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Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
An individual differences analysis of the self-teaching hypothesis
Frances A Conners1, Susan J Loveall, Marie S Moore
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA. fconners@bama.ua.edu
Abstract:
The self-teaching hypothesis suggests that children learn orthographic structure of words through the experience of phonologically recoding them. The current study is an individual differences analysis of the self-teaching hypothesis. A total of 40 children in Grades 2 and 3 (7-9 years of age) completed tests of phonological recoding, word identification, and orthographic knowledge. The relation of phonological recoding and word identification was significantly mediated by orthographic knowledge. Furthermore, two aspects of orthographic knowledge (perhaps word-specific and general orthographic knowledge) mediated different variance shared between phonological recoding and word identification. Results support an individual differences version of the self-teaching hypothesis and emphasize the importance of phonological recoding in the primary curriculum.
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