Project Activities
A randomized control trial design will be used to study the efficacy of the Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended for improving basic reading, vocabulary, and listening and reading comprehension skills of third and fourth graders who have disabilities or are struggling readers at risk for disabilities. Students will be randomly assigned to receive the Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended or a business-as-usual control group in the fall semester. The business-as-usual control group will serve as a "wait list" control and will receive intervention during the spring semester. Both groups will be assessed pre-intervention, frequently throughout the school year, and post-intervention in the fall and spring.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research will take place in New York.
Sample
Approximately 300 third and fourth grade students who have disabilities or are struggling readers will participate in this research. To qualify as a struggling reader, students must demonstrate adequate verbal ability on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 but weak reading comprehension on the STAR Reading assessment.
Intervention
The Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended is a set of instructional goals, approaches, and materials that can be tailored to meet the reading and writing needs of individual students. The instructional goals will be used to customize students' interventions and include motivation to read and write, phonological skills, word identification, comprehension and general knowledge, and vocabulary. Approximately 50 to 60 40-minute sessions will be given to groups of three students during one semester. Sessions will begin with a mini-lesson, devote a majority of time to reading and discussion, and end with reflection or writing.
Research design and methods
A randomized control trial design will be used to study the efficacy of the intervention. Students who are identified as struggling readers will be randomly assigned to Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended or a business-as-usual control group. The business-as-usual control group will serve as a "wait list" control and will receive intervention during the spring semester. Both groups will be assessed pre-intervention, frequently throughout the school year, and post-intervention in the fall and spring. In addition, a subsample of students who are not struggling readers will be randomly sampled so that the progress of students who receive the Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended can be compared to their typically developing peers.
Control condition
The Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended administered in the fall will be compared to a business-as-usual condition in which students participate in the classroom and supplementary reading instruction typically provided by the school.
Key measures
The efficacy of Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended will be evaluated on a continuum of reading measures, including measures of oral reading comprehension, accuracy, and fluency; silent reading comprehension; listening comprehension; basic reading skills; vocabulary; and engagement.
Data analytic strategy
Multi-level modeling will be used for data analyses to evaluate the effects of Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended on reading achievement, to compare student growth rates in reading, and to identify potential moderators of intervention effects.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project will be published reports on the efficacy of Interactive Strategies Approach-Extended and moderators of intervention effects.
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
Gelzheiser, L.M., Hallgren-Flynn, L., Connors, M., and Scanlon, D. (2014). Reading Thematically-Related Texts to Develop Knowledge and Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 68(1): 53-63. doi:10.1002/trtr.1271 Full text
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Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
