The effects of goal setting and self-instruction on learning a reading comprehension strategy: a study of students with learning disabilities

The effectiveness of formative assessment for enhancing reading achievement in K-12 classrooms: A meta-analysis

This quantitative synthesis included 48 qualified studies with a total sample of 116,051 K-12 students. Aligned with previous meta-analyses, the findings suggested that formative assessment generally had a positive though modest effect (ES = + 0.19) on students' reading achievement. Meta-regression results revealed that: (a) studies with 250 or less students yielded significantly larger effect size than large sample studies, (b) the effects of formative assessment embedded with differentiated instruction equated to an increase of 0.13 SD in the reading achievement score, (c) integration of teacher and student directed assessment was more effective than assessments initiated by teachers. Our subgroup analysis data indicated that the effect sizes of formative assessment intervention on reading were significantly different between Confucian-heritage culture and Anglophone culture and had divergent effective features. The result cautions against the generalization of formative assessment across different cultures without adaptation. We suggest that effect sizes could be calculated and intervention features be investigated in various cultural settings for practitioners and policymakers to implement tailored formative assessment.

A Synthesis of the Sustainability of Remedial Reading Intervention Effects for Struggling Adolescent Readers

A majority of reading-related intervention studies aiming to remediate struggling readers' reading outcomes assess student performance immediately following the conclusion of an intervention to determine intervention effects. Few studies collect follow-up data to measure the long-term sustainability of treatment effects. Hence, the aim of the current synthesis was to examine follow-up intervention effects of reading interventions involving adolescent struggling readers in Grades 6 to 12. Our literature search yielded only 10 studies that reported follow-up data for intervention participants, which highlights the dearth of intervention research that examines sustainability of intervention effects. Of the 10 included studies, the weighted mean effect size for all reading outcome measures was g_w = 0.78 at immediate posttest and g_w = 0.27 at follow-up, in favor of treatment group students. Although the magnitude of difference between treatment and control groups diminished at follow-up time, a comparison of treatment group students' immediate posttest and follow-up scores showed that students mostly maintained gains made during intervention at follow-up time points.

Tailoring Multicomponent Writing Interventions: Effects of Coupling Self-Regulation and Transcription Training

Writing proficiency is heavily based on acquisition and development of self-regulation and transcription skills. The present study examined the effects of combining transcription training with a self-regulation intervention (self-regulated strategy development [SRSD]) in Grade 2 (ages 7-8). Forty-three students receiving self-regulation plus transcription (SRSD+TR) intervention were compared with 37 students receiving a self-regulation only (SRSD only) intervention and 39 students receiving the standard language arts curriculum. Compared with control instruction, SRSD instruction-with or without transcription training-resulted in more complex plans; longer, better, and more complete stories; and the effects transferred to story written recall. Transcription training produced an incremental effect on students' composing skills. In particular, the SRSD+TR intervention increased handwriting fluency, spelling accuracy for inconsistent words, planning and story completeness, writing fluency, clause length, and burst length. Compared with the SRSD-only intervention, the SRSD+TR intervention was particularly effective in raising the writing quality of poorer writers. This pattern of findings suggests that students benefit from writing instruction coupling self-regulation and transcription training from very early on. This seems to be a promising instructional approach not only to ameliorate all students' writing ability and prevent future writing problems but also to minimize struggling writers' difficulties and support them in mastering writing.

Executive Function, Self-Regulated Learning, and Reading Comprehension: A Training Study

The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which training that emphasizes the process of executive function (EF) and self-regulated learning (SRL) would result in increased reading comprehension; we also evaluated interrelationships of EF, SRL, and reading. We report an experiment ( N = 75 fourth graders) that contrasted two researcher-implemented conditions (text-based reading [TB] and text-based reading plus executive function [TB+EF]) to a control. We also evaluated relationships among measures of SRL, EF, and reading. Both the TB and TB+EF groups outperformed the control group for proximal text comprehension (where the topic was similar to that covered in training) and background knowledge related to it, but the two researcher-led groups performed similarly. There were no significant differences for less proximal text, and again similar performance for both TB and TB+EF. Correlations among measures were weak in general, although the pattern was similar to that found in the extant literature. The findings speak to the difficulty in separating these components from those of strong instruction more generally. The relationships of these constructs to reading comprehension will likely be enhanced by more sensitive measurement of EF and reading comprehension, particularly where tied to active treatment components.

Reading comprehension strategy instruction and attribution retraining for secondary students with learning and other mild disabilities

A pre-post experimental design with 6-week delayed posttest was implemented to investigate the effects of reading comprehension strategy (RCS) instruction with and without attribution retraining (AR) on reading outcomes for seventh, eighth, and ninth graders with learning and other mild disabilities. Students were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: RCS+AR, RCS, or a Read Naturally (Ihnot, 1992) comparison condition. Results indicated that compared to the comparison group, both strategy instruction groups performed better on a summarization measure of comprehension after treatment producing large effect sizes. Both groups also performed better after a 6-week delay; however, only the RCS+AR group maintained a large effect size. In addition, RCS+AR students displayed higher attributions for reading success at post- and delayed posttesting. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Improving comprehension of expository text in students with LD: a research synthesis

This article summarizes the findings of research studies designed to improve the comprehension of expository text for students with learning disabilities. Twenty-nine studies were located that met the inclusion criteria. Interventions gleaned from the review were categorized as content enhancement (i.e., advance and graphic organizers, visual displays, mnemonic illustrations, and computer-assisted instruction) or cognitive strategy instruction (i.e., text structure, main idea identification, summarization, questioning, cognitive mapping, reciprocal teaching). Treatment outcomes are discussed in relation to the various instructional approaches, student characteristics (e.g., grade, IQ), instructional features (e.g., materials, treatment length), methodological features, strategy maintenance, and generalization components. Implications for classroom practice and future research directions are provided.

Purposes and mechanisms of goal planning in rehabilitation: the need for a critical distinction

PURPOSE

To determine a preliminary typology of purposes and mechanisms ascribed to goal planning in rehabilitation. To demonstrate the importance of making a critical distinction between these different purposes and mechanisms when reviewing or designing research on goal planning in rehabilitation.

METHOD

A search of Medline, Embase, PsychINFO and CINAHL for articles on goal planning in rehabilitation. Articles were only included if they were about patient populations and made explicit statements regarding the function or purpose of goal planning in rehabilitation. Thematic analysis was used to qualitatively synthesise the purposes and mechanisms of goal planning described in the literature.

RESULTS

Four major purposes for undertaking goal planning in rehabilitation are identified: (1) to improve patient outcomes (as determined by standardised outcome measures), (2) to enhance patient autonomy, (3) to evaluate outcomes, and (4) to respond to contractual, legislative or professional requirements. The first of these purposes is associated with four distinct mechanisms with the remaining three purposes appearing to relate to one underlying mechanism.

CONCLUSIONS

This typology offers one approach for critically engaging with the wide-ranging issues in goal planning. Debate stemming from this work could facilitate systematic reviews of this area as well as guide research and application to practice.