The Effect of Prosody Instruction on Reading Fluency and Comprehension Among Third-Grade Students

Problem Many students are failing to become proficient readers with current instructional methods used in American schools. Students frequently make improvements in two of fluency’s dimensions, rate and accuracy, but these improvements have not consistently correlated to improvements in reading comprehension, which is the objective of reading. The automaticity plus prosody (APP) model was developed by this researcher from Topping’s deep processing fluency model to explain why teaching and assessing the multiple dimensions of fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) improve comprehension. The purpose of this study was to compare students in a private school in a small town in southwestern Michigan who received a treatment of only repeated reading and self- graphing with students who received a treatment of repeated reading, self-graphing, and an instructional focus of prosody. Method An experimental pretest-posttest with control group design was used in this study. Participants were members of a class of third-grade students (n=20) from a private school in southwestern Michigan. The control group consisted of half the students (n=10), and the treatment group consisted of the remainder of the students (n=10). Students were initially matched based on their teacher’s informal assessment results for reading comprehension and reading fluency based on the students’ raw scores from the MASI-R Oral Reading Fluency Measures and CORE Reading Maze Comprehension Test . One student from each matched pair was then randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. The students were trained to engage in repeated reading using fiction passages at their independent reading level. Students in the intervention group were also taught lessons with an instructional focus on prosody. The study consisted of 21 sessions, 20-30 minutes per session, 3 days per week, over 7 weeks. Reading comprehension and dimensions of fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) were the dependent variables. These variables were measured with the AIMS-web Maze-CBM, the AIMS-web R-CBM, and the Multidimensional Fluency Scale. Results One between (treatment) and within subjects (test period) ANOVA indicated that treatment and interaction (treatment by test period) effects for all dependent variables (rate, accuracy, prosody, and reading comprehension) were not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. However, test period main effect was statistically significant for three of the four dependent variables (p\u3c0.05). No significant changes over test periods were found for accuracy. For prosody (F(3,60) = 6.30, p= .001, ɳ2 =.26), and rate F(1.85, 36.91) = 13.09, p\u3c.001, ɳ2 =.42), significant increases took place between test period 2 (week 3) and test period 3 (week 6). For reading comprehension (F(3,60)=33.20, p\u3c.001, ɳ2 =.65), significant change was observed between test periods 3 and 4. These results indicate that students improved in rate, prosody, and reading comprehension regardless of whether or not they received instruction on prosody. Thus, for this group of third-grade students, prosody instruction appears to be not effective in helping students improve reading fluency and comprehension. Conclusions The APP model, as applied to reading development, was supported by the results. Repeated reading with self-graphing, which was done with students in both the control and intervention groups, developed students’ basic fluency through appropriate, successful practice that led to automaticity. These gains in automaticity contributed to higher comprehension and oral expression, both of which are elements of expressive fluency. Whereas non-significant results did not show an instructional focus on prosody- created heightened levels of fluency or comprehension, the length of the study, the small sample size, and other limitations may have mitigated against adequate opportunity to identify differences between the groups. This study did confirm that students’ fluency and comprehension levels can be significantly raised in a short period of time

Biomarkers for assessing human female reproductive health, an interdisciplinary approach.

Identification of environmental hazards to reproductive health and characterization of the adverse outcomes necessitate a multidisciplinary approach. Epidemiologic studies are required for the identification of adverse health effects in human populations and then to confirm that specific exposures are responsible. Clinical studies are required to develop assays for reproductive biomarkers and to validate these assays prior to their application in the field. Assays for field use must be formatted and streamlined for large-scale applications and, whenever possible, computer algorithms should be developed to interpret biomarker data. Appropriate animal models must be identified, biomarker assays validated for that model, and animal experiments conducted to identify the mode of action and target organ of a putative reproductive toxicant. Finally, in vitro studies at the level of the cell and cell organelle are essential for mechanisms for toxicity to be clearly identified and understood. In this article we describe the interdisciplinary approach that we have developed for study of the effects of environmental agents on female reproductive functions. This effort requires specific skills of toxicologists, epidemiologists, physicians, biochemists, and physiologists

The Impact of a Parkinson’s Disease Workshop on Student’s Attitudes and Competencies Towards Interprofessional Collaboration

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LTL pricing: Looking back to the future

Numerous LTL carriers struggled during the recent recession as customers demanded lower prices. This study is designed to qualitatively evaluate the data gathered from three industry segments regarding LTL pricing. Researchers used semi-structured interviews to conduct an in-depth investigation with over two dozen industry experts who represented shippers, carriers, and 3PLs. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory coding technique. Five major themes emerged from the interview transcripts. These themes are used to describe possible future adjustments to industry pricing structure

There\u27ll be Some Changes Made / music by W. Benton Overstreet; words by Billy Higgins

Cover: Genuine Struttin-Blues Series; Publisher: Edward B. Marks Music Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_d/1051/thumbnail.jp

There\u27ll Be Some Changes Made / music by W. Benton Overstreet; words by Billy Higgins

Cover: Genuine Struttin-Blues series by natural born writers of blues, Listing of songs; Publisher: Edward B. Marks Music Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_d/1054/thumbnail.jp

Mapping the bathymetry of supraglacial lakes and streams on the Greenland Ice Sheet using field measurements and high resolution satellite images

Recent melt events on the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) accentuate the need to constrain estimates of sea level rise through improved characterization of meltwater pathways. This effort will require more precise estimates of the volume of water stored on the surface of the GrIS. We assessed the potential to obtain such information by mapping the bathymetry of supraglacial lakes and streams from WorldView2 (WV2) satellite images. Simultaneous in situ observations of depth and reflectance from two streams and a lake with measured depths up to 10.45 m were used to test a spectrally based depth retrieval algorithm. We performed optimal band ratio analysis (OBRA) of continuous field spectra and spectra convolved to the bands of the WV2, Landsat 7 (ETM+), MODIS, and ASTER sensors. The field spectra yielded a strong relationship with depth (R² = 0.94), and OBRA R² values were nearly as high (0.87–0.92) for convolved spectra, suggesting that these sensors' broader bands would be sufficient for depth retrieval. Our field measurements thus indicated that remote sensing of supraglacial bathymetry is not only feasible but potentially highly accurate. OBRA of spectra from 2 m-pixel WV2 images acquired within 3–72 h of our field observations produced an optimal R² value of 0.92 and unbiased, precise depth estimates, with mean and root mean square errors < 1% and 10–25% of the mean depth. Bathymetric maps produced by applying OBRA relations revealed subtle features of lake and channel morphology. In addition to providing refined storage volume estimates for lakes of various sizes, this approach can help provide estimates of the transient flux of meltwater through stream

Identification of anovulation and transient luteal function using a urinary pregnanediol-3-glucuronide ratio algorithm.

The sensitivity and specificity of a urinary pregnanediol-3-glucuronide (PdG) ratio algorithm to identify anovulatory cycles was studied prospectively in two independent populations of women. Urinary hormone data from the first group was used to develop the algorithm, and data from the second group was used for its validation. PdG ratios were calculated by a cycles method in which daily PdG concentrations indexed by creatinine (CR) from cycle day 11 onward were divided by a baseline PdG (average PdG/Cr concentration for cycle days 6-10). In the interval method, daily PdG/CR concentrations from day 1 onward were divided by baseline PdG (lowest 5-day average of PdG/CR values throughout the collection period). Evaluation of the first study population (n = 6) resulted in cycles with PdG ratios > or = 3 for > or = 3 consecutive days being classified as ovulatory; otherwise they were anovulatory. The sensitivity and specificity of the PdG ratio algorithm to identify anovulatory cycles in the second population were 75% and 89.5%, respectively, for all cycles (n = 88); 50% and 88.3% for first cycles (n = 40) using the cycles method; 75% and 92.2%, respectively, for all cycles (n = 89); and 50% and 94.1% for first cycles (n = 40) using the interval method. The "gold standard" for anovulation was weekly serum samples < or = 2 ng/ml progesterone. The sensitivity values for all cycles and for the first cycle using both methods were underestimated because of apparent misclassification of cycles using serum progesterone due to infrequent blood collection. Blood collection more than once a week would have greatly improved the sensitivity and modestly improved the specificity of the algorithm. The PdG ratio algorithm provides an efficient approach for screening urine samples collected in epidemiologic studies of reproductive health in women

Multi-study analysis of learning culture, human capital and operational performance in supply chain management: The moderating role of workforce level

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the relationship between learning culture, workforce level, human capital and operational performance in two diverse supply chain populations, aircraft maintenance and logistics readiness. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing upon competence-based view of the firm and human capital theory, this paper analyzes data from two studies. Findings – The results provide support for the hypothesized model. Workforce level moderates the relationship between learning culture and human capital, and human capital partially mediates the relationship between learning culture and operational performance. Research limitations/implications – The findings have implications for behavioral supply chain management research and implications for educating and training the supply chain management workforce. While the populations represent a diverse set of logistics functions and responsibilities, the participants are all military members, which may limit generalizability. Practical implications – This study should help leaders understand the importance of learning culture and the perceived differences in its effect on human capital based upon workforce level. Originality/value – This research is among the first to investigate the role of workforce level and answers a multitude of calls for research into the human side of supply chain management