Reading Success Research Articles

COMPARISON OF BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENT WITH A CUFFLESS TONOMETRIC WRIST-WORN DEVICE AND CONVENTIONAL BRACHIAL CUFF SPHYGMOMANOMETRY FOR AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING

Objective: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is used for confirmation of diagnosis of hypertension. However, conventional cuff-based blood pressure (BP) measurement involves the obtrusive procedure of cuff inflation, making multiple measurements over extended periods uncomfortable. This study aims to compare BP measurement using the unobtrusive procedure of radial applanation tonometry with that of the conventional brachial cuff sphygmomanometer for ABPM. Design and method: ABPM (24 hour) was conducted in 16 participants (53±14 years, 4 female) using validated brachial cuff devices (Microlife WatchBPO3, n = 6; BPLab, n = 10) with BP measurements every 15 minutes during daytime and every 30 minutes during nighttime. BP measurements were obtained with a wrist-worn tonometric device (BPro, Healthstats) every 15 minutes, using an initial calibration obtained with the ABPM device. Results: Averaged over 24 hours, tonometric BP estimates correlated with brachial cuff systolic BP (SBP, r = 0.89, p<0.001) but not with diastolic BP (DBP, r = 0.48, p = 0.059) with mean differences (bias) of -4±14 mmHg (SBP) and 16±17 mmHg (DBP). Daytime and night-time correlations and mean difference were, day: SBP (r = 0.92, p<0.001), -1±13 mmHg; DBP (r = 0.44, p = 0.089), 18±21 mmHg; night: SBP (r = 0.66, p = 0.007), 6±22 mmHg; DBP (r = 0.64, p = 0.010); 15±13 mmHg. Over 24 hours, the total number of successful readings from the tonometric device was 52% less than that from the brachial cuff devices. The average correlation between SBP and DBP using only cuff readings was 0.29±0.40 (range -0.47 to 0.86). The average correlation between SBP and DBP for the tonometric device was 0.99±0.01 (range 0.97 to 1.00). Conclusions: The cuffless tonometric method employed in the BPro device enables unobtrusive monitoring of BP. In comparison to conventional cuff ABPM devices, the BPro device showed low mean differences for SBP but large differences in DBP in both day and night measurements with consistently low precision. The large differences for DBP may be due to the high correlation between tonometric DBP and SBP, suggesting that waveform features are used for SBP estimation only, from which DBP is directly calculated.

Dinlediğini Anlama Testinin Türk Kültürüne Uyarlanması

Introduction: Listening, the first language skill developed by many children, serves as the basis of subsequent language skills. In addition, listening comprehension skills affect reading success in many different groups such as typically developing readers, children with learning disabilities and children with specific language disorders. The purpose of this research is to adapt the listening comprehension measurement tool to Turkish culture. Method: The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the measurement tool within the framework of item response theory (IRT) through two-parameter logistic model (2PLM). Among model assumptions, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for unidimensionality Q3 statistics and item characteristic curv for the monotonic increase assumption showing the response probabilities conditional to the ability continuum were examined, respectively. The results for the assumptions were satisfactory. Then, general model-data fit, item-based model-data fit, discrimination parameters, difficulty parameters and information functions were examined with factor loadings. Findings: The results showed that item parameters were in the expected ranges in practical applications, and test information function peaked at lower ability level similar to the original measurement tool. Examining factor loadings, it was shown that they were higher than generally acceptable limit except for 23rd item. When contribution of this item to the model was tested statistically, it was concluded that it would be appropriate to include it in the measurement tool to keep the other items of associated with story block. Moreover, marginal reliability coefficient shows that the measurement results were highly reliable. Discussion: It was concluded that sufficient evidence of validity and reliability was obtained for one-dimensional structure of 36-item form of the measurement tool.

CNN-Based QR Code Reading of Package for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

This paper plans to establish a warehouse management system based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to scan the QR codes printed on packages. This UAV consists of a positive cross quadcopter drone and a variety of sensors and components, such as flight controllers, single-board computers, optical flow sensors, ultrasonic sensors and cameras, etc. The UAV stabilizes itself by proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control and takes pictures of the package as it reaches ahead of the shelf. Through convolutional neural networks (CNNs), the placement angle of the package can be accurately identified. Some optimization functions are applied to compare system performance. When the angle is 90°, that is, the package is placed normally and correctly, the QR code will be read directly. Otherwise, image processing techniques that include Sobel edge computing, minimum circumscribed rectangle, perspective transformation, and image enhancement is required to assist in reading the QR code. The experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm provided good performance of a recognition rate of 94% for the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) and 95% for Adadelta optimization functions. After that, successful QR code reading was presented.

Efectos de una instrucción estratégica-autorregulada en el proceso de comprensión y autoeficacia lectora del alumnado de educación primaria

Self-regulation is an important factor in achieving successful reading comprehension. This study analyses the effects of a self-regu¬lated strategy instruction programme versus a control group on reading comprehension performance, time spent applying strategies during the reading comprehension process and reading self-efficacy. The programme com¬prised two conditions (condition 1 and condi¬tion 2) in which the teachers provided direct and explicit teaching of self-regulation strategies before, during and after the reading process. In condition 2, explicit instruction in reading self-efficacy was added. In the control condi¬tion, teachers provided traditional instruction based on reading aloud, sequential reading, text questions and the use of dictionaries. A total of 180 Spanish primary school students from eight different Year 5 and 6 classes (aged 10-12 under the Spanish education system) were either assigned to one of the two experi¬mental conditions (Condition 1: N = 47. Con¬dition 2: N = 47) or to the control condition (N = 86). Pre-test/post-test/follow-up measures were taken (six weeks after the intervention) of reading performance, reading self-effica¬cy and time spent applying self-regulation strategies before, during and after reading through an online assessment. The results showed that the instructional programme had a positive and significant effect in the two ex¬perimental conditions compared to the control group in terms of reading performance and time spent applying self-regulation strategies before and after the reading process. Howev¬er, no statistically significant differences were observed in the time spent applying strategies during reading and in reading self-efficacy, neither between the two experimental condi¬tions nor between the experimental conditions and the control condition. The implications of these results and their contribution to educa¬tional practices are discussed.

DYSLEXIA TYPEFACE: DOES IT AFFECT READING FLUENCY?

There are different approaches used to reduce reading skills deficits. One such approach, which belongs to the group of visual adaptations, is to change the font used in the texts. The main research goal is to assess the level of reading success in people with dyslexia (reading difficulties) by using a specialized Cyrillic font - Dyslexic FZF. The research was conducted on 24 persons with dyslexia from North Macedonia and obtained data about oral reading fluency and reading lists of meaningful and meaningless words with the Dyslexic FZF font and the font Times New Roman. The data of the two consecutive readings were compared. Results suggest that when using the new dyslexia typeface, Dyslexic FZF, participants were able to read more words per minute than with the Times New Roman font. A statistically significant difference in the results occurs in the errors made while reading.

High School Students’ User Skills Concerning Force and Motion Graphs

In this study, the aim was to examine Year 11 students’ skills of reading-interpreting and drawing graphs of force and motion and to lay bare the relationship between graph reading-interpretation and drawing graphs. Conducted in the survey model, the study was realised with the participation of 209 Year 11 students studying at Anatolian high schools in Ankara. Graph Reading and Interpretation Skills Test (GRIST) which includes 13 multiple-choice items and Graph Drawing Skills Form (GDSF) which includes 5 open-ended items were used as data collection tools. At the end of the study, it was determined that students have an intermediate level of success in reading and interpreting graphs while they have a low level of success in drawing graphs. It was concluded that students’ graph reading and interpretation skills and their graph drawing skills are related to one another.

What predicts word reading in Arabic?

Efficient and accurate word reading ability is critical for later reading success. As such, it is important to understand the component skills that underlie strong word reading ability. Although a growing research base points to the importance of phonological processing, morphological processing and orthographic processing for accurate and fluent word reading in Arabic, there are few studies that examine all three areas at one time to better understand their role in word reading. Additionally, it remains unclear whether the contribution of the various processes might differ across the early years when children are learning to read. 1,098 pupils in grades 1-3 participated in this study and took tests for phonological processing, morphological processing, orthographic processing, and word reading accuracy and fluency. According to the findings of regression analyses, the relative contribution of these underlying processes differed according to the method used to test word reading and the student's grade level. Regarding accuracy, several subscales of phonological processing and two measures of orthographic processing accounted for significant differences in word reading accuracy for first graders. For second grade students, nonword repetition, elision, and all three measures of orthographic processing accounted for variance. In third grade, elision and memory for digits, word creation and morpheme identification, and letter/sound identification and orthographic fluency were significant predictors of word reading accuracy. In terms of fluency, two subscales of phonological processing, two measures of orthographic processing, and two measures of morphological processing explained significant differences in word reading fluency for first graders. For second grade students, nonword repetition, elision, RAN-digits, isolation, segmenting and all the measures of orthographic processing and word creation explained unique variance in word reading fluency. In third grade, elision, RAN-letters, RAN-digits and phoneme isolation, all measures of orthographic processing and morphological processing, explained variance in word reading fluency. Implications and future directions in research are discussed.

The factors explaining reading success of academically gifted readers through the ecological model

This study aims to discover the best appropriate model to explain reading success of academically gifted students through the ecological model. Three models (i.e., Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3) were created by using three layers of the ecological model to investigate the ecological background of reading success. In line with the literature, seven explanatory factors were examined among the items in the student questionnaire of PISA 2018. Exploratory factor analysis to detect factors and confirmatory factor analysis to validate them were used respectively. Cronbach’s Alpha values of each factor (internal consistency) were also calculated. Structural equation modeling was performed to create a model explaining reading success. Afterward, indices of goodness-fit-criteria were examined. The findings indicated that there is a complex background for reading. All factors (i.e., perception of difficulties, perception of competence in reading, enjoyment of reading, teacher support, teacher feedback, value of school and disciplinary climate in the classroom) have a significant effect on reading. According to the results, Model 3 has the best model fit indices among other models. This model, having more complexity and interaction among latent variables, was found as the most comprehensive and appropriate model due to being coherent with the ecological model.

EXPLORING THE ROLES OF SCHOOL HEADS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF READING PROGRAMS

The study dealt with the exploration of the roles of school heads in the implementation of reading programs of the Department of Education. A qualitative research design was used to analyze the data gathered from the interview of school heads and school reading coordinators. Purposive sampling was used to identify the respondents. This study sought to answer the perception of school heads in their roles in the implementation of DepEd reading programs as well as their teachers perceptions in their roles. The findings from the research provide principals and division leaders with a collection of best practices on strategies for the implementation of a successful reading program. It revealed that in the implementation, principals gave regular technical assistance, mentoring, and coaching to provide resources. They lead in the planning and implementation of reading activities empowering and motivating teachers, partners, and learners. Implications for school leaders and principals are shared as well as suggestions for future research. KEYWORDS: Comprehension, Implementation, Reading , Perception

Movement of Understanding of Mathematical Literacy from Montessori’s Perspective: An Approach to the Teaching Processes of Geometry

Background: Mathematical literacy has been thematised in our studies by the importance of the initial ideas of mathematics in school paths. In this investigative path, the phenomenon of mathematics-literacy-from-Montessori-perspective stood out. Objectives: To answer the question: What is this, mathematical literacy from Montessori’s perspective? Design: Research of a theoretical nature, with a hermeneutic study of three works by Montessori closest to the phenomenon: The Discovery of the Child, Psychoarithmetic and Psychogeometry. After successive readings, we highlighted in each work excerpts that approached the question, calling them Units of Meaning (UM). Each UM was interpreted in dialogue with the work itself and other relevant authors. In all, 84 UMs were evidenced, which converged to 15 core ideas (CI). Placing all these CI side by side and asking what they said in the light of the guiding question, they enabled new convergence movements, evidencing basic characteristics of the phenomenon and geometry revealed itself as one of the guiding threads of mathematics teaching that aims at students’ learning. Setting and Participants: The theoretical study analysed the three works mentioned above. Data collection and analysis: The works that were closest to the highlighted phenomenon were selected and analysed hermeneutically. Results: The movement of understanding geometry, emerging from a larger study, clarifies Montessori’s understanding of the arithmetic-algebra-geometry triad, with a strong appeal to sensations and perception, emphasising the use of manipulative material, and with sequences that privilege abstractions. Conclusion: Knowing Montessori’s pedagogical proposal favours expanding teaching knowledge about mathematical literacy, woven in the close connection between methodologies, manipulative materials, articulation of mathematics, and teaching posture.

SUSTAINED SILENT READING AND READING RATE GAINS OF FEMALE PAKISTANI EFL LEARNERS IN A RURAL HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL

Reading speed has long been recognized in scholarly literature as an essential component of reading fluency and successful reading. A variety of instructional techniques and activities are used to improve reading speed of learners. Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is one such way that encourages the development of reading fluency and reading speed. This study investigated the impact of SSR on reading speed of female Pakistani EFL learners. A nine-week long SSR program was designed with 10 minutes timed-reading activity to improve students’ reading rate. Using random sampling procedures, fifty female students were selected to participate in the study. After the pre-test, twenty five students were kept in treatment group and twenty five in control group. Results of the study show that the experimental group’s average reading speed considerably increased from 115.60 wpm to 347.60 wpm after the intervention which indicates positive impact of SSR on reading speed of the participants. Statistically significant differences were found in reading rate gains between the two groups. Interestingly, a slight increase was also noted in the reading speed of students in the control group. The findings of the study indicate that SSR is a very effective instructional technique in developing EFL learners’ reading rate. Keywords: Reading rate, Fluency, Sustained Silent Reading, Reading fluency, EFL learners, Pakistan

An Emotion-evoking Text in Cross-Сultural Aspect: Attitude and Evalution

The success of reading, including reading as a part of foreign language acquisition, depends on numerous factors, such as motivation, academic emotions, engagement in reading, etc. Although the necessity to take into consideration a reader has been pointed out on many occasions, the culture-specific paradigms of emotional situations and their role in learning have hardly been discussed. The current study is aimed at exploring an emotional response to a humorous Russian-language text by representatives of two cultures; its primary target is to identify similarities and differences in the reactions of Russian and Chinese readers to a short story and the behavior of its characters. The survey was offered to Russian and Chinese university students, who had to evaluate themselves as emotional or reserved readers; to express their attitudes towards using emotion-evoking texts in the classroom and to evaluate a story from this perspective; as well as to use a list of emotional responses to choose the options describing how they felt about the story. The respondents also added to the list to specify their feelings and provided some comments. The experiment showed that emotion-evoking texts generate interest, creating a high learning motivation, which goes in favor of selecting educational texts that not only present a target language, but also truly engage learners. The survey results revealed the similarities and differences in selfidentification through the lens of emotions and in the affective comprehension of a funny story, caused, among other things, by the nationally specific value systems of the respondents. Different proportions of particular emotions and different responses to the same situation in the Russian and the Chinese samples indicate the important role of cultural traditions and ethnically specific mentality. The characteristics of speech and verbalized thought observed at the emotional level of students of different cultural backgrounds should be taken into account by teachers of foreign languages.

Literary City Limits: Cognitive Mapping in Contemporary Marseille

Abstract Marseille can be thought to constitute a singular urban complex – both marginal and transitional – within a broader French territorial imaginary and political discourse. Proposing successive readings of literary works by Emmanuel Loi (Marseille amor, 2013), Sabrina Calvo (Sous la colline, 2015) and Maylis de Kerangal (Corniche Kennedy, 2008), this article examines how such works mobilize aspects of this singularity in the development of striking and occasionally ambivalent utopian problematics, reframing the city with respect to a set of vectors (both temporal and spatial) that expose the subject to the troubling horizons of both individual and collective agency. The article reflects on the specific parameters of a ‘space of possibility’ in the urban context under discussion. Moving from this localized problematic, it argues for a version of cognitive mapping that incorporates varieties of affective disposition key to the relations of reason and emotion in a utopian perspective: melancholy, curiosity and disobedience.

The Effectiveness of Contextualized Digital Game-Based Learning Resource in Improving Kindergarten Pupil’s Alphabet Knowledge Level

The achievement of pupils in their future studies depends on their reading skills. One of the strongest foundations in reading success includes alphabet knowledge. Nowadays, the utilization of information communication technology (ICT) influences young children’s learning and emergent literacy skills. Hence, this study explored the effectiveness of digital game-based learning resource in improving pupils’ alphabet knowledge specifically on vowels. An alphabet knowledge checklist on vowels was used to collect the data. One key finding from the study is that most of them have fair alphabet knowledge of vowels with an overall pre-test mean score of 17.91. Findings revealed that interactive learning resource was effective as reflected by a substantial increase of 8.95 points. The t-test for paired samples results in a t-value of -10.11 and a p-value of 0.000. Thus, the difference between the posttest and pretest is significant. Hence, digital game-based learning resource is an effective non-print instructional material in kindergarten for the improvement of alphabet knowledge on vowels. The study recommends the creation of contextualized digital game-based learning resource using consonants to further validate the result. A similar resource may also be suggested to other grade levels to confirm its effectiveness in improving alphabet knowledge.

Unpacking the relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in Chinese children.

Morphological awareness is an essential ability for successful reading. This study aimed to explore the contribution of morphological awareness to reading comprehension (RC) in Chinese. Particularly, this study sought to determine whether the relation between morphological awareness and RC differs across various facets of morphological awareness (homophone awareness, homonym awareness, and compounding awareness), grades, or ability levels. A total of 148 Chinese students were evaluated on a battery of tests from third to sixth grade. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the unique roles of homophone, homonym, and compounding awareness on RC in different grades. Quantile regression analyses were conducted to investigate the more or less influences of facets of morphological awareness on RC across the ability range. A series of multiple and quantile regressions revealed that (1) compounding awareness rather than homophone awareness and homonym awareness, directly and uniquely explained the development of RC, (2) the effect of compounding awareness on RC increased with grade level, and (3) the contribution of compounding awareness to RC decreased as children move from poor to better readers. The findings reveal a developmental shift in the relation between morphological awareness and RC, as well as clarify when and for whom to enhance which facet of morphological awareness is particularly important.

The reader's way: student process guiding library practice

PurposeThis paper explores the academic reading behaviors of first-year students in an attempt to understand their experiences and develop potential reading interventions to support undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approachResearchers used qualitative research methods to elicit in-depth findings regarding reading behaviors. They interviewed fifteen first-year students who had completed a required writing course regarding their reading habits and used open coding to analyze interviews.FindingsInvestigators discovered that the narrative from national media that students do not read discounts the volume and variety of texts that students regularly interact with in a variety of contexts. Several themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Students like to read in a variety of designated spaces at any time of the day or night, (2) Students prefer reading in print, but mostly read online, and (3) Students reported difficult vocabulary as the most significant challenge in reading academic texts, but also reported emotional concerns regarding reading.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have focused on factors such as format preference and time limitations that influence reading behaviors, this study contributes to the body of research looking at the reading behaviors of college students more holistically, providing new insights informing a range of library interventions to support student success in academic reading. In its use of student interviews, this study offers a student-centered contribution to the literature on student reading behaviors and considers the implications of these behaviors on librarian practice.

Discourse‐level adaptation in pronoun comprehension

AbstractIt is well established that people adapt to statistical regularities at phonological, lexical, and syntactic levels. Much less is known about adaptation to discourse‐level structures, such as adaptation to structures defined as the relationship between a pronoun and its antecedent. To fill this gap, this paper reviews studies on the learning of referential patterns by asking (1) do people represent referential structures, (2) how long do discourse‐level representations last, (3) how specific are representations that are used for referential adaptation, (4) what mechanisms underlie this adaptation, and (5) what the current methods are used to test referential adaptation. This paper also briefly summarises the work on adaptation at other linguistic levels. This line of work extends adaptation to higher‐level structures and demonstrates how people learn language patterns that drive successful communication and reading skills.

Reading skills promotion: Results on the impact of a preschool intervention

There is a strong correlation between preschool education skills such as phonological awareness and language and success in reading and spelling acquisition. Even though, this is still not the focus of the early intervention. This study presents the preliminary results of the impact of an intervention program developed to promote reading foundation skills. The study was conducted with 627 children in the last year of preschool education (54.2% boys), ages between 4 years and 10 months and 6 years and 1 month. Participants were divided into intervention (n = 242) and comparative (n = 385) group. Language, implicit, and explicit phonological awareness, and rime implicit awareness were assessed. The intervention group reached statistically higher values in all dimensions at the post-test, a higher magnitude effect and 80% of these children entered the first-grade overpassing cut-off criteria for reading acquisition difficulties. These results support the impact of the program.

Commentary: If not you, then who: Equity, social justice, and the role of school psychologists in ensuring reading success for all learners.

Over the last 2 years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented set of events that have changed the course of history. The global COVID-19 pandemic heightened awareness of both social, economic, and health disparities and racial injustices suffered by Black, Brown, and poor people in the United States. Although we are still learning about the impact of these disruptions on learning and achievement, emerging data indicates that children's experiences varied widely and that disparities that were present before the pandemic only got worse. Thus, it is not surprising that, this time around, conversations about reading have pivoted towards attempts to include an equity and social justice perspective. We argue that a focus on specific evidence-based practices or interventions to address differences in reading achievement among subgroups of students may be insufficient. Instead, a more comprehensive approach that focuses on achieving equitable systems (e.g., addressing the historical, political, social, or economic systems which produce and contribute to disparities) and equitable processes (e.g., implementing organizational structures and adopting specific practices that broaden participation and elevate perspectives from marginalized groups) may be required for meaningful and sustainable change. In this commentary, we offer three ways school psychologists can advance reading research and practice towards more equitable reading success. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

온라인 기반 초등 영어 다독의 성공 요인

This study focused on the success factors for English extensive reading on elementary students. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with elementary school students who had been successfully continuing their participation in the online extensive reading program in English. In the process, interview data from five students were collected and analyzed to sort out the success factors. The student’s extensive reading experiences were also analyzed and thematized through a repetitive qualitative thematization method. The results of the study were as follows: First, the sense of competition and achievement were strong agents to motivate students to successfully continue in extensive reading. Second, being positively influenced by the peer group was acting as a factor for enabling successful extensive reading. Third, it was found that the encouragement of parents, especially in the early stage of extensive reading, helped students continue to read. Students have gradually made it a habit to read the book in a self-directed form through encouragement of their parents. Fourth, students who successfully conducted online-based self-directed extensive reading experienced the improvement of integrated language function in the reading process.