Project Activities
In this study, researchers will conduct three small experiments. The first experiment will examine whether a slower or faster rate of instruction on sounds and written conventions is associated with better outcomes for students. The second will compare teaching sounds and written conventions together versus teaching single letter sounds only to see which instructional approach is associated with better reading and writing outcomes for students. The third will examine whether instruction that includes teaching students how to switch between thinking about two different concepts is associated with better literacy outcomes than instruction that does not.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This study will take place in schools in Washington.
Sample
Approximately 256 kindergarten and first grade students and their teachers will participate in this research.
In this exploratory study, the researchers are examining the role of malleable factors including orthographic knowledge, orthographic-phonological connections, and cognitive flexibility. Current practice in kindergarten and first grade classrooms is often to teach associations between one letter to one sound, but research suggests that teaching children to attend to both phonological and orthographical aspects of print may be beneficial. Additionally, teaching children cognitive flexibility skills that will allow them to switch between attending to phonology and orthography, may also be beneficial for literacy outcomes for children at risk for word reading difficulties. The findings from the proposed study will provide critical information to the development of interventions to improve writing instruction and student writing outcomes in kindergarten.
Research design and methods
Researchers will conduct three small-scale experiments over two years. In year 1, researchers will randomly assign students to participate in either Study 1 or Study 2.Participants in Study 1will be randomly assigned to either the slower rate or the standard rate of orthographic-phonological connections instruction. Participants in Study 2 will be randomly assigned to receive either the best-paced orthographic-phonological connections instruction found in Study 1, or to instruction featuring single letter correspondences only. In Study 3, the research team will randomly assign students to a cohort. Then, within each cohort, researchers will randomly assign students to receive either the optimal instruction identified in Studies 1 and 2, either with or without additional cognitive flexibility training.
Control condition
Comparison conditions vary by study. For Study 1, the comparison condition is the standard rate of orthographic-phonological connections instruction. For Study 2, the comparison condition is the instruction featuring single letter correspondences. For Study 3, the comparison condition is instruction without cognitive flexibility training.
Key measures
Researchers will use a variety of measures to assess literacy outcomes including the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test — 4, the Test of One Word Reading Efficiency, and subscales of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. Additional measures will assess listening comprehension, alphabet knowledge, word reading accuracy and efficiency, paired associate learning, cognitive flexibility, and orthographic learning. Observation forms and attendance records will provide information on fidelity.
Data analytic strategy
The researchers will use multilevel models to examine pretest-posttest gain outcomes. Students will be nested within classrooms. Final models will include treatment, grade level, and fidelity as predictors.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: Products include preliminary evidence of the associations of teaching orthographic knowledge and cognitive flexibility with literacy outcomes for kindergarten and first grade students. In addition, researchers plan to publish papers in practitioner journals. They will also produce peer reviewed publications.
Vadasy, P.F., Sanders, E.A. Introducing grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs): exploring rate and complexity in phonics instruction for kindergarteners with limited literacy skills. Read Writ (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10064-y
Vadasy, P.F., Sanders, E.A. Introducing phonics to learners who struggle: content and embedded cognitive elements. Read Writ (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10134-9
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
