Annotating digital text with phonemic cues to support decoding in struggling readers.
Patrick M Donnelly1,2, Kevin Larson3, Tanya Matskewich3
1Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Plos One
|December 7, 2020
Summary
This study developed a tablet reading tool with phonics-based cues to help struggling readers decode words. Children using the tool showed significant improvement in decoding challenging words compared to a control group.
Area of Science:
- Educational Technology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Applied Linguistics
Background:
- Digital media offers personalized learning experiences.
- Phonics-based instruction is crucial for reading development.
- Struggling readers often face challenges with decoding unfamiliar words.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a tablet-based reading tool incorporating phonics principles.
- To assess the effectiveness of phonemic cues in improving word decoding for struggling readers.
- To explore the potential of educational technology in supporting reading intervention.
Main Methods:
- Developed a tablet application presenting phonemic cues (vowel sounds) below each vowel.
- Recruited 40 struggling child readers, randomly assigned to intervention or control groups.
- Measured pseudoword decoding improvements after a two-week intervention period.
Main Results:
- The intervention group, utilizing the phonemic cues, demonstrated significantly greater improvement in pseudoword decoding compared to the control group.
- Children successfully leveraged the digital tool's annotations to decode novel words.
- The phonics-based intervention showed measurable positive effects on decoding skills.
Conclusions:
- Tablet-based phonemic cues can effectively aid struggling readers in decoding challenging words.
- Educational technology, when grounded in intervention research, holds promise for supplementing classroom reading instruction.
- Personalized digital tools can enhance pedagogical approaches for reading intervention.
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