Stories Make Readers

Using literature in multilingual and second language classes promotes literacy skills and helps children to adapt to second language instruction. This chapter presents the theoretical framework and practical implementations for enhancing the use of literature in multilingual environments employing Stories Make Readers (StoRe)–project as an example. StoRe concept helps to promote the use of fictional literature and to increase the reading materials and reading time at school and at home. An important aim is to offer, in multilingual groups, reading materials that correspond to the reading abilities and interest of the readers, and to connect different collaborative, child-centered, and multidisciplinary activities in reading. The multilingual line of the StoRe project, called Creating Innovative Approaches to Language Education (IKI), identifies and promotes innovative models for the use and development of language in education and creates research-based, pedagogical maps that help teachers develop and improve their pedagogical practices.

Efficacy evaluation of a full-scale response to intervention program for enhancing student reading abilities in a Swedish school context

Reading abilities in Swedish students have declined in recent decades. The current study examined the effectiveness of a full-scale three-tier Response to Intervention (RtI) model designed to improve reading skills in Swedish students. Participants were grade 2 students in a primary school setting. A quasi-experimental between-group design was used to examine treatment effects. The RtI experimental group (n = 11) and comparison group (n = 11) were monitored longitudinally over 2.5 years. The interventions included specialized instruction on decoding and reading comprehension. The comparison group received treatment as usual. After the intervention, the number of students in need of support in the experimental RtI-group was reduced from six to one. Furthermore, decoding and reading comprehension improved in the experimental group relative to the comparison group; however, the results were not significant. The standard deviation in the experimental group was smaller than that in the comparison group for all follow-up measures. The intervention effect was sustained after one and a half year in most of the students who had responded to the intervention. In addition, the participating teachers mostly appreciated the RtI-model. These preliminary findings suggest that the RtI model possibly can enhance reading skills in Swedish students; however, more research is needed. Implications for using the RtI model are discussed.

Forming Critical Reading Skills in a Low-Intermediate Class of English

Critical reading skills constitute an important part of an independent critical reader and are often formed in advanced-level students. It is argued that low-level learners of English also need to get acquainted with the basics of critical reading in the first years of their tertiary education. The aim of this study is to define a range of critical reading elements the low intermediate EFL students can demonstrate within a three-month period of critical reading instruction. The experiment on establishing the students’ attitude to critical reading and defining their critical reading abilities while commenting on texts was conducted. The findings of the questionnaire showed the participants’ attitude to critical reading as the way to question and disagree with the author’s opinion rather than to analyze information. The participants considered themselves quite competent in critical reading but did not see the practical use of applying these skills. A three-month critical reading intervention was introduced and followed by writing final commentaries upon the given text. The survey after the intervention found that the students of the experimental group showed the ability to justify their judgments by supporting claims while commenting upon the given texts. They could also express disagreement with the opinion in the text more often than before the intervention. In the control group, the prevailing agreements with the author’s viewpoint in the commentaries rarely followed by justifications showed the students’ unwillingness to create new ideas and proved their passive roles in dealing with information. Thus, according to the experiment results, the range of critical reading strategies the low intermediate class demonstrated included expressing judgments and supporting claims, finding different points of view on the problem in the text, and expressing disagreement with the given opinion. The amount of irrelevant information the participants mentioned in their commentaries proved the necessity for further interventions in order to engender their critical literacy.

Deployment of Computer Assisted Instruction in Higher Educational Organization

The current study looked at how computers help students of different reading abilities. Studies have been conducted on the effect of computers on educational achievement and attitudinal levels. During this study, we have gone through the impact of Bloom’s taxonomy over the conventional system and then focused on integrating CAI in higher education. This research is branching out to encompass the use of computers in the education system. The paper aims to outline and elaborate on the way computers aid every department of life, including education. Information is much more valuable when presented within the context of education or training. Teaching to reflect well is known as “advance” teaching. This research paper is concerned with the educational faculties, facilities, and the organizational structure of the educational process. This study aims to focus on CAI to improve the quality of higher education in India. We have also discussed the areas where we can implement this technology

Indirect Effects of Task-switching on Reading Comprehension via Decoding Skills among Adolescents with Autism

Purpose: We examined whether variation in task-switching indirectly predicted variation in reading comprehension by way of variation in decoding, and furthermore, whether this effect differed among adolescents with ASD compared to an age-matched control group. Methods: We examined whether the association between task-switching and reading comprehension was mediated by decoding among a sample of autistic adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 45, Mage = 14.9 years) and an age-matched comparison group (N = 43, Mage = 14.3 years). Analyses were conducted using path models to test for direct effects of decoding and task switching on reading comprehension, as well as indirect effects of task-switching on reading comprehension by way of decodingResults: Though the indirect effect did not significantly differ between the ASD and comparison groups, the indirect effect of task-switching on reading comprehension via decoding was only significant among adolescents with ASD. This suggest that task-switching plays a particularly prominent role in decoding and reading comprehension among adolescents with ASD.Conclusion: Though further work is necessary to replicate this effect, the findings may have implications for interventions that may target improvements in word reading abilities as a means for improving reading comprehension outcomes among youth with ASD.

Atypical relationships between neurofunctional features of print-sound integration and reading abilities in Chinese children with dyslexia

Conquering grapheme-phoneme correspondence is necessary for developing fluent reading in alphabetic orthographies. In neuroimaging research, this ability is associated with brain activation differences between the audiovisual congruent against incongruent conditions, especially in the left superior temporal cortex. Studies have also shown such a neural audiovisual integration effect is reduced in individuals with dyslexia. However, existing evidence is almost restricted to alphabetic languages. Whether and how multisensory processing of print and sound is impaired in Chinese dyslexia remains underexplored. Of note, semantic information is deeply involved in Chinese character processing. In this study, we applied a functional magnetic resonance imaging audiovisual integration paradigm to investigate the possible dysfunctions in processing character-sound pairs and pinyin-sound pairs in Chinese dyslexic children compared with typically developing readers. Unexpectedly, no region displayed significant group difference in the audiovisual integration effect in either the character or pinyin experiment. However, the results revealed atypical correlations between neurofunctional features accompanying audiovisual integration with reading abilities in Chinese children with dyslexia. Specifically, while the audiovisual integration effect in the left inferior cortex in processing character-sound pairs correlated with silent reading comprehension proficiency in both dyslexia and control group, it was associated with morphological awareness in the control group but with rapid naming in dyslexics. As for pinyin-sound associations processing, while the stronger activation in the congruent than incongruent conditions in the left occipito-temporal cortex and bilateral superior temporal cortices was associated with better oral word reading in the control group, an opposite pattern was found in children with dyslexia. On the one hand, this pattern suggests Chinese dyslexic children have yet to develop an efficient grapho-semantic processing system as typically developing children do. On the other hand, it indicates dysfunctional recruitment of the regions that process pinyin-sound pairs in dyslexia, which may impede character learning.

Precocious Readers: Case Studies of Spontaneous Learning, Self-Regulation and Social Support in the Early Years

<p>This thesis reports 11 case studies of 4-year-old children with precocious reading ability in New Zealand. Precocious readers are an important cohort of learners because they "are able to read fluently and with understanding at an unusually young age before attending school and without having received any direct instruction in reading" (Stainthorp & Hughes, 2004, p. 107). The range in the children's ages was 4:01 to 4:10. Three perspectives informed the study: social constructivism, cognitive constructivism and the bioecological perspective. The mixed-method case studies included observations of children in early childhood centres and schools, interviews with parents and teachers, a range of standardised assessments, and the collection of a range of children's writing and art. Four of the children were tracked as they transitioned to school on their fifth birthday. The case studies illustrate four key findings. Firstly, exceptional early reading abilities of precocious readers are validated. Secondly, the role of adults in supporting the children is shown to be necessary but not sufficient to create precocious reading ability. Thirdly, the case studies illustrate the complexity of learning. Finally, parent, teacher and peer expectations for the children and responses to their special abilities are reported. The data support three types of learning: socially supported, self-regulative and "spontaneous". Spontaneous learning experiences were described by parents as occurring when their children learned without having been taught, and without deliberate metacognitive self-teaching. Theoretical links can be made to other studies that consider "implicit", "induced", "intrinsic", "unconscious" and "non-conscious' learning. Results of literacy assessments, using the Neale Analysis of Reading and the Burt Word Reading Test include reading abilities 7:0 to 12:0 years, comprehension in the range 6:03 to 8:03, and fluency between 7 and more than 13 years. Receptive language ability was more varied, with percentiles ranging from 58 to 99. The children were highly motivated and passionate readers. They persisted with tasks and enjoyed challenge and competition. Learning dispositions of this particular group of children are discussed within the framework of Te Whà riki, New Zealand's early childhood curriculum. The children capitalised on a range of support and resources. Computers were a common factor mentioned as an important influence on literacy. Parents and grandparents provided positive support for the children, but the children and families experienced social negativity. Beyond the family, there was strong pressure on the children to conform and act "like a 4-year old". Many early childhood and school teachers had expectations of the children's potential that were significantly lower than their ability. The study suggests that the cognitive needs of young children with advanced academic abilities are not being met due to this social pressure on children to "normalise".</p>

Precocious Readers: Case Studies of Spontaneous Learning, Self-Regulation and Social Support in the Early Years

<p>This thesis reports 11 case studies of 4-year-old children with precocious reading ability in New Zealand. Precocious readers are an important cohort of learners because they "are able to read fluently and with understanding at an unusually young age before attending school and without having received any direct instruction in reading" (Stainthorp & Hughes, 2004, p. 107). The range in the children's ages was 4:01 to 4:10. Three perspectives informed the study: social constructivism, cognitive constructivism and the bioecological perspective. The mixed-method case studies included observations of children in early childhood centres and schools, interviews with parents and teachers, a range of standardised assessments, and the collection of a range of children's writing and art. Four of the children were tracked as they transitioned to school on their fifth birthday. The case studies illustrate four key findings. Firstly, exceptional early reading abilities of precocious readers are validated. Secondly, the role of adults in supporting the children is shown to be necessary but not sufficient to create precocious reading ability. Thirdly, the case studies illustrate the complexity of learning. Finally, parent, teacher and peer expectations for the children and responses to their special abilities are reported. The data support three types of learning: socially supported, self-regulative and "spontaneous". Spontaneous learning experiences were described by parents as occurring when their children learned without having been taught, and without deliberate metacognitive self-teaching. Theoretical links can be made to other studies that consider "implicit", "induced", "intrinsic", "unconscious" and "non-conscious' learning. Results of literacy assessments, using the Neale Analysis of Reading and the Burt Word Reading Test include reading abilities 7:0 to 12:0 years, comprehension in the range 6:03 to 8:03, and fluency between 7 and more than 13 years. Receptive language ability was more varied, with percentiles ranging from 58 to 99. The children were highly motivated and passionate readers. They persisted with tasks and enjoyed challenge and competition. Learning dispositions of this particular group of children are discussed within the framework of Te Whà riki, New Zealand's early childhood curriculum. The children capitalised on a range of support and resources. Computers were a common factor mentioned as an important influence on literacy. Parents and grandparents provided positive support for the children, but the children and families experienced social negativity. Beyond the family, there was strong pressure on the children to conform and act "like a 4-year old". Many early childhood and school teachers had expectations of the children's potential that were significantly lower than their ability. The study suggests that the cognitive needs of young children with advanced academic abilities are not being met due to this social pressure on children to "normalise".</p>