Assignment #2: The Research Proposal
The Efficacy of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) as a Reading Intervention:
A Four-Year Project Proposal
Bob Esliger
University of British Columbia
ETEC 500 – Dr. Clifford Falk, Professor
April 11th, 2011
Introduction
The BC Ministry of Education policy statement on CommunityLINK (Learning Includes Nutrition and Knowledge) funding articulates that the funds are to be focused on providing assistance to vulnerable students in school districts across the province of British Columbia. The policy defines vulnerable students as those students who may be at risk in terms of academic achievement and social functioning. These students primarily come from less affluent socio-economic backgrounds.
According to the SD68 Superintendent’s Annual Report on Student Achievement (2010), too many students are not meeting expectations in reading. SD68 achievement data indicates that students continue to perform below the provincial average; therefore, these results command a stepped-up focus on literacy skill improvement as outlined in the District Achievement Contract, the Community Literacy Plan and the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. This research proposal focuses initially on kindergarten students; however, it is a four year study adding a new kindergarten cohort each year and following the original cohort into grade three. This project has also been termed the Primary Project.
In many situations, typical children can acquire both phonological awareness and phonics skills through regular classroom instruction; however, in the case of young vulnerable students who are struggling with learning to read, a more intensive effort to build these skills is required in order to increase their chances for reading success.
Phonological Awareness Training
Many researchers have investigated the efficacy of computer assisted instruction (CAI) on the acquisition of literacy skills in children (Torgesen, 2006; Macaruso, Hook & McCabe, 2006; and Macaruso & Walker, 2008). The distinctive result of these studies is that focused instruction in phonological awareness, including the use of CAI, can successfully increase the acquisition of specific literacy skills.
From their research, Macaruso, Hook & McCabe (2006) concluded that first grade children receiving highly systematic, phonics-based instruction as part of their general curriculum made significant improvements in their reading skills. For students identified as vulnerable for reading failure, the addition of CAI provides vulnerable students with additional skills and practice in order to bring their reading skills up to grade level (Hook, Macaruso & Jones, 2001; Macaruso, Hook & McCabe, 2006; Lovell & Phillips, 2009 and Stevenson & Hackett, 2009).
High Poverty Schools
Slavin, Lake, Chambers, Cheung & Davis (2009) conducted a meta-analysis of 63 studies and determined that appropriate indicators through which to identify students living in poverty could include the use of various census data in addition to the number of the students who qualify for the free or reduced lunch program. Hook, Macaruso & Jones (2001); Macaruso, Hook & McCabe (2006); Dwyer (2007); Macaruso & Walker (2008); Lovell & Phillips (2009); Stevenson & Hackett (2009) and Slavin et al. (2009) have all noted that the instructional interventions that will most likely make a difference in schools, technology-based or not, are ones that provide extensive professional development to educators in specific instructional strategies and use of the CAI program.
Slavin et al. (2009) also determined that cooperative learning strategies included in the non-technology teacher-led literacy programs were beneficial in not only teaching literacy skills but also reinforcing team skills. Research by Lovell & Phillips (2009) supports Slavin et al. (2009) in that CAI produces small effects when used in isolation; however, when used in concert with teacher-led instructional strategies more positive educational gains can be actualized. Finally, Slavin et al. (2009) emphasized that what really works for increasing student achievement in the area of reading skill acquisition are approaches that fundamentally change what teachers and students do together every day.
Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
CAI is best suited as a supplementary instructional tool in the classroom (Tobin & McInnes, 2008) and is capable of providing activities that are engaging and motivating while providing feedback, monitoring progress and collecting data (Lovell & Phillips, 2009). Macaruso & Walker (2008) explored the benefits of a phonics-based CAI program for kindergartners called Early Reading and found that students in treatment groups and control classes both benefited from instruction in phonics and didn’t note a difference regarding the use of CAI in the treatment group. However, when the vulnerable student data was analyzed separately, significant gains in phonics skill development was found in the treatment classes compared to the vulnerable students in the control groups. Therefore, Macaruso & Walker (2008) concluded that participation in CAI would be beneficial for all readers, and especially beneficial for struggling readers.
Primary Project Proposal
The purpose of this four-year study is to investigate whether students identified as vulnerable for reading failure in kindergarten through third grade, who receive specific interventions in reading in addition to CAI, will have a higher level of reading achievement than those students who don’t receive CAI. Students who are vulnerable for reading failure will be identified through various assessments as having weak reading skills (Arnold, 2009). The identified vulnerable students will receive at least 30 minutes of reading interventions per day. Differentiated instruction and CAI will be included in all four grades; guided reading strategies will be included in grades one, two and three. The CAI will focus on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, comprehension and reading fluency. Arnold (2009) stated that reading problems are preventable for most students if they receive the extra support required in the form of early intervention strategies. Therefore, to apply this statement to the SD68 Primary Project, this research study will examine the direct correlations between the use of sound instructional strategies, including CAI, and student achievement, as demonstrated by standardized test score performance, for students in kindergarten through third grade.
This project will also promote educators to remediate identified reading difficulties earlier with the hope of lessening the effects of weak reading skills. In addition, it is hoped that educators and parents will work together to develop a better understanding of what they can do collectively to help students overcome their reading difficulties.
Method
Timeframe
September of Year One: Four kindergarten classes will be selected from different schools. Two classes will form the treatment group and two will form the comparison group. Regular classroom instruction, including differentiated instruction, is included in both groups while CAI is only added to the treatment group. Early in the fall the current grade three students in the same four schools will have their reading skills assessed through the DART and BC Performance Standards.
September of Year Two: Four new kindergarten classes will be selected and the year one process is repeated. The same four classes from year one are maintained in the study; now grade one. Regular classroom instruction including differentiated instruction and guided reading is included in both grade one groups while CAI only continues in the treatment group. Therefore eight classes are involved in year two. Early in the fall the current grade three students in the eight schools have their reading skills assessed through the DART and BC Performance Standards.
September of Year Three: Four new kindergarten classes will be selected and the year one process is repeated again. The same eight classes with the same treatments from the past two years are maintained in the study. Therefore, twelve classes are now involved in year three. Early in the fall the current grade three students in the same twelve schools have their reading skills assessed through the DART and BC Performance Standards.
September of Year Four: Early in the fall the current grade three students in the same previous twelve schools have their reading skills assessed through the DART and BC Performance Standards.
CAI Program Selection
Lexia Reading V. 5 was selected as the CAI program used for this study as it is applicable for student from pre-K through to adulthood. This CAI program has also shown encouraging results in the research.
Site and Class Selection Criteria
Initially four kindergarten classes will be selected at different schools. All selected kindergarten classes will have students identified with relatively low test scores, and receive similar regular pre-literacy instruction. All kindergarten classes will be full-day programs and be comprised of approximately 22 students per class. Two treatment sites will be provided with five computer stations equipped with Lexia Reading V.5 Software and will include educators interested and willing to fully participate in all components of the project. The other two sites will comprise the comparison group. Educators in the treatment groups will be provided with on-going professional development.
Additional criteria will be that there are no other reading supplemental materials employed, the students in the four sites will be similar in socio economic status and the sites will be similar in regards to students whose mother tongue is not English and students with Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) and Student Improvement Plans (SIPs).
This project will be of a quasi-experimental design because students will not be randomly assigned to classes. Therefore, the term comparison group rather than control group will be used for the classes that do not receive the treatment.
Research Questions
a) What are the improvements in reading skill development for children who receive computer assisted instruction (Lexia Reading V.5 Software) as well regular instruction?
b) What are the improvements in reading skill development for children who are identified as vulnerable for reading failure and receive computer assisted instruction (Lexia Reading V.5 Software) as well regular instruction?
c) What collaborative strategies could be developed as a result of parents and educators working together to increase reading skills in children?
d) Do students like or dislike the Lexia Reading V.5 Software program? Why or why not?
e) Do teachers like or dislike the Lexia Reading V.5 Software program? Why or why not?
Dependent Variable
The dependent variable will be the effectiveness of the Lexia Reading V.5 Software for students in kindergarten through third grade as measured by the BC Ministry of Education Performance Standards for each grade and culminating with the District Assessment of Reading Team (DART) assessment in grade 3.
Independent Variable
The independent variable in this project will be the use of selected and implemented regular instructional reading materials and resources as typically used to teach reading skills in kindergarten through third grade.
Hypothesis
The academic impact of a combination of regular reading instruction and computer assisted instruction (CAI) provided to students in kindergarten through third grade is greater when compared to schools with only regular reading instruction. In addition, it is suspected that the improvement in reading skill development for the group of students identified as vulnerable for reading failure who also received CAI will be even greater when compared to schools with only regular reading instruction.
Definitions
Lexia Reading version 5 is a supplementary software program designed to help students, age 4 through adult, acquire and improve basic reading skills. It is intended to complement a strong core curriculum that includes the five components of reading.
Differentiated instruction is the process of recognizing and responding to students’ various background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning, interests. Differentiated instruction is an approach to teaching and learning for students of differing abilities in the same class.
District Assessment of Reading Team (D.A.R.T.) is a non-standardized assessment process. There are DART texts, all non-fiction, for Grades 3–7. Students read and respond to two different DART texts twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
The BC Performance Standards focus exclusively on performance assessment. In performance assessment students are asked to apply the skills and concepts they have learned to complete complex, realistic tasks. This type of assessment supports a criterion-referenced approach to evaluation and enables teachers, students, and parents to compare student performance to provincial standards.
Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) refers to any instructional program in which the computer performs, manages, or supports some or all of the teacher/provider functions.
Limitations of the Study
Students will not be randomly selected. The assessment of vulnerability to reading failure will be a relatively subjective teacher/administrator decision based on available information.
The risk of research bias is always something that needs to be taken into consideration. Elements such as data measurement bias, environmental conditions, mortality and sampling bias are but a few to consider in this research.
Data Collection
Data collection addressing the research questions will be collected through classroom observations, interviews with students and teachers involved in the treatment classes as well as student reading assessments.
Summary
The questions for this study are based on the concern that too many children in SD68 struggle with learning to read and are not meeting the expected outcomes. It has been determined that these children fall further and further behind as each year passes and often require special education services before the end of the intermediate years.
Of all the skills taught in public school, reading is perhaps the most important (Arnold, 2009). In the 21st Century reading continues as a fundamental skill required to improve student’s life chances.
References
Arnold, T. (2009). The effects of early reading interventions on student reading levels and achievement. Ed.D. dissertation, Lindenwood University, United States — Missouri. Retrieved March 12, 2011, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. (Publication No. AAT 3380429).
BC Ministry of Education, CommunityLINK Policy Document (2006). Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/policy/policies/community_link.htm
Dwyer, J. (2007). Computer-based Learning in a Primary School: Differences between the early and later years of primary schooling. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 35(1), 89-103.
Hook, P. E., Macaruso, P. & Jones, S. (2001). Efficacy of Fast ForWord Training on Facilitating Acquisition of Reading Skills by Children with Reading Difficulties – A Longitudinal Study. Annals of Dyslexia, 51, 75-96.
Lovell, M. & Phillips, L. (2009). Commercial Software Programs Approved for Teaching Reading and Writing in the Primary Grades: Another Sobering Reality. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(2), 197-216.
Macaruso, P. & Walker, A. (2008). The Efficacy of Computer-Assisted Instruction for Advancing Literacy Skills in Kindergarten Children. Reading Psychology, 29: 266-287.
Macaruso, P., Hook, P. E., & McCabe, R. (2006). The efficacy of computer-based supplementary phonics programs for advancing reading skills in at-risk elementary students. Journal of Research in Reading, 29, 162–172.
School District 68, Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District Achievement Contract. (2010). Success for All. Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/schools/sdinfo/acc_contracts/2011/68.pdf
School District 68, Nanaimo-Ladysmith Community Literacy Plan. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.google.ca/search?sourceid=ie7&q=sd+68+community+literacy+plan&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_enCA385CA385
School District 68, Nanaimo-Ladysmith Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. (2006). Success for All. Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/agreements/sd68.pdf
Slavin, R.E., Lake, C., Chambers, B., Cheung, A., & Davis, S. (2009). Effective Reading Programs for the Elementary Grades: A Best-Evidence Synthesis Review of Educational Research December 2009 79: 1391-1466, doi:10.3102/0034654309341374
Stevenson, H.J. & Hackett, R.K. (2009). Should Four-Year Olds use Computers to Develop Emergent Literacy Skills?: A Study of the Waterford Early Reading Program. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 10 (2), 64-84.
Tobin, R. & McInnes, A. (2008). Accommodating differences: variations in differentiated literacy instruction in Grade 2/3 classrooms. Literacy, 42(1), 3-9.
Torgesen, J. K. (2006). Intensive reading interventions for struggling readers in early
elementary school: A principal’s guide. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. Retrieved from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Principal s Guide to Intervention.pdf
