Early Reading Instruction Research Articles

Using Insights from Teachers to Inform Online Professional Development in Early Literacy Instruction

ABSTRACT This thematic analysis utilizes teacher insights from their experiences in an online professional development (PD) course on early reading instruction to determine course design features educators perceive as being beneficial and questions and concerns educators raised during the course. We analyzed discussion forum contributions and course surveys from 418 educators enrolled in the course. We found that videos, interactive activities, and discussion forums were features of the online platform that fostered critical teacher reflection. Also, as teachers engaged with literacy content, they sought out new ways of understanding concepts of word analysis and invented spelling and reflected on how their course learning might apply to meeting the needs of diverse learners. Implications and design recommendations for future professional development courses in foundational reading are discussed.

Why Does Construct Validity Matter in Measuring Implementation Fidelity? A Methodological Case Study

In reading intervention research, implementation fidelity is assumed to be positively related to student outcomes, but the methods used to measure fidelity are often treated as an afterthought. Fidelity has been conceptualized and measured in many different ways, suggesting a lack of construct validity. One aspect of construct validity is the fidelity index of a measure. This methodological case study examined how different decisions in fidelity indices influence relative rank ordering of individuals on the construct of interest and influence our perception of the relation between the construct and intervention outcomes. Data for this study came from a large state-funded project to implement multi-tiered systems of support for early reading instruction. Analyses were conducted to determine whether the different fidelity indices are stable in relative rank ordering participants and if fidelity indices of dosage and adherence data influence researcher decisions on model building within a multilevel modeling framework. Results indicated that the fidelity indices resulted in different relations to outcomes with the most commonly used fidelity indices for both dosage and adherence being the worst performing. The choice of index to use should receive considerable thought during the design phase of an intervention study.

The Promise of Comprehensive Early Reading Instruction for Children With Autism and Recommendations for Future Directions

Purpose Children with autism have an increased likelihood of reading difficulties. The reasons for this are numerous and varied, but many children with autism can learn to read when they are provided with evidence-based early reading instruction. Method Here, we provide an overview of some of the factors that impact early reading development for children with autism and a rationale for the provision of comprehensive early reading instruction consistent with the recommendations of the National Reading Panel (NRP). We discuss research on NRP instruction for children with autism, including some of our own empirical studies. We also discuss some areas of research that were not emphasized by the NRP but that we view as important. We offer recommendations that extend beyond NRP guidelines in order to advance knowledge and improve practice. Conclusions Comprehensive early reading instruction holds great promise for children with autism, but there are gaps in our understanding that need to be addressed. These include the most effective method(s) for tailoring reading instruction to the needs of the individual while optimizing delivery to small groups of children, supporting skills and making other accommodations not outlined by the NRP, and consideration of bilingualism and of reading instruction in languages other than English, among other issues. While our focus in this review article is early reading instruction for children with autism who use oral language, we acknowledge that there is a major gap in the literature concerning reading instruction for those who do not use oral language. We hope that this review article will be helpful to clinicians, educators, and researchers alike, as well as children with autism and their families, friends, and support networks.

GOVE’S GREATEST CONTRIBUTION?

By taking sides in the long-running ‘Reading Wars’ and terminating the existing model of early reading instruction with extreme prejudice, Michael Gove took one of the boldest, most contentious, unpopular and far-reaching decisions of his tenure as Education Secretary. This paper investigates the history, the battle lines, the weaponry and, if, indeed, he won the war, whether it resulted in more children in England being able to read. The results suggest that this, rather than his changes to curriculum and assessment, may be his greatest legacy.

Realigning Early Reading Instruction with Research: A Preliminary Evaluation of Two Research-Based Early Reading Programs

Realigning Early Reading Instruction with Research: A Preliminary Evaluation of Two Research-Based Early Reading Programs

The Development of Sight Vocabulary

AbstractThis department highlights some of the foundational aspects of early reading and literacy instruction. Building on research‐based practices, it offers readers a new way to look at early reading and literacy.

How the Reading for Understanding Initiative’s Research Complicates the Simple View of Reading Invoked in the Science of Reading

AbstractAdvocates of the science of reading have invoked the simple view of reading (SVR) to justify an approach that foregrounds decoding in early reading instruction. The SVR, which describes comprehension as the product of decoding and listening comprehension, also served as the primary theoretical model underlying the Reading for Understanding (RfU) initiative. Research funded under the RfU initiative included direct examinations of the validity of the SVR and the nature of its underlying components and extended the SVR in studies of middle school and high school readers. In this article, the authors use research conducted under the RfU initiative to examine the validity and utility of the SVR, in general, and the appropriateness of its application in the “science of reading” debate. RfU research has provided not only evidence in support of the overall SVR model but also important cautions relevant to the “science of reading” debate. In particular, RfU has provided evidence regarding the significance of the listening comprehension component of the SVR, often overlooked by advocates of the science of reading. This research has documented the importance of early oral language skills, which support both decoding and listening comprehension in young readers and plays a critical role in students’ success as readers as they move through school. In addition, RfU research has identified a complicated constellation of skills and knowledge that impact reading comprehension as students advance in school.

New teachers talk about their preparation to teach early literacy

ABSTRACT Individual telephone interviews with 11 Australian beginning teachers who were newly appointed, or seeking a teaching position, were used to explore their perceptions of their preparation to teach early reading. Interviewees provided self-ratings of preparedness and ability to teach early reading, information about their knowledge of early reading instruction and information regarding their opinions of the quality and content of their teacher education courses in relation to the teaching of beginning reading. The results indicate that most of the interviewees demonstrated inadequate knowledge of the subject-specific content of beginning reading and that they were generally critical of their preservice preparation, especially with regard to translating theory into classroom practice. These findings have serious implications for the quality of student learning in early years classrooms and for those students who struggle to learn.

Homogeneous Grouping in Early Elementary Reading Instruction

Separating students into homogeneous groups is a common instructional practice used by elementary teachers during reading instruction. Although researchers have been studying the effects of homogeneous grouping for many decades, there is little consensus on whether grouping is an effective or equitable instructional practice. The central challenge in estimating the effects of grouping is determining an appropriate comparison case for homogeneously grouped students. Using data from the 2010 cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, this study uses student fixed effects to compare the reading growth of students who have different grouping experiences during reading instruction over their first 3 years of schooling. This study finds that, on average, homogeneously grouped students have slightly higher reading growth than students who are not grouped but also finds that this association between homogeneous grouping and reading growth depends on students’ reading group placement and initial reading skills.

Teaching conventional early reading skills to children with intellectual disabilities in special schools in the UK: a survey of current practices and perceived barriers

ABSTRACT Statistics relating to special schools indicate very low rates of basic literacy. However, there is very little information available regarding typical instruction in these settings and, therefore, no clear picture of the potential barriers precluding the improvement of reading skills in special schools. The current paper investigated current practices in conventional early reading instruction (i.e., instruction involving the development of reading abilities using traditional orthography) with children in special schools and, in particular, children with intellectual disabilities. One hundred and ninety teachers participated in the survey, which aimed to: collate information on current practices related to conventional early reading instruction for children with intellectual disabilities in special schools across the United Kingdom (UK); investigate the putative effects of age and severity of intellectual disabilities on teachers’ choice of instructional approaches; and examine teachers’ perceptions of barriers to improving reading skills in this population. Age and severity of intellectual disability were associated with different responses relating to the choice of approaches and expectations. Access to training and suitable curricula were seen as greater barriers to improving reading skills than time or staffing.

A Comparative Study of the Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on the Reading Achievement of First Graders

With reading proficiently by the end of third grade as a common goal, many school districts are exploring options to enhance early reading instruction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the supplemental, computer-assisted reading program i-Ready would significantly affect first grade students’ reading achievement. Participants (n=159) were first graders at two elementary schools - treatment (n= 82) and comparison n= 77). An independent samples t-test was used to compare the mid-year reading achievement scores of the treatment and comparison groups and found no statistically significant differences between groups. Following 10 weeks of twice-weekly 45-minute sessions of i-Ready reading instruction for the treatment group, an independent samples t-test showed that no statistically significant differences in reading achievement existed between the treatment and comparison groups. Several possibilities for this finding are discussed.

English Language Learners’ and Native English-Speakers’ Spelling Growth after Supplemental Early Reading Instruction

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing population of students in U.S. schools, and, unfortunately often experience lower levels of reading and spelling achievement than native English-speaking students. There is growing evidence showing that early reading interventions, which have been effective with native English-speakers, can also be effective with ELLs, although the majority of the research focuses on students who are native Spanish-speakers. Additionally, much less is known about spelling growth for ELLs, especially ELLs who speak a native language other than Spanish. Thirteen first grade students who were struggling with early literacy skills (seven non-Spanish-speaking ELLs and six native English-speakers) were selected for participation. The students were placed in three small reading groups, with four to five students each (at least two of whom were ELLs). The groups met five times a week, for approximately six weeks, for 30 minutes per session (totaling approximately 15 hours of supplemental instruction). The small group instruction was designed to reinforce phoneme awareness skills and help students understand the relationships between spoken sounds and written letters. Analysis of pretest to posttest gain scores showed significant growth in spelling ability. Non-Spanish-speaking ELLs with varying levels of English language proficiency benefitted from the intervention. All students demonstrated growth in their understanding of letter-sound correspondences. Evidence-based practices focusing on phonological awareness and the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds can be effective in terms of spelling ability growth when used in small groups comprised of both non-Spanish-speaking ELLs and native English-speakers.

Early Reading Instruction With Embedded Behavioral Supports for Children With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Professional development in research-based early reading intervention and curriculum materials is not consistently available to special educators working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). This article provides practitioners serving elementary school students with and at risk for EBD with a variety of options for delivering reading instruction with embedded behavioral supports.

Australian preservice teachers and early reading instruction

ABSTRACTUniversity websites and internet search engines were used to locate information about literacy units addressing early reading instruction offered in Australian primary and early childhood teacher preparation programs. Data concerning course organizational details, the content of literacy units, and the qualifications and research interests of unit coordinators were collected for 40 Australian tertiary institutions. Results indicate that references to early reading content in unit descriptions were generally included with other literacy subject matter, the total tuition time available for early reading instruction was limited, and many unit coordinators did not have expertise in early reading. In addition, it would appear that essential research-based content such as phonics, phonemic awareness, and the alphabetic principle may not be adequately addressed in many units. An amendment to Standard 2.5 of the guidelines set out in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers may assist in resolving some of these issues.

Self-Corrections and the Reading Progress of Struggling Beginning Readers

While there is consensus that self-corrections (SCs) ought to be coded as part of oral reading assessments, less agreement exists as to what, if any, role self-correcting plays in reading development. The purpose of this study was to address limitations of prior research and provide a more statistically accurate estimate of the role of SC in early reading progress. A dataset that included running records (n = 3184) and baseline and posttest literacy achievement data for first-grade struggling readers (n = 140) was used. Baseline achievement, errors, and total words served as covariates. To investigate the potential moderating effects of errors and words, we interacted SC with errors and with total words. We then conducted hierarchical linear modeling to examine the role of SC in beginning reading. Our findings indicate that SC significantly and positively predicted early reading progress for struggling readers. Further, SC was found to have additional predictive power for students who were at the earliest period of literacy development. Results suggest that early reading instruction ought to pay careful attention to self-correcting behavior during oral reading and that oral reading assessments may be enhanced with specific instructions about what to do with SCs.

Critically Reviewing GraphoGame Across the World: Recommendations and Cautions for Research and Implementation of Computer‐Assisted Instruction for Word‐Reading Acquisition

AbstractOverall, game‐based technology for early reading instruction has not robustly met the learning potentials of young readers. To better understand the effects and limitations of computer‐assisted instruction in classrooms, researchers have called for more critical attention to learning theory, methodological selection, and context for learning. GraphoGame (GG), an adaptive serious game designed to prevent reading difficulties through the promotion of sound–symbol connections, has been implemented in over 20 countries. Therefore, the GG research base provides an opportunity to synthesize research on a single computer‐assisted instruction across diverse contexts. Surprisingly, despite extensive use and further implementation plans, no review has yet synthesized GG's effects. Specifically, this systematic literature review, with an embedded meta‐analysis, synthesized 28 empirical studies for theory, methodological quality, and outcomes. The GG research base was dominated by theories of reading disabilities and psycholinguistics. Methodologically, quantitative methods, focusing on phonological and decoding outcome measures only, were most common. The meta‐analysis (n = 19), measuring GG's impact on word‐reading outcomes, did not yield an overall meaningful effect size (g = −0.02). However, among moderators (language complexity, duration of intervention, and adult interaction), adult interaction was significant, favoring implementation contexts with high levels of adult interaction. Specifically, studies with high adult interaction produced an average positive effect size (g = 0.48), which suggests implications for classroom use. Regarding future research, the authors recommend stronger clarity of theory, attention to learning context, and a more purposeful collection of process data, which can be obtained through greater plurality of methodology.

Speech-Language Pathology and the Youth Offender: Epidemiological Overview and Roadmap for Future Speech-Language Pathology Research and Scope of Practice

Purpose This article is concerned with the growing body of international evidence indicating that adolescents in contact with the youth justice system are likely to have severely compromised oral language skills, receptively and expressively. A smaller, but persuasive, literature also points to poor literacy skills in this population. Language and literacy skills underpin academic, social, and vocational success ( C. Snow, 1983 ; P. C. Snow, 2016 ; Snowling & Hulme, 2012 ) and are central to the professional expertise of speech-language pathology as a profession ( P. C. Snow, 2016 ). Method In this article, I review the epidemiology of youth offending together with research evidence concerning the language and literacy skills of this population. I outline the major practice and research implications of these findings for speech-language pathology as a profession, considering the "school-to-prison pipeline" via key domains of early years' reading instruction, young people's passage through the justice system, restorative justice processes, and design and delivery of language and literacy interventions for young people on youth justice orders. Results Implications for speech-language pathology scope of practice and future research are outlined. Conclusions Speech-language pathology as a profession has a significant role to play in advocating for vulnerable young people at each point in the school-to-prison pipeline. This includes strengthening the evidence base concerning speech-language pathology language and literacy interventions and lobbying governments to fund speech-language pathology services to address the complex communication needs of this population, both on community-based and custodial orders.

Explicit linguistic knowledge is necessary, but not sufficient, for the provision of explicit early literacy instruction

Teacher's knowledge can influence the act of teaching and affect children's learning outcomes. Linguistic and language knowledge of teachers plays an important role in supporting learners at the beginning to read stage. This study examines the language and linguistic knowledge of teachers of beginning readers in New Zealand, how these teachers perceive their own practices in teaching reading, and the relationship with the nature of observed instructional practices. The teachers in the study used predominantly implicit approaches to early reading instruction, with word-level instruction and prompting used only after context, even when teachers with high linguistic knowledge used implicit approaches, suggesting that teacher's knowledge is not sufficient, on its own, to ensure effective, explicit, word-level instruction to beginning readers.

The effect of syllable-level hyphenation on reading comprehension: Evidence from eye movements.

Syllabification by hyphens (e.g., hy-phen-a-tion) is a standard procedure in early Finnish reading instruction. However, recent findings indicate that hyphenation slows down children’s reading already during the first grade (Haikio, Hyona, & Bertram, 2015, 2016). In the present study, it was examined whether this slowdown is indicative of deeper processing and/or more strategic reading. To this end, 2nd grade children (N = 36) read short expository and narrative stories while their eye movements were registered. The presence of syllable boundary cue (SBC) was manipulated; for half of the stories, each word was hyphenated at syllable boundaries whereas the other half included no hyphenation. After each story, story comprehension (SC) was measured by three types of oral questions, namely free recall, cued recall, and true/false questions. With regard to reading behavior, SBC interacted with independently measured reading comprehension scores for both forward and regressive fixation times during first pass sentence reading. Hyphenation slowed down reading of good comprehenders to a larger extent than weaker comprehenders in comparison to nonhyphenated condition, especially for regressive fixation times. With respect to SC, cued recall scores were lower in the hyphenated than in the nonhyphenated condition. There was no effect of SBC in free recall or true/false questions. Hyphenation seems to promote phonological encoding even when readers might want to access words via orthographic codes, which are obscured by hyphenation, especially at the whole-word level. This more piecemeal reading style then makes it harder to integrate the pieces into a bigger whole, affecting not only reading speed but also reading comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Trajectories and Predictors of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension Development Among At-Risk Readers

This study explored the developmental trajectories and predictors of word reading and reading comprehension among young at-risk readers. In fall of first grade, 185 students identified as at-risk for reading difficulties were assessed on measures of domain-specific skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and vocabulary), domain-general skills (working memory, nonverbal reasoning, and processing speed), and word reading and reading comprehension. Word reading and reading comprehension were assessed again in spring of grades 1–4. Individual growth curve modeling showed that the children demonstrated decelerated growth on word reading and linear growth on reading comprehension, although their performance on both word reading and reading comprehension were consistently below average on national norms. After controlling for word reading and reading comprehension in first grade, letter knowledge predicted growth in word reading; vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning predicted growth in reading comprehension. That is, we found different developmental trajectories and different predictors for word reading and reading comprehension among our at-risk sample. Implications are discussed for theory and early reading instruction for at-risk children.