Implementation of the guided reading approach with elementary school deaf students

Area of Science:

• Education
• Special Education
• Literacy Studies

Background:

• The Guided Reading approach (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996) is a structured literacy intervention.
• Effective reading instruction for deaf students is crucial for academic success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of Guided Reading on the reading development of elementary school deaf students.
• To assess the long-term effects of Guided Reading over two school years.

Main Methods:

• A single-subject experimental research design was employed.
• Qualitative analyses of instructional observations and teacher interviews were used to ensure fidelity to the Guided Reading protocol.
• Running Records scores were graphed and analyzed over two years.

Main Results:

• All participating deaf students demonstrated reading improvement during the Guided Reading intervention.
• A decline in reading scores was observed at the start of each new school year for most students.
• It took several months for students to regain previous academic year scores, with some not achieving this by the fall term's end.

Conclusions:

• The Guided Reading approach shows promise for improving reading skills in deaf elementary students.
• The study highlights a significant challenge with score retention between academic years for this population.
• Further research is needed to address the summer learning loss and optimize sustained reading development in deaf students.