Project Activities
The eBRAVO intervention will be developed iteratively over the first two years of the grant. The researchers will begin by identifying and adapting components of the offline BRAVO intervention that can be delivered electronically. After creating an initial version of eBRAVO, it will be tested with middle school classrooms, after which more revisions will be made to the intervention depending on pre- and post-test data collected from participating students. Additionally, the researchers will work on developing the library of texts, assessments, and comprehension activities for field testing with students in Year 2. Finally, in Year 3, the researchers will randomly assign 6th through 8th grade students to either receive the eBRAVO intervention or the regular instruction already in place in their classrooms.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project will take place in schools in Colorado.
Sample
Participants in this study include approximately 2,800 students in 6th through 8th grades.
The research team will adapt eBRAVO from the existing paper-and-pencil BRAVO intervention. By adapting BRAVO for electronic delivery, the researchers hope to make the curriculum framework and content more flexible, to make delivery more flexible in a way that increases feasibility and usability, and to create more in-depth and extensive teacher professional development. eBRAVO will be a fully automated, online curriculum that includes baseline assessments of students' comprehension skills, as well as formative and summative assessments throughout the curriculum. eBRAVO combines comprehension instruction with content instruction and includes modules on local cohesion, global cohesion, inference, and integration. Each module will contain lessons with modeling, including brief videos with comprehension and metacognitive strategies modeled for students, text chapters and activities for students to practice comprehension strategies, and individualized learning with adaptive technology.
Research design and methods
The first two years of this project will involve iterative development of the eBRAVO intervention. Researchers will begin by identifying and adapting curriculum components into a format that can be delivered online through eBRAVO. The beta version of eBRAVO will be field tested in Year 1. Data will be collected from teachers and students via surveys, interviews, and focus groups to examine usability and feasibility. The eBRAVO system will collect user data, and the researchers will collect student performance data pre- and post- intervention. Also in Year 1, the researchers will expand the library of texts for eBRAVO to cover Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, and Social Studies. Year 2 will involve revisions to eBRAVO and field testing of the system with the new texts. In Year 3, the researchers will conduct a pilot study of eBRAVO by randomly assigning 6th through 8th grade students to receive either eBRAVO or regular classroom instruction.
Control condition
In the control condition, students receive standard classroom practices in place at the school.
Key measures
Proximal outcomes of the eBRAVO intervention include assessments embedded within the eBRAVO system such as quick quizzes and writing prompts. Researchers will assess student education outcomes using the Gates-MacGinitie reading comprehension subtest, and a text recall task.
Data analytic strategy
Researchers will use multilevel models with students nested in classrooms and classrooms nested in schools to examine the effects of eBRAVO on student outcomes, both during field testing and the pilot test. Covariates in the models will include pre-test reading level, grade, gender, GPA, and time on task.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
The products of this project include a fully developed eBRAVO intervention, evidence of eBRAVO's promise to improve student reading outcomes, and peer reviewed publications.
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Caccamise, D., & Peter, W. (2022). Personalized Instruction to Teach Secondary Students to Deeply Comprehend and Build Knowledge from Science Texts. International Society of the Learning Sciences.
Quigley, D., Caccamise, D., Weatherley, J., & Foltz, P. (2020). Exploring Video Engagement in an Intelligent Tutoring System. In Adaptive Instructional Systems: Second International Conference, AIS 2020, Held as Part of the 22nd HCI International Conference, HCII 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 19–24, 2020, Proceedings 22 (pp. 519-530). Springer International Publishing.
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Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
