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IES Grant

Title: Project SAIL: Strategies for Academic Internet Learning
Center: NCSER Year: 2010
Principal Investigator: Anderson-Inman, Lynne Awardee: University of Oregon
Program: Reading, Writing, and Language      [Program Details]
Award Period: 7/1/2010 through 6/30/2013 Award Amount: $1,347,553
Type: Development and Innovation Award Number: R324A100322
Description:

Purpose: Comprehension of textbooks and other reading materials assigned in class is fundamental to success at the secondary level. More and more, these materials are being accessed online or through other digital media. Reading and learning online materials can pose a set of challenges for students. Skills and strategies that are important for reading traditional print materials are not necessarily the same skills needed for online reading and learning. Online materials may be particularly problematic for students with specific learning disabilities who often have ineffective or inefficient strategies for approaching text, regardless of its mode of presentation. The goal of this project is to develop a set of strategies and materials that will improve the online reading skills of secondary students with specific learning disabilities.

Project Activities: The researchers will develop an intervention comprised of specific step-by-step strategies for students with disabilities to use when reading and learning online. The strategies will be organized into three sets related to locating and evaluating information online, reading and synthesizing information online, and communicating and sharing information online. A multi-stage, iterative process will be used to develop, test, refine, and pilot test the intervention. The materials for each strategy will be developed and implemented with students, and data will be collected on students’ use of each strategy and their levels of engagement and satisfaction. Feasibility tests will be conducted on the full set of strategies to determine satisfaction, use, engagement, and improvements in reading outcomes.

Products: This project will result in published papers and reports on a fully developed intervention program designed to improve the online reading and learning by secondary students with specific learning disabilities.

Structured Abstract

Setting: The project will be conducted in schools in Oregon and Connecticut.

Population: Approximately 240 students with specific learning disabilities in middle and high school will participate.

Intervention: The researchers will develop an intervention comprised of step-by-step strategies for students with disabilities to use when reading and learning online. In general, the strategies will be organized into three sets related to locating and evaluating information online, reading and synthesizing information online, and communicating and sharing information online. Intervention materials will include one-page summaries and online interactive teaching modules that illustrate each strategy as well as a teacher’s guide for integrating the strategies into the curriculum.

Research Design and Methods: The researchers will use a multi-stage, iterative process to develop, test, refine, and pilot test their online reading and learning strategies. The materials for each strategy will be developed and implemented with students. Data will be collected on students’ use of each strategy as well as their levels of engagement and satisfaction. Materials for each strategy will be modified. After materials have been developed for a set of strategies, feasibility tests will be conducted to determine satisfaction, use, engagement, and improvements in reading outcomes.

Control Condition: There is no comparison condition.

Key Measures: Outcomes include measures of students’ reading and learning skills in traditional and online environments, use of online reading strategies, engagement, and student and teacher satisfaction.

Data Analytic Strategy: Data will be analyzed to assess how strategies and instructional materials are adopted and adapted in classrooms, which strategies were used by students, which factors facilitated or inhibited strategy use, and improvements in student reading outcomes.

Publications

Book chapter

Knox, C., Anderson-Inman, L., Terrazas-Arellanes, F., Walden, E., and Hildreth, B. (2016). The SOAR Strategies for Online Academic Research: Helping Middle School Students Meet New Standards. In Y. Rosen, S. Ferrara, and M. Mosharraf (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Technology Tools for Real-World Skill Development (pp. 68–104). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Journal article, monograph, or newsletter

Knox, C., Anderson-Inman, L., Terrazas-Arellanes, F., Walden, E., Stryker, L.A., Hildreth, B. (2016). Strategies for Online Academic Research (SOAR): Digital Literacy for Middle School Students. International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development (IJICTHD), 8(1): 42–68. doi:10.4018/IJICTHD.2016010103


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