{"title":"Evaluation of a Spelling Intervention Program for Third Graders at Risk for Learning Disabilities","authors":"Konstantina Fragkouli, Faye Antoniou, Angeliki Mouzaki, A. Ralli, Vasiliki Kokkali, Kariofyllia Alexoudi","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1987362","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1987362","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The development of spelling skill is an intricate process for children with or at risk of Specific Learning Disabilities and requires targeted interventions. This problem exacerbates in the Greek orthographic system owning to its high complexity. The current study presents a novel spelling intervention program for Greek 3rd graders at risk of Specific Learning Disabilities, which was founded upon the principles of Direct Instruction and encompassed evidence-based practices. The effectiveness of the proposed 16-h intervention program was investigated via its implementation in Greek resource rooms by the corresponding teachers. The children were randomly assigned into the intervention (n = 39) and the comparison group (n = 34). Standardized tests were used for children’s assessment during pretests, post-tests I, and post-tests II. Importantly, the results obtained via ANOVA demonstrated that the children of the intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement in spelling contrary to the comparison group. Additionally, the impact of the intervention program on children’s decoding and fluency skills was examined, yielding enhanced, yet, no statistically significant outcomes. The educational implications of the related findings are also discussed. Overall, the proposed study provides tangible evidence that spelling can be taught effectively to SLD children.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"544 - 563"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44675755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relation Among Phonological Processing, Oral and Silent Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension for Students with Dyslexia: A Longitudinal Investigation","authors":"M. F. Robinson, Elizabeth B. Meisinger","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1972880","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1972880","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among phonological skills, reading fluency, and reading comprehension across reading modality (oral and silent) for a sample of students (N = 121) in grades 2–5 who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. Participants were administered text-level oral and silent reading fluency and comprehension assessments and selected phonological processing measures at the beginning and end of the school year. Cross-lagged path analyses were used to examine the relations among the phonological processing and reading skills across two theoretical models, one depicting reading fluency as a single construct and another representing rate and accuracy separately. Across models, results indicated that oral reading contributed to silent reading development but that this relation was not reciprocal. RAN emerged as a robust contributor to all aspects of oral and silent reading examined in this study, whereas phonological awareness contributed to fluency across modalities but did not impact end-of-year comprehension. Results generally followed a pattern of progression from lower to higher reading skills and from oral to silent reading. Further, important trends with regard to the contribution of phonological awareness to fluency subskills (rate and accuracy) were obscured when fluency was considered as a single construct, suggesting that it may be important for researchers to consider these subskills separately.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"436 - 453"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44827737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relationship Between a Reader's Self-Concept and Achievement: Which Aspect Matters the Most and for Whom?","authors":"Kristin Conradi Smith, Bong Gee Jang","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1972881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1972881","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Although both theory and research assert the importance of a reader’s self-concept, we lack a nuanced understanding of the underlying subcomponents of reading self-concept as they relate to achievement and whether this relationship might differ for developing readers. In the present study, we examined the reading self-concepts of nearly 500 4th grade and 5th grade students. Using a bivariate correlational analysis, three subcomponents were examined to consider how they independently related to students' reading comprehension. In addition to considering these relationships for the entire sample, we also looked at how the association differed for developing readers compared with advanced readers using multiple regression analyses. Results suggest that perceptions of difficulty and attitudes contributed to variance when the entire sample was considered, but when students were divided into groups based on ability, only perceptions of competence mattered and only for the advanced readers. Our findings clarify that a reader's perception of difficulty is most related to achievement, but only for advanced readers. Further, by revealing no significant relationship between aspects of self-concept and achievement for developing readers, our findings hint at the possible preceding importance of some degree of proficiency.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"454 - 468"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46530262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Profiles of Oral and Reading Comprehension in Poor Comprehenders","authors":"K. Kelso, A. Whitworth, S. Leitão","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1982432","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1982432","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aimed to profile the sublexical, lexical, and text level language skills, and cognitive processes of a sub-group of children with poor reading comprehension known as poor comprehenders. An assessment protocol was developed to assess each of the components from Perfetti and Stafura’s Reading Systems Framework. A comprehensive profile was obtained for 17 poor comprehenders in School Years 3–6 (aged 8–11 years), each assessed individually. Consistent with previous research, and irrespective of age, the poor comprehenders in this study did not have difficulty with sublexical and word reading skills overall. Unexpectedly, only two children had difficulty with the lower-level language tasks at the Lexicon and sentence sub-level of the Reading Systems Framework. In contrast, 15 poor comprehenders had difficulty with higher-level comprehension processes. All children had weak verbal working memory, supporting previous research findings. The study provides direction for clinical assessment tasks for use with this population.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"526 - 543"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48233768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I. Fajardo, A. Pérez, Antonio Ferrer, Patricia Pérez-Fuster, A. García-Blanco
{"title":"Anaphor Processing During Reading Comprehension in Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder","authors":"I. Fajardo, A. Pérez, Antonio Ferrer, Patricia Pérez-Fuster, A. García-Blanco","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1982430","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1982430","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract With the purpose of promoting academic inclusion, it is essential for educators to understand the nature underlying poor reading comprehension in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this study, we examined the time course of anaphor resolution during text comprehension in children and adolescents with ASD and a group of children with Typical Development (TD) matched in chronological age (age range: 9–16) and non-verbal IQ. Their eye movements were monitored as they read short paragraphs in which two factors were manipulated: (1) the semantic typicality of an antecedent (e.g. shark vs. salmon) with regards to a category noun that serves as anaphor (e.g. fish) and (2) the distance between the antecedent and anaphor (e.g. near vs. far). Both, children with ASD and TD showed more and longer first fixations in the near anaphors than in the far anaphors but not in the post-anaphor region which suggests that the effect of distance on anaphor resolution was immediate. The reverse effect of distance indicated that the far condition was too demanding for students of these ages to occur online. Typical antecedents received fewer and shorter revisits than atypical antecedents but only for participants with TD. In contrast, ASD participants did not show such typicality facilitation. Finally, children with ASD made more but shorter fixations and revisits in general than their typical peers. Theoretical and applied implications of our results for the literacy training on ASD participants are discussed.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"505 - 525"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45942721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Remedios Guzmán, Sara C. de León, Desirée González, J. E. Jiménez
{"title":"Teaching Spanish Spelling in Grades 2–3: A Cross-National Approach","authors":"Remedios Guzmán, Sara C. de León, Desirée González, J. E. Jiménez","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1965056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1965056","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study aimed to explore instructional practices used to teach words with irregular spelling patterns by Spanish-speaking teachers in 2nd and 3rd grade of elementary school. A sample of 320 teachers from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Spain answered an online survey, which included the Spelling Instructional Practices Scale. Item Response Theory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used to analyze the construct validity and reliability of the Spelling Instructional Practices Scale. Results pointed out adequate fit indexes of the proposed models. Spelling instructional practices used by teachers were finally grouped into three factors. Results indicated that Spanish-speaking teachers teach irregular spelling words using a combination of instructional practices. Differences in the informed use of spelling instructional practices according to the teachers’ home countries were explored. Significant differences were found between Spanish and Latin-American teachers in the reported use of those instructional practices based on memorization and some materials to teach spelling. However, most teachers reported following a similar pattern when teaching irregular spelling to their students. Limitations and directions for future research are described.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"379 - 398"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49278231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of an Engaging Process-Genre Approach on Student Engagement and Writing Achievements","authors":"Muhammad Rahimi, L. Zhang","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1982431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1982431","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Exploring students’ experiences with instructional approaches and learning environments is of paramount significance, as students’ experiences influence their engagement and achievements. To this end, 148 students’ experiences with an engaging process-genre approach to research writing were explored to document their engagement with the approach and factors influencing their engagement and to examine whether students’ writing quality improved significantly. Students’ narratives, the researcher’s reflective journals, and students’ pretest and posttest scores on the Introduction part-genres were collected and analyzed through thematic analyses and a paired samples t-test. Our findings identified facilitators and indicators of student engagement with the approach and showed that students assisted each other agentively not only in doing the activities but also in sustaining engagement in and beyond the classroom. Students attributed their sustained engagement and achievements to observing the negotiated norms, to the teaching-learning cycle of the engaging process-genre approach, and to the teacher’s kindness, patience, and professional advice. These findings highlight the significance of learning experiences and suggest that teachers should consider adopting the engaging process-genre approach to establish negotiated norms, routines, and roles to trigger and sustain students’ engagement with learning-to-write activities and writing.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"487 - 503"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46186144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ipad Text-to-Speech and Repeated Reading to Improve Reading Comprehension for Students with SLD","authors":"Saeed S. Alqahtani","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1987363","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1987363","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have difficulty with most reading skills, including reading comprehension. Improving reading comprehension skills requires efficient interventions that consider both meaning- and code-based skills simultaneously. Using a single-subject multiple-baseline design across participants, with alternating treatment design, this study compared two reading interventions (repeated reading vs. iPad text-to-speech) combined with a meta-cognitive strategy (question generation). Three fourth-grade and third-grade students who had been diagnosed by their school as having reading difficulties participated in the study. Using the index of narrative complexity, two participants showed improvement in reading comprehension skills. However, there were slight differences for the RAAC intervention over the iPad intervention for one participant. The time required to administer the iPad intervention was shorter than the time required to administer the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) intervention (an average of 12.73 min for the repeated reading vs. 5.45 min for the iPad).","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"39 1","pages":"1 - 15"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59645112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura A. Moylan, Evelyn S. Johnson, Yuzhu Z. Zheng
{"title":"Developing a Comprehensive Decoding Instruction Observation Protocol for Special Education Teachers","authors":"Laura A. Moylan, Evelyn S. Johnson, Yuzhu Z. Zheng","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1982429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1982429","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study describes the development of a special education teacher observation protocol detailing the elements of effective decoding instruction. The psychometric properties of the protocol were investigated through many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM). Video observations of classroom decoding instruction from 20 special education teachers across three states were collected. Twelve external raters were trained to observe and evaluate instruction using the protocol and assigned scores of “implemented,” “partially implemented,” or “not implemented” for each of the items. Analyses showed that the item, teacher, lesson, and rater facets achieved high levels of reliability. Teacher performance was consistent with what is reported in the literature. Implications for practice are discussed.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"469 - 486"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42768266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allison M. Kroesch, Katherine N. Peeples, Courtney L. Pleasant, Yojanna Cuenca-Carlino
{"title":"Let’s Argue: Developing Argumentative Writing Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities","authors":"Allison M. Kroesch, Katherine N. Peeples, Courtney L. Pleasant, Yojanna Cuenca-Carlino","doi":"10.1080/10573569.2021.1970659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2021.1970659","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We used the POW + TREE strategy within the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) framework to teach six 6th graders with learning disabilities to write argumentative essays. A special education teacher implemented the intervention with high fidelity 5 days a week for 40 min each day. Students were grouped within three groups based on their level of intervention need. Our intervention ranged from 12- 25 total days. A single-subject multiple-probe design was replicated across all groups to analyze the effects of SRSD. We collected data on the number of argumentative writing components and the overall quality of each response using rubrics to analyze components. Results indicate a functional relation between implementation of POW + TREE and the number of argumentative and quality components included in writing probes. Additionally, participants indicated a high degree of satisfaction of the intervention.","PeriodicalId":51619,"journal":{"name":"Reading & Writing Quarterly","volume":"38 1","pages":"399 - 414"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42992722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}