The development of children\u27s orthographic knowledge: A microgenetic perspective

Literacy scholars traditionally described spelling development as a stage-like progression of increasing orthographic understanding measured by orthographic feature errors children used but confused (Henderson, 1980; Ehri, 1992). Overlapping Wave theorists defined spelling development as a series of adaptive choices between sophisticated and unsophisticated spelling strategies measured by the type and amount of strategies children used (Siegler, 1996). To disentangle discrepancies found between the alternative viewpoints, the current study: replicated and extended a previous investigation that described spelling development as overlapping waves (Riffle-Johnson & Sieger, 1999); investigated differential feedback conditions as a source of spelling growth; and examined correlates between orthographic features and spelling strategies used by low-ability first-grade students. The study used a trial-by-trial microgenetic approach combining statistical and observational methods. The study found evidence of spelling development proceeding in accumulative phases, continuously, and in overlapping waves concomitantly. Results defined three feature-strategy relationships: (1) direct relationships between orthographic feature knowledge and spelling strategy use, (2) time-sensitive relationships dependent on the depth of orthographic understanding, and (3) stable relationships not affecting strategy use. Individual differences in children\u27s growth rate uncovered the Matthew effect (Stanovich, 1986). Additionally, the study illustrated the advantages of a microgenetic mixed design

Production and perception of L2 English orthographic and phonological representations by L1 Tera/Hausa speakers :an experimental study

PhD ThesisOral English is an integral part of the English language syllabus in Nigeria's secondary schools. However, pronunciation is problematic for students due to factors which include the complexity of grapheme-phoneme correspondences in English, the influence of the students' first language (L1), Tera/Hausa and the method of teaching. Research in second language (L2) acquisition of phonology and on the role of orthographic input has shown that learners’ phonological development can be affected as a result of L2 orthographic input (e.g. Young-Scholten 2002; Rafat 2011 & 2016; Bassetti, Escudero and Hayes-Harb 2015; Bassetti and Atkinson 2015; Young-Scholten and Langer 2015). To this effect, the present study is based on the idea that it is possible to address the difficulties that teaching L2 English pronunciation creates for L1 Tera/Hausa (Chadic languages) speakers. This involved providing L2 orthographic input to see whether it influenced learners’ underlying representations and in turn their oral production. The research involved an intervention study which was aimed at experimentally examining Tera/Hausa speaking secondary school students' production and perception of English orthography and phonological representations with respect to consonant clusters such as clock, straw, and desk, digraphs in clusters such as bench, fridge, and syringe, silent singletons such as knife, signboard, and whistle and digraph singletons such as phone, duck, and ring. The study was conducted with 73 Tera/Hausa speaking secondary school students in Gombe state, Nigeria in pre-testing and post-testing in four sub-tests consisting of two production tasks (picture-naming and reading aloud) and two perception tasks (epenthesis and dictation). A proficiency test was conducted prior to the pre-test which resulted in participants being identified as belonging to three proficiency levels. The learners were randomly (not based on their proficiency) divided into three experimental condition groups and taught eight lessons in 20-minute sessions over four school weeks. Three methods were used for the instruction: listening + orthography group where the group were taught while listening to native speaker recordings of the lessons on an audio player while seeing the written forms; listening-only group, who were taught by only listening to the recordings of the lessons without any written form; and traditional teaching who were taught by a non-native speaking English teacher using the teaching methods normally used in Nigeria to teach English. The hypotheses for the study were based on the idea that although Tera and English both use the Roman alphabet they have their own orthographies, grapheme-phoneme correspondences differ and this will affect Tera/Hausa speakers’ L2 phonology. As a result, without intervention iv at pre-test, it was predicted that the learners will not correctly produce and perceive L2 English consonant clusters, digraphs in clusters, silent singletons and digraph singletons due to problems with the L2 syllable structure. However, with intervention among three experimental condition groups, there will be significant improvement by the group that received explicit phonological and orthographic input than the other groups which did not receive explicit instruction. Qualitative analysis revealed a greater reduction at post-test in error rate by the listening + orthography group on all the error categories on the picture-naming task, reading aloud task and dictation task, compared to the traditional teaching method group and the listening-only group. There was a scattered error reduction rate by the three different proficiency levels. Similarly, in the quantitative analysis, the listening + orthography group yielded significantly greater improvement on the dictation task, picture-naming task and reading aloud task (p ≤ 0.05) compared to the traditional teaching method group and the listening-only group. Although, the traditional teaching method group yielded better improvement on the epenthesis task, the difference between their mean scores with that of the listening + orthography group did not differ significantly (0.22 points). Proficiency level, however, did not significantly influence performance on any of the tasks. The study highlights the effect of orthographic input on Tera/Hausa learners’ production perception in the acquisition of English and uniquely serve as the first phonological acquisition study with African data. The findings of this study allow us to make recommendations for the best and most effective ways of teaching oral English in Nigeria and in secondary schools elsewhere

The effectiveness of a computer-supported intervention targeting phonological recoding and orthographic processing for children with word reading impairment

This research designed, developed, trialled, and evaluated a reading intervention targeting phonological recoding and orthographic processing for children with persistent reading impairment. Eight otherwise typically developing Year 2 participants with reading delay despite previous intervention, were randomly assigned to two groups in a single subject multiple-treatment cross-over design study. The results of group and individual analyses indicated that all participants made significant gains on measures of nonword reading with trends for gains in word reading

Planare Graphen und ihre Dualgraphen auf Zylinderoberflächen

In this thesis, we investigates plane drawings of undirected and directed graphs on cylinder surfaces. In the case of undirected graphs, the vertices are positioned on a line that is parallel to the cylinder’s axis and the edge curves must not intersect this line. We show that a plane drawing is possible if and only if the graph is a double-ended queue (deque) graph, i. e., the vertices of the graph can be processed according to a linear order and the edges correspond to items in the deque inserted and removed at their end vertices. A surprising consequence resulting from these observations is that the deque characterizes planar graphs with a Hamiltonian path. This result extends the known characterization of planar graphs with a Hamiltonian cycle by two stacks. By these insights, we also obtain a new characterization of queue graphs and their duals. We also consider the complexity of deciding whether a graph is a deque graph and prove that it is NP-complete. By introducing a split operation, we obtain the splittable deque and show that it characterizes planarity. For the proof, we devise an algorithm that uses the splittable deque to test whether a rotation system is planar. In the case of directed graphs, we study upward plane drawings where the edge curves follow the direction of the cylinder’s axis (standing upward planarity; SUP) or they wind around the axis (rolling upward planarity; RUP). We characterize RUP graphs by means of their duals and show that RUP and SUP swap their roles when considering a graph and its dual. There is a physical interpretation underlying this characterization: A SUP graph is to its RUP dual graph as electric current passing through a conductor to the magnetic field surrounding the conductor. Whereas testing whether a graph is RUP is NP-hard in general [Bra14], for directed graphs without sources and sink, we develop a linear-time recognition algorithm that is based on our dual graph characterization of RUP graphs.Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit planaren Zeichnungen ungerichteter und gerichteter Graphen auf Zylinderoberflächen. Im ungerichteten Fall werden Zeichnungen betrachtet, bei denen die Knoten auf einer Linie parallel zur Zylinderachse positioniert werden und die Kanten diese Linie nicht schneiden dürfen. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass eine planare Zeichnung genau dann möglich ist, wenn die Kanten des Graphen in einer double-ended queue (Deque) verarbeitet werden können. Ebenso lassen sich dadurch Queue, Stack und Doppelstack charakterisieren. Eine überraschende Konsequenz aus diesen Erkenntnissen ist, dass die Deque genau die planaren Graphen mit Hamiltonpfad charakterisiert. Dies erweitert die bereits bekannte Charakterisierung planarer Graphen mit Hamiltonkreis durch den Doppelstack. Im gerichteten Fall müssen die Kantenkurven entweder in Richtung der Zylinderachse verlaufen (SUP-Graphen) oder sich um die Achse herumbewegen (RUP-Graphen). Die Arbeit charakterisiert RUP-Graphen und zeigt, dass RUP und SUP ihre Rollen tauschen, wenn man Graph und Dualgraph betrachtet. Der SUP-Graph verhält sich dabei zum RUP-Graphen wie elektrischer Strom durch einen Leiter zum induzierten Magnetfeld. Ausgehend von dieser Charakterisierung ist es möglich einen Linearzeit-Algorithmus zu entwickeln, der entscheidet ob ein gerichteter Graph ohne Quellen und Senken ein RUP-Graph ist, während der allgemeine Fall NP-hart ist [Bra14]

The effects of a peer-mediated synthetic phonics intervention with children from a rural Indian town

PhD ThesisIt’s a truism that children living in rural areas of India suffer from a lack of quality reading instruction and guidance. Singular rote pedagogies hinder children’s progress and potential for higher study. In light of this, research continues to find benefits in synthetic phonic and peer learning methods, offering a potential avenue for accelerating early reading achievement. This study investigated the effects of a peer-mediated synthetic phonics programme operating in a rural Northern Indian town. Following a sociocultural peer cooperative approach to reading instruction, children from a low-cost private school (N = 44) were recruited as Monitors and trained in a peer/synthetic method ahead of a four-month intervention. Given localised problems associated with education access and quality, children from a range of mainstream education providers (N = 701) were recruited as Learners and randomised into control and intervention groups. An embedded mix methods research design was incorporated into a three-phase research plan. Using an experimental random controlled trial (RCT) design, quantitative collections involved pre/post testing on all children’s phonological awareness, spelling, reading skills and reading attitudes. Qualitative collections during phase two developed pre-test findings by exploring Monitors’ reading attitudes ahead of the intervention. The main findings suggest children receiving peer-mediated synthetic phonic instructions are able to improve their English phonemic awareness, spelling, and reading skills. It demonstrates capacity for accelerating reading achievement over a short intervention period, potential for further study in this area and pedagogical reform. In addition to this, factors associated with peer reading opportunities, location and pedagogical structure improved reading attitudes. Attitudes to reading is an underdeveloped area in Indian education policy, it is not referred to in any policy documents or curricula. The significance of peer reading promotion in academic and recreational settings is crucial to accelerating reading achievement. Taken as a whole, this research has major implications for international development programmes looking to target progression in early reading achievement and the promotion of positive attitudes in reading activities

Increasing Reading Skills for Students With Intellectual Disabilities Through Lively Letters

All students can learn how to read, but students with intellectual disabilities (ID) often learn at a slower rate than their peers without disabilities. The purpose of this quantitative, pretest-posttest study design was to analyze whether Lively Letters (LL), a researched-based program, was a useful tool for teaching students with ID to read by using a multisensory approach. The two main theories used were Bandura’s social cognitive theory, also known as social learning theory, and Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Sixty-eight students participated in a self-contained program. The students’ phonological skills (PA) skills were measured before and after the LL implementation, including differences based on (a) student’s language ability (i.e., monolingual or bilingual), (b) the severity of the student’s ID (i.e., mild, moderate, or severe), and (c) their grade. Data were analyzed using z test and paired t test. The results indicated significant differences between pre and post scores for 6 of the 9 PA skills and grades, but no statistically significant differences were found based on primary language and severity of ID, and statistically significant differences were found for some, but not all, grades. The implication for a positive social change is that LL can meet the needs of monolingual and bilingual students with ID in learning how to read novel words for both academic and community-based subjects

Increasing Reading Skills for Students With Intellectual Disabilities Through Lively Letters

All students can learn how to read, but students with intellectual disabilities (ID) often learn at a slower rate than their peers without disabilities. The purpose of this quantitative, pretest-posttest study design was to analyze whether Lively Letters (LL), a researched-based program, was a useful tool for teaching students with ID to read by using a multisensory approach. The two main theories used were Bandura’s social cognitive theory, also known as social learning theory, and Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Sixty-eight students participated in a self-contained program. The students’ phonological skills (PA) skills were measured before and after the LL implementation, including differences based on (a) student’s language ability (i.e., monolingual or bilingual), (b) the severity of the student’s ID (i.e., mild, moderate, or severe), and (c) their grade. Data were analyzed using z test and paired t test. The results indicated significant differences between pre and post scores for 6 of the 9 PA skills and grades, but no statistically significant differences were found based on primary language and severity of ID, and statistically significant differences were found for some, but not all, grades. The implication for a positive social change is that LL can meet the needs of monolingual and bilingual students with ID in learning how to read novel words for both academic and community-based subjects

Phonemic awareness and sight word reading in toddlers

This study investigated emerging phonemic awareness skills and printed sight word recognition abilities in two-year-old toddlers using plain text and MorphoPhonic Face words on flash cards. MorphoPhonic Face words were used to determine if this learning process is enhanced when words are iconically represented to show the first sound and the word\u27s meaning (purposefully creating idiosyncratic cues) using pictures superimposed into the letters. Sixteen (16) age-matched toddlers were assigned to alternate treatment groups and received exposure to both printed and MorphoPhonic pictured words three times weekly for six weeks. During each session, children were taught 16 sight words (8 in print only format; 8 as MorphoPhonic words). Words taught using print only to Group 1 were taught using MorphoPhonic words to Group 2, and vice versa. The subjects were compared for pre and posttest measures of emergent literacy and phonological awareness skills as well as word recognition under print only and MorphoPhonic conditions. Three instruments, were administered at pre- and posttest to assess vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, and language segmentation. In addition, four measures for word recognition were administered to assess word knowledge. A Home Literacy Questionnaire, assessing direct and indirect literacy experiences, was also completed for each child. Mean gain analyses across pre-and post-assessments revealed that two-year-old toddlers demonstrated significant improvements in early literacy and phonological awareness skills after six weeks treatment. It was also revealed that sight words learned under the MorphoPhonic condition were recognized more frequently than those learned as print only. Strong correlations between measures of literacy experience and gains in sight word recognition were evident. In addition, the toddlers’ development of phonemic awareness skills and gains in emergent literacy skills produced strong interactions with their direct and indirect home literacy experiences. The results of this study challenge the currently accepted view that phonemic awareness and early literacy skills are secondary language skills learned through explicit instruction. Instead this study supports that phonemic awareness, early literacy, and sight word recognition skills can be learned as early as two years of age via a natural language acquisition process in the presence of print-rich environments

SENSITIVITY AND PRECISION ANALYSIS OF THE GRAPH COMPLEXITY CONNECTIVITY METHOD

In the Graph Complexity Connectivity Method (GCCM), twenty nine complexity metrics applied against engineering design graphs are used to create surrogate prediction models of engineering design representations (assembly models and function structures) for given product performance values (assembly time and market value). The performance of these prediction models has been previously assessed solely based on accuracy. In this thesis, the predictive precision of the surrogate models is evaluated in order to assess the GCCM\u27s ability to generate consistent results under the same conditions. The Assembly Model - Assembly Time (AM-AT) prediction model performed the best in terms of both accuracy and precision. This demonstrates that when given assembly models, one can consistently predict accurate assembly times. Further, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify the significant complexity metrics in the estimation of the performance values, assembly time and market value. The results of the analysis suggest that for each prediction model, there exists at least one metric from each complexity class (size, interconnection, centrality, and decomposition) which is identified as a significant predictor. Two of the twenty nine complexity metrics are found to be significant for all four prediction models: number of elements and density of the in-core numbers. The significant complexity metrics were used to create simplified surrogate models to predict the product performance values. The test results indicate that the precision of the prediction models increases but the accuracy decreases when the unique significant metric sets are used. Finally, three experiments are conducted in order to investigate the effect of manipulation of the significant complexity metrics in predicting the performance values. The results suggest that the significant metric sets perform better in predicting the product performance values as compared to the manipulated metric sets of either union or intersection of metrics