Computer-based phonological awareness and reading instruction

Area of Science:

• Education
• Psychology
• Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

• Reading with Orthographic and Segmented Speech (ROSS) programs assist children with word recognition and phonological awareness (PA) deficits using talking computers.
• Previous research indicated that children with lower initial PA benefited less from ROSS, prompting a need for enhanced PA integration.
• Students with word recognition difficulties in second to fifth grade were the target population for this study.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve phonological awareness (PA) before and during Reading with Orthographic and Segmented Speech (ROSS) program use.
• To compare the effectiveness of PA-focused training with Comprehension Strategies (CS) training for students with word recognition problems.
• To determine if enhanced PA training maximizes the benefits of ROSS for all children.

Main Methods:

• Two groups of students received computer-based reading instruction: one group received PA training combined with ROSS, the other received CS training with ROSS.
• PA training involved programs based on the Auditory Discrimination in Depth method and phoneme manipulation with speech feedback.
• The PA group split computer time between PA exercises and ROSS, while the CS group spent all computer time on ROSS.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed significant improvements in decoding, word recognition, and comprehension.
• The PA group demonstrated significantly greater gains in untimed phoneme awareness, word recognition, and nonsense word reading.
• The CS group performed better on timed word recognition and achieved higher comprehension scores when assisted by a trainer.

Conclusions:

• Integrating phonological awareness (PA) training with ROSS is more effective for improving foundational reading skills than comprehension strategies alone.
• While PA training enhances accuracy and decoding, it may lead to slower responses for difficult words.
• Targeted PA interventions are crucial for maximizing reading gains in students with word recognition challenges.