Improvements in interval time tracking and effects on reading achievement

Abstract

AbstractThis study examined the effect of improvements in timing/rhythmicity on students' reading achievement. 86 participants completed pre‐ and post‐test measures of reading achievement (i.e., Woodcock‐Johnson III, Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Test of Word Reading Efficiency, and Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency). Students in the experimental group completed a 4‐week intervention designed to improve their timing/rhythmicity by reducing the latency in their response to a synchronized metronome beat, referred to as a synchronized metronome tapping (SMT) intervention. The results from this non‐academic intervention indicate the experimental group's post‐test scores on select measures of reading were significantly higher than the non‐treatment control group's scores at the end of 4 weeks. This paper provides a brief overview of domain‐general cognitive abilities believed effected by SMT interventions and provides a preliminary hypothesis to explain how this non‐academic intervention can demonstrate a statistically significant effect on students' reading achievement scores. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 849–863, 2007.