Targeted Reading Intervention Research Articles

Project HOFOMI (Home for the Minds for the Grade 10 Learners of the Regional Science High School for Region I

This research paper investigates the effectiveness of a targeted reading intervention program, referred to as Project HOFOMI, on improving the reading comprehension levels of Grade 10 learners. The study employed pretest and post test assessments based on the Reading GATES survey to evaluate changes in students' comprehension abilities before and after the intervention. The results demonstrate a significant enhancement in reading comprehension skills among Grade 10 learners following the implementation of Project HOFOMI. Specifically, a notable shift was observed from Grade 9 to Grade 10 reading levels, indicating the program's success in elevating learners' proficiency. Statistical analysis confirms the substantial impact of Project HOFOMI, with post test scores showing a significant increase compared to pretest scores. Moreover, qualitative feedback from participants highlights high levels of satisfaction and perceived effectiveness of the intervention in fostering comprehensive learning and personal growth. The findings underscore the importance of evidence-based educational interventions in addressing specific learning needs and promoting skill development among students. Recommendations include further investigation into improving outcomes for higher-grade levels and the continuous monitoring and adaptation of intervention strategies to ensure sustained progress in reading comprehension skills.

Measuring Instructional Interactions During Reading Instruction for Students Receiving Intervention in Middle School

More than two-thirds of middle school students do not read proficiently. Research has shown that targeted interventions using explicit instruction methods can improve reading outcomes for struggling readers. A central feature of explicit instruction is the systematic implementation of instructional interactions, but it is not clear what specific instructional interaction practices lead to stronger outcomes for middle school readers. This study used a regression discontinuity design to compare the frequency and impact of instructional interactions experienced by U.S. eighth-grade students who received a targeted reading intervention (n = 1,461) with those who did not (n = 4,292). Results indicated that students who received intervention experienced far more instructional interactions with their teachers than did students who did not. However, the association between rates of interaction and student need in the intervention group was minimal, and the relationship between the rate of instructional interactions and reading growth was mixed. Implications for intervening with struggling students in the middle grades are discussed.

Corrigendum to Differential Effects of the Targeted Reading Intervention for Students With Low Phonological Awareness and/or Vocabulary

Corrigendum to Differential Effects of the Targeted Reading Intervention for Students With Low Phonological Awareness and/or Vocabulary

Effectiveness of Targeted Reading Intervention Based on Response to Intervention on Reading Function and Academic Self-efficacy of Third Grade Elementary School Students with Dyslexia

Effectiveness of Targeted Reading Intervention Based on Response to Intervention on Reading Function and Academic Self-efficacy of Third Grade Elementary School Students with Dyslexia

Elementary Teachers’ Intervention Fidelity in Relation to Reading and Vocabulary Outcomes for Students at Risk for Reading-Related Disabilities

Teachers’ implementation of differentiated supplemental instruction is critical to help students with or at risk for reading-related disabilities acquire early reading and vocabulary skills. This study represents an initial investigation of whether classroom teachers’ intervention fidelity (exposure, adherence, and quality) of targeted reading instruction (TRI, formerly called targeted reading intervention), a professional development program with embedded student intervention and weekly webcam literacy coaching support, was related to spring reading and oral vocabulary gains for students at risk for reading-related disabilities. The study also examined whether teachers’ years of participation in TRI (1 year vs. 2 years) moderated associations between intervention fidelity and students’ reading and oral vocabulary outcomes. Findings suggested that teachers’ adherence to TRI strategies was directly associated with students’ vocabulary gains as well as word reading skills for teachers in their second year of participation. Furthermore, when teachers provided students with more TRI exposure during their second year of participation, students made greater gains in word reading and reading comprehension.

Targeted Reading Instruction: Four Guiding Principles

AbstractThis article describes four key principles from Targeted Reading Instruction (TRI, formerly called Targeted Reading Intervention), an evidence‐based early reading intervention and professional development program. Focused on accelerating the growth of students not yet meeting grade‐level expectations, one‐on‐one 15‐minute daily TRI lessons engage students in developing phonemic awareness, phonics knowledge, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and beginning reading comprehension. Four key principles guide TRI, which can be applied to classroom reading instruction. First, all work is done in the context of real words and connected text, placing meaning at the heart of instruction. Second, lessons keep it moving, as they follow a consistent structure, use activities to achieve multiple objectives, and make use of all available resources. Third, TRI teachers let the student do the work, engaging students in productive struggle. Fourth, explicit teaching of skills such as blending provides students with unique strategies to become confident independent readers.

Targeted Reading Intervention Teacher Certification: An Approach to Building and Sustaining Teacher Expertise in Rural Schools

ABSTRACT This case study examined an approach for sustaining the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI) in rural schools. Researchers, teachers, and district-level partners collaboratively implemented the TRI Certification Process in order to sustain the TRI in one rural school district once researcher-based support ended. Primarily drawing from semi-structured interviews with TRI Facilitators, principals, and TRI coaches, findings indicated that student and teacher growth were important motivators. TRI coaches, the straightforward certification process, and leadership opportunities were supports that enabled teachers to complete the TRI Certification Process. Technology difficulties and student recruitment were challenging aspects of the TRI Certification Process. Our findings suggest that the TRI Certification Process may be a promising model for sustaining other interventions in schools.

Differential Effects of the Targeted Reading Intervention for Students With Low Phonological Awareness and/or Vocabulary

Students most at risk for reading-related disabilities frequently struggle with word recognition and oral language, including, in the earliest grades, specific skills related to phonological awareness and vocabulary. Classroom teachers’ delivery of high-quality differentiated supplemental instruction may promote reading acquisition for these students. The current study examined whether the Targeted Reading Intervention, a webcam-coaching literacy professional development program for kindergarten and first grade classroom teachers, was more effective in producing reading gains for students who had the lowest scores on fall measures of phonological awareness and/or vocabulary as compared with students with higher scores. Findings revealed that students who participated in the Targeted Reading Intervention and who scored lowest on the fall vocabulary measure had the highest scores on spring decoding measures.

Interpreting RCT, process evaluation and case study evidence in evaluating the Integrated Group Reading (IGR) programme: a teacher-led, classroom-based intervention for Year 2 and 3 pupils struggling to read

ABSTRACT Almost 20% of English pupils still experience difficulties with reading despite the use of a predominantly phonics-based approach that works well for most children, but not for all; therefore, other approaches need to be explored. The Integrated Group Reading (IGR) programme involves an inclusive approach to targeted teaching led by class teachers using group-based class organisation and the integration of diverse, research-based approaches (language and phonics-based). IGR has been evaluated in 34 English schools across 5 varied local authority areas using a cluster randomised design and a process evaluation. IGR was found to support enjoyment of reading and attain as much reading gains as the more phonics-oriented programmes used in the control classes. Following its use there were gains in teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching reading, and no negative effects on the class (non-IGR) pupils’ reading skills were found. This study shows what a more inclusive approach to targeted reading intervention can achieve through a well-resourced programme. Questions can be asked about the interpretation of randomised controlled trial (RCT) findings when it comes to classroom-based educational interventions, and about teacher choice in opting for alternative teaching approaches.

Improving Struggling Readers’ Early Literacy Skills through a Tier 2 Professional Development Program for Rural Classroom Teachers: The Targeted Reading Intervention

This article reports the results of a randomized controlled trial that replicated and extended research on the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), a professional development program for kindergarten and first-grade teachers in low-wealth rural schools that helps enhance literacy skills of struggling readers. In weekly webcam coaching sessions, literacy coaches delivered real-time feedback to classroom teachers as they worked one-on-one with struggling readers. Teachers worked with 1 child for 15 minutes a day for 6 to 8 weeks before moving to another struggling reader. Hierarchical linear models replicated previous findings that struggling readers in TRI treatment classrooms showed greater gains in early literacy compared with struggling readers in control classrooms. This study extended previous TRI work by examining whether teachers who received a second year of TRI training produced greater gains for their students compared with their first year. Results showed no advantage of teachers’ 2-year TRI participation.

Investigating the Efficacy of a Web‐Based Early Reading and Professional Development Intervention for Young English Learners

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), a professional development and early reading intervention program delivered via webcam technology, could support the early reading progress of English learners (ELs). Participants for the current study were drawn from a larger three‐year randomized controlled trial and included 108ELs from 47 classrooms randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Teachers in treatment classrooms used theTRIin one‐on‐one sessions in the regular classroom for approximately 15 minutes per day. Weekly, and later biweekly, webcam coaching sessions between aTRIcoach and each classroom teacher allowed the coach to interact with both the teacher and students in real time and allowed classroom teachers to receive real‐time feedback from the coach. Two‐level hierarchical linear models suggested thatELs struggling with learning to read in intervention classrooms significantly outperformed their peers in control classrooms on word‐level measures of early reading, with effect sizes of .43 and .45, but not on text‐level measures. Results also suggested thatELs struggling with learning to read were gaining at the same rate as their nonstruggling peers but were unable to catch up within the study year.

Exploring magnitude of change in teacher efficacy and implications for students' literacy growth

Increasingly, coaching-based professional development models are used to support classroom teachers' implementation of the literacy interventions. Research suggests that these models may positively impact classroom teachers' self-efficacy, which is critical to effective literacy instruction. The current study uses the context of a coaching-based professional model, the Targeted Reading Intervention, to examine how changes in three measures of teachers' sense of efficacy related to changes in students' literacy outcomes. Multilevel models suggest a significant and positive association between teachers' classroom management efficacy and students' growth in literacy skills. Both directions for future research and implications for practitioners are discussed.

The Targeted Reading Intervention: Face–to–Face vs. Webcam Literacy Coaching of Classroom Teachers

The targeted reading intervention (TRI) is a professional development program for rural kindergarten and first grade classroom teachers to help them provide effective reading strategies with struggling readers. In two randomized controlled trials, the TRI was delivered two ways: (1) literacy coaches provided support for classroom teachers through face–to–face classroom meetings or (2) coaches provided support to classroom teachers through live webcam technology. The purpose this study was to examine how face–to–face versus webcam coaching was related to teacher and struggling reader outcomes. Regression results suggested greater benefits with webcam literacy coaching for teacher fidelity and efficacy. Both struggling reader groups made equivalent gains across literacy measures, although there were greater gains on one child literacy measure in the webcam group.

Live webcam coaching to help early elementary classroom teachers provide effective literacy instruction for struggling readers: The Targeted Reading Intervention.

This study evaluated whether the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), a classroom teacher professional development program delivered through webcam technology literacy coaching, could provide rural classroom teachers with the instructional skills to help struggling readers progress rapidly in early reading. Fifteen rural schools were randomly assigned to the experimental or control condition. Five struggling readers and 5 non-struggling readers were randomly selected from eligible children in each classroom. There were 75 classrooms and 631 children in the study. Teachers in experimental schools used the TRI in one-on-one sessions with 1 struggling reader in the regular classroom for 15 min a day until that struggler made rapid reading progress. Teachers then moved on to another struggling reader until all 5 struggling readers in the class received the TRI during the year. Biweekly webcam coaching sessions between the coach and teacher allowed the coach to see and hear the teacher as she instructed a struggling reader in a TRI session, and the teacher and child could see and hear the coach. In this way the classroom teacher was able to receive real-time feedback from the coach. Three-level hierarchical linear models suggested that struggling readers in the intervention schools significantly outperformed the struggling readers in the control schools, with effect sizes from .36 to .63 on 4 individualized achievement tests. Results suggested that struggling readers were gaining at the same rate as the non-struggling readers, but they were not catching up with their non-struggling peers.

Improving Behavior by Using Multicomponent Self-Monitoring within a Targeted Reading Intervention

Many researchers have documented the interrelatedness of reading and behavior (McIntosh, Sadler, & Brown, 2012). Thus, research examining the best way to intervene with students who exhibit problems in both skill sets is merited. Recently, taking an integrated approach to reading and behavioral intervention has been suggested (Mooney, Ryan, Uhing, Reid, & Epstein, 2005; Stewart, Benner, Martella, & Marchand-Martella, 2007). In this study, we examined the effects of integrating a multicomponent self-monitoring intervention into a targeted reading classroom. Specifically, we used an ABAB withdrawal design (Kennedy, 2005) to determine the presence of a functional relation between a multicomponent self-monitoring intervention and the academic engagement and disruptive behavior of two middle school girls with reading and behavioral problems. Limitations as well as implications for research and practice are included.

Targeted Reading Intervention

This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom teacher intervention, the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), in helping struggling readers in kindergarten and first grade. This intervention used biweekly literacy coaching in the general education classroom to help classroom teachers use diagnostic strategies with struggling readers in one-on-one 15-min sessions. Five schools in low-income rural counties were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. Five struggling and five nonstruggling readers were randomly selected to participate in each experimental and control classroom. There were 34 classrooms and 276 children. Experimental children achieved better gains in letter-word identification than did control children. Significant interactions were found with word attack skills. Children in the experimental group with poor rapid naming and better phonological awareness skills progressed the most compared with the control group. The TRI appeared to be a promising classroom teacher intervention to help young struggling readers.

The Effectiveness of a Technologically Facilitated Classroom-Based Early Reading Intervention

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a classroom-teacher-delivered reading intervention for struggling readers called the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), designed particularly for kindergarten and first-grade teachers and their struggling students in rural, low-wealth communities. The TRI was delivered via an innovative Web-conferencing system using laptop computers and webcam technology. Seven schools from the southwestern United States were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions in a cluster randomized design. All children in the study (n = 364) were administered a battery of standardized reading skill tests in the fall and spring of the school year. Intent-to-treat analyses were conducted to estimate mixed models of children’s 1-year growth in Word Attack, Letter/Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, and Spelling of Sounds. Results showed that struggling readers from experimental schools outperformed those from control schools on all spring read...

The effectiveness of a technologically facilitated classroom-based early reading intervention: The targeted Reading Intervention

The effectiveness of a technologically facilitated classroom-based early reading intervention: The targeted Reading Intervention

A Diagnostic Teaching Intervention for Classroom Teachers: Helping Struggling Readers in Early Elementary School

With the advent of “Response to Intervention” there has been emphasis on preventing reading disabilities. This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom teacher Tier II intervention for struggling readers in kindergarten and first grade called the Targeted Reading Intervention. Three rural schools were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions, with 8 experimental and 12 control classrooms. Five struggling and five non-struggling readers were randomly selected from each classroom. With the support of biweekly coaching, experimental teachers instructed struggling readers in one-on-one sessions in the classroom. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed significant kindergarten gains for initial word identification but no significant gains in first grade. Discussion focuses on the use of classroom teachers to prevent reading disabilities.