Devin M. Kearns

Does Cognitively Focused Instruction Improve the Academic Performance of Low-Achieving Students?.

Stakeholders are debating the value of cognitively focused instruction for students who have not benefited from a skills-based approach. Much of the discussion, however, is occurring without recognition of research that has been conducted in the past 2 decades. In this article, we reviewed the research. Electronic databases and hard copies of scholarly journals were searched; 239 references were identified; and 50 pertinent studies were analyzed to determine the effects of cognitively focused instruction—delivered alone or in combination with academic instruction—on students described as demonstrating poor academic achievement, learning disabilities, or specific cognitive deficits. Findings suggest that several cognitive interventions accelerated low-achieving students academic progress. Nevertheless, when the research is taken as a whole—when the pertinent studies and the interventions they describe are considered with regard to their content, quality, and results—we conclude that it does not support the use of cognitively focused instruction at this time. Implications for future research are discussed.

Multisyllabic Word Reading as a Moderator of Morphological Awareness and Reading Comprehension

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the relation between morphological awareness on reading comprehension is moderated by multisyllabic word reading ability in fifth-grade students (N = 169, 53.7% female, 65.2% minority status, 69.2% free/reduced lunch status), oversampled for poor reading skill, when controlling for general knowledge and vocabulary. Based on the lexical quality hypothesis, it was expected that morphological awareness would have a stronger effect on comprehension for children with poor word reading skills, suggesting possible use of morphological awareness for word identification support. Results indicated that neither morphological awareness nor word reading was uniquely associated with reading comprehension when both were included in the model along with vocabulary and general knowledge. Instead, the interaction between word reading and morphological awareness explained significant additional variance in reading comprehension. By probing this interaction, it was determined that the effect of morphological awareness on reading comprehension was significant for the 39% of the sample that had more difficulty reading multisyllabic words but not for students at the higher end of the multisyllabic word reading continuum. We conclude from these results that the relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension is moderated by multisyllabic word reading ability, providing support for the lexical quality hypothesis. Although we have only correlational data, we suggest tentative instructional practices for improving the reading skill of upper elementary struggling readers.

Data-Based Individualization in Reading: Intensifying Interventions for Students With Significant Reading Disabilities

Summary. It is clear the adaptations described made a difference for Rashan. If you look back at Rashan’s progress-monitoring data from his third grade year, you will see he finished the year reading fewer than 60 words correct on oral reading fluency. If Mrs. Arnold had not tried a new approach and adapted her instruction, it is likely his performance would have remained near this level at the end of his fourth grade year. This new approach led Rashan to make substantial gains in reading, narrowing his achievement gap. However, it is clear that more adaptations are necessary; it is likely that ongoing adaptations will remain a necessity for many students like Rashan. We ask you to pause for a moment, review the adaptations Mrs. Arnold made, and consider what you might suggest to Mrs. Arnold to assist her in enhancing Rashan’s comprehension. Conclusion We have provided a detailed demonstration of what DBI implementation might look like in the area of reading. We intend for this hypothetical example to highlight the feasibility of implementing DBI and we provide some additional suggestions in “Tips for Implementing DBI.” Although DBI may require additional work, the effort is well worth the potential improvements in student outcomes. We have shown several exciting aspects of using this process to intensify interventions. These include the opportunity to think creatively about instruction, to use data to see how adaptations affect student performance, and to make new changes to maximize benefits for students. It is worth noting that, although Mrs. Arnold’s efforts were commendable and Rashan made good progress, he did not reach a level where he was able to work in grade-level texts. Students with persistent or severe deficits will likely need multiple years of intensive intervention, and special educators and their students

Behavioral Attention: A Longitudinal Study of Whether and How It Influences the Development of Word Reading and Reading Comprehension among At-Risk Readers.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which teacher ratings of behavioral attention predicted responsiveness to word reading instruction in first-grade and third-grade reading comprehension performance. Participants were 110 first-grade students identified as at risk for reading difficulties who received 20 weeks of intensive reading intervention in combination with classroom reading instruction. Path analysis indicated that teacher ratings of student attention significantly predicted students’ word reading growth in first grade even when they were competed against other relevant predictors (phonological awareness, nonword reading, sight word efficiency, vocabulary, listening comprehension, hyperactivity, nonverbal reasoning, and short-term memory). Also, student attention demonstrated a significant indirect effect on third-grade reading comprehension via word reading but not via listening comprehension. Results suggest that student attention (indexed by teacher ratings) is an important predictor of at-risk readers’ responsiveness to reading instruction in first grade and that first-grade reading growth mediates the relationship between students’ attention and their future level of reading comprehension. The importance of considering ways to manage and improve behavioral attention when implementing reading instruction is discussed.

Modeling Polymorphemic Word Recognition Exploring Differences Among Children With Early-Emerging and Late-Emerging Word Reading Difficulty

Comprehensive models of derived polymorphemic word recognition skill in developing readers, with an emphasis on children with reading difficulty (RD), have not been developed. The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in polymorphemic word recognition ability at the item level among 5th-grade children (N = 173) oversampled for children with RD using item-response crossed random-effects models. We distinguish between two subtypes of RD children with word recognition problems, those with early-emerging RD and late-emerging RD. An extensive set of predictors representing item-specific knowledge, child-level characteristics, and word-level characteristics were used to predict item-level variance in polymorphemic word recognition. Results indicate that item-specific root word recognition and word familiarity; child-level RD status, morphological awareness, and orthographic choice; word-level frequency and root word family size; and the interactions between morphological awareness and RD status and root word recognition and root transparency predicted individual differences in polymorphemic word recognition item performance. Results are interpreted within a multisource individual difference model of polymorphemic word recognition skill spanning item-specific, child-level, and word-level knowledge.

Factors Contributing to Teachers’ Sustained Use of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies

Abstract Factors were explored that predicted whether teachers sustained the use of a validated reading intervention. Seventy-three teachers from 37 schools in 3 states were asked in interviews whether they continued to use Kindergarten Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (KPALS) 1 year after their involvement in the program. A logistic regression model was created with teachers’ yes/no responses as the dependent variable and with predictors identified as important to sustainability. Findings were consonant with current theoretical models of sustainability. The logistic regression model captured many key elements of teachers’ decisions to sustain. Strongest predictors were teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of KPALS and degree of external technical support given them.

On the Importance of a Cognitive Processing Perspective: An Introduction:

Children with learning problems require early intervention. If it is evidence based and implemented with integrity and intensity, it will accelerate the academic progress of many students. This is the hope and expectation of the many supporters of responsiveness-to-intervention (RTI). A minority of children, however, will not respond sufficiently to such intervention because of learning disorders like specific learning disabilities (SLD). Some RTI models do not include research-backed methods to identify these children, nor do RTI practitioners often produce the data necessary to develop individualized instruction for them. The authors suggest practitioners go beyond typical RTI assessment data documenting responsiveness/ unresponsiveness to conduct comprehensive evaluations of these most difficult-to-teach students and to include in their evaluations carefully chosen cognitive measures. This special issue presents the work of teams of researchers, which suggests that cognitive and neuropsychological assessments can provide information to further understand SLD, which in turn can guide development of promising interventions.

Semantic and Phonological Ability to Adjust Recoding: A Unique Correlate of Word Reading Skill?

ABSTRACT This study addresses whether reading involves a process termed semantic and phonological ability to adjust recoding (SPAAR). It was hypothesized that SPAAR helps readers link inaccurate pronunciations to lexical entries (e.g., spynitch to spinach). Psychometric properties of the Mispronunciation Correction Task (MCT), a measure of SPAAR, were investigated using a sample of 206 elementary-age children. The 25-item MCT appeared to measure a single construct, and the items discriminated well across the range of ability. Based on a sample of 94 children, construct validity analyses indicated that phonological awareness and decoding skill predicted MCT performance. Hierarchical regressions were used to test the relationship between SPAAR and word reading. After controlling for other skills, SPAAR showed a relationship with both timed and untimed word reading. Phonological awareness did not. These data suggest that SPAAR may be a reading-related ability involving phonological processing and some form of semantic processing.

Exploring individual differences in irregular word recognition among children with early-emerging and late-emerging word reading difficulty.

Models of irregular word reading that take into account both child- and word-level predictors have not been evaluated in typically developing children and children with reading difficulty (RD). The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in irregular word reading ability among 5th grade children (N = 170), oversampled for children with RD, using item-response crossed random-effects models. We distinguish between 2 subtypes of children with word reading RD, those with early emerging and late-emerging RD, and 2 types of irregular words, “exception” and “strange.” Predictors representing child-level and word-level characteristics, along with selected interactions between child- and word-characteristics, were used to predict item-level variance. Individual differences in irregular word reading were predicted at the child level by nonword decoding, orthographic coding, and vocabulary; at the word level by word frequency and a spelling-to-pronunciation transparency rating; and by the Reader group × Imageability and Reader group × Irregular word type interactions. Results are interpreted within a model of irregular word reading in which lexical characteristics specific to both child and word influence accuracy.

Multisyllabic Word-Reading Instruction With and Without Motivational Beliefs Training for Struggling Readers in the Upper Elementary Grades: A Pilot Investigation

This randomized controlled trial focused on 59 struggling readers in the third and fourth grades (30 female, 29 male) and examined the efficacy of an intervention aimed at increasing students’ multisyllabic word reading (MWR). The study also explored the relative effects of an embedded motivational beliefs (MB) training component. Struggling readers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: MWR only, MWR with an MB component (MWR + MB), or business-as-usual control. Students were tutored in small groups in 24 sessions, three 40-minute lessons each week. Students in both MWR groups outperformed the control group on measures of word-reading fluency. MWR + MB students outperformed MWR only on sentence-level comprehension and outperformed the control group in ratings of attributions for success in reading. Findings are discussed in terms of their relevance to MWR instruction for students with persistent reading difficulties and the potential for enhancing intervention through targeting motivation.