach dem Ende der Förderung statt. Die eingesetzten Erhebungsinstrumente überprüften die Rechtschreibung, das Lesen von Konsonant-Vokal-Verbindungen, das Rekodieren von Pseudowörtern, das Dekodieren sowie die schriftsprachlichen Vorläuferkompetenzen. Zur Analyse der Trainingseffekte wurden Kovarianzanalysen (ANCOVAs) eingesetzt. Zum Posttest zeigte die Silbenfördergruppe im Rekodieren von Konsonant-Vokal-Verbindungen signifikant größere Lernzuwächse als die Kontrollgruppe. Dieser Vorsprung vergrößerte sich drei bzw. sechs Monate nach der Förderung. Effekte auf das Rekodieren von Pseudowörtern und das Dekodieren von Wörtern zeigten sich erst zu den Follow-Up Erhebungen. Dieses Ergebnis korrespondiert mit den Befunden von Allor, Mathes, Roberts, Jones und Champlin (2010), die signifikante Fördereffekte auf das Wortlesen ebenfalls erst nach einem Jahr Förderung feststellen konnten. Die langfristige Wirkung – trotz des vergleichsweise kurzen Interventionszeitraums von sechs Monaten – wird auf das implementative Setting zurückgeführt. Die Ergebnisse der Studie lassen insgesamt darauf schließen, dass Schülerinnen und Schüler mit geistiger Behinderung von einer individualisierten, längerfristigen, konsistenten und expliziten silbenbasierten Leseförderung profitieren können

Les difficultés de lecture chez les enfants ayant un trouble développemental du langage : validation d’un nouvel outil d’évaluation du langage écrit et relations avec les fonctions exécutives

Thèse de doctorat présenté en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie - recherche intervention, option neuropsychologie clinique (Ph.D)Le trouble développemental du langage (TDL) est souvent associé à des difficultés de lecture, tant sur le plan de la compréhension de lecture que de l’identification des mots écrits, mais les habiletés de lecture varient d’un enfant à l’autre chez cette population. Il est important de s’intéresser aux facteurs de risque qui engendrent des difficultés de lecture chez les enfants ayant un TDL afin de mieux cibler ceux ayant besoin de soutien dans ce domaine et d’optimiser les méthodes d’intervention qui leur sont offertes. Alors que certains facteurs de risque sont bien connus, comme le degré et l’étendue de l’atteinte langagière orale, d’autres demeurent peu étudiés, comme une atteinte des fonctions exécutives (FE). Pourtant, le lien entre FE et lecture est bien établi et les enfants ayant un TDL sont nombreux à vivre des difficultés en FE. Les objectifs principaux de cette thèse, composée de deux articles, étaient d’examiner les profils de lecteurs et d’étudier les liens entre FE et compréhension de lecture chez des enfants francophones du primaire ayant un TDL. Pour y arriver, le premier article poursuit la validation des sous-tests « Lecture de mots et de pseudomots » et « Dictée de mots et de pseudomots » du Test d’évaluation du langage écrit québécois (TELEQ). Ces sous-tests ont été développés et prévalidés pour répondre au manque d’outils d’évaluation du langage écrit détenant de bonnes propriétés psychométriques et adaptés aux enfants franco-québécois du primaire. Deux objectifs étaient poursuivis : 1) consolider la validation de ces sous-tests auprès d’enfants ayant une dyslexie-dysorthographie 2) offrir des normes préliminaires pour ces sous-tests. Les participants étaient répartis dans le groupe contrôle (n = 171) et clinique (n = 49). Les courbes de caractéristique de performance ont permis de déterminer la sensibilité (87,76 %) et la spécificité (97,66 %) de l’utilisation des six mesures obtenues à ces sous-tests. Ces sous-tests s’avèrent pertinents pour l’évaluation des difficultés de lecture et d’écriture ainsi que pour le diagnostic et le dépistage de la dyslexie-dysorthographie dans les milieux cliniques et de recherche québécois. Dans le deuxième article, le TELEQ a été utilisé pour décrire les profils de lecteurs d’enfants ayant un TDL et examiner le lien entre les FE et la compréhension de lecture. Le TELEQ a été administré à 81 enfants de la 4e à la 6e année primaire (contrôle : n = 66, TDL : n = 15). Une majorité d’enfants ayant un TDL présentait des difficultés en compréhension de lecture et en identification des mots écrits (profil faible lecteur, 8/13). Une évaluation globale des FE a montré que plusieurs des enfants ayant un TDL présentaient une atteinte importante des FE. Parmi les enfants ayant un TDL au profil faible lecteur, la majorité présentait à la fois une atteinte des processus cognitifs ne nécessitant pas les inférences et une atteinte des processus cognitifs nécessitant les inférences en compréhension de lecture, mais deux cas d’exception étaient observés. Chez eux, certains facteurs protecteurs étaient relevés, tels que l’absence d’une atteinte sur la sphère réceptive du langage (2/2) ou en FE (1/2). Les FE étaient fortement reliées aux habiletés de compréhension de lecture dans les deux groupes (contrôle : r = 0,38, TDL : r = 0,72). Dans le groupe TDL, les FE étaient reliées aux deux types de processus cognitifs en compréhension de lecture (nécessitant ou non les inférences), alors que dans le groupe contrôle, les FE étaient reliées seulement aux processus nécessitant les inférences. Les FE n’apportaient pas de valeur prédictive unique à la compréhension de lecture au-delà des variables du modèle simple de la lecture (compréhension langagière orale et identification de mots écrits), deux composantes déjà connues comme impliquées dans la compréhension de lecture. Ainsi, l’effet des FE sur la compréhension de lecture semble être majoritairement indirect, via son effet sur les deux composantes du modèle simple de la lecture. Les implications théoriques et cliniques des résultats de cette thèse sont discutées à la lumière des connaissances actuelles et différentes pistes de recherches futures sont évoquées.Developmental language disorder (DLD) is often associated with reading difficulties in both reading comprehension and written word identification, but reading skills vary from child to child in this population. It is important to address the risk factors that lead to reading difficulties in children with DLD to better target children who need support in this area and to optimize the intervention methods offered to them. While some risk factors are well known, such as the degree and extent of oral language impairment, others remain poorly studied, such as executive function (EF) impairment. However, the link between EF and reading is well established and many children with DLD experience difficulties in EF. The main objectives of this thesis, consisting of two articles, were to examine the profiles of readers and to study the links between EF and reading comprehension in French-speaking primary school children with TDL. To this end, the first paper continues the validation of the subtests "Lecture de mots et de pseudomots" and "Dictée de mots et de pseudomots " of the Test d'évaluation du langage écrit québécois (TELEQ). These subtests were developed and pre-validated in response to the lack of written language assessment tool with good psychometric properties and adapted to Quebec francophone children in elementary school. Two objectives were pursued: 1) to consolidate the validation of these subtests with children with dyslexia/dysorthographia 2) to provide preliminary norms for these subtests. Participants were divided into control (n = 171) and clinical (n = 49) groups. Performance characteristic curves were used to determine the sensitivity (87.76%) and specificity (97.66%) of using the six measures obtained on these subtests. These subtests have proven to be relevant tools for the assessment of reading and writing difficulties as well as for the diagnosis and screening of dyslexia/dysorthographia in Quebec clinical and research settings. In the second paper, the TELEQ was used to describe the reading profiles of children with DLD and to examine the relationship between EF and reading comprehension. The TELEQ was administered to 81 children in grades 4-6 (control: n = 66, DLD: n = 15). A majority of DLD children had difficulties in reading comprehension and written word identification (poor reader profile; 8/13). A global assessment of EF showed that many of the DLD children had significant impairment in EF. Among DLD children with poor reader profile, the majority showed both impairment of cognitive processes not requiring inference and impairment of processes requiring inference in reading comprehension, but two exceptional cases were observed. In these cases, certain protective factors were noted, such as the absence of impairment in the receptive sphere of language (2/2) or in EF (1/2). EF were strongly related to reading comprehension skills in both groups (control: r = 0.38, DLD: r = 0.72). In the DLD group, EF were related to both types of cognitive processes in reading comprehension (requiring or not inferences), whereas EFs were only related to processes requiring inferences in the control group. EF did not provide unique predictive value for reading comprehension beyond the variables of the simple view of reading (listening comprehension and word identification skills), two components already known to be involved in reading comprehension. Thus, the effect of FE on reading comprehension seems to be mostly indirect, via its effect on the two components of the simple view of reading The theoretical and clinical implications of the results of this thesis are discussed in the light of current knowledge and various avenues for future research are discussed