Maria Earman Stetter

Computer-Assisted Instruction to Enhance the Reading Comprehension of Struggling Readers: A Review of the Literature

This literature review synthesizes the effects of computer-assisted instruction to enhance the reading comprehension of students with disabilities and struggling readers from 1985–2009. First, it addresses research that investigates the impact on comprehension when students are presented with computerized versus printed reading material. Second, it reviews work using computerized readers to enhance comprehension by compensating for reading difficulties. Finally, it considers research on a variety of tools used to help students gain meaning from the text with which they are engaged, often through Web-linked hypertext. Computer-based tools offer students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties interlinked support for reading. Intervention results are mixed, with many showing positive effects but not consistently so. Future research is needed to gauge the overall effectiveness of hypermedia supports on comprehension.

Teaching students about plagiarism using a web-based module

The following research delivered a web-based module about plagiarism and paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism in both a blended method, with live instruction paired with web presentation for 105 students, and a separate web-only method for 22 other students. Participants were graduates and undergraduates preparing to become teachers, the majority of whom were pursuing certification in elementary education. After the module, students practised paraphrasing with their own written example, then took a Likert-scale survey about their perceptions of the module and provided demographic information. The majority of students expressed a high level of satisfaction with not only the module itself but also their own increased knowledge about paraphrasing and plagiarism. Graduate students and students in the live group felt that pairing an instructor with the module furthered their understanding of paraphrasing. Students who identified themselves as having cheated felt that they had better learned how to paraphrase from the module compared with students who reported themselves as never having cheated. Responses from the web group were low considering the amount of students invited to participate. Students in the live group who had instructor-led discussion felt it contributed to their understanding of paraphrasing, while students in the web group wished for more instructor-led interaction. Outcomes on the student-written paraphrase were weaker than anticipated, with only half of the group producing good or excellent paraphrases.