An evaluation of an instructional intervention program based on Clay's Reading Recovery Program for elementary school students

Swain, Audrey M. (1997) An evaluation of an instructional intervention program based on Clay's Reading Recovery Program for elementary school students. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (18MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of an instructional intervention program based on the principles of Clay's (1985) "Reading Recovery Program" for nine elementary school students who were experiencing difficulties with reading. The study was implemented in an elementary grade Special Education classroom by the special education teacher who was also the researcher. The nine students, from grades four through six, who participated in the study received instruction in four small groups for four forty-minute periods in a six day cycle. -- The researcher designed the program around current research on the "Reading Recovery Program". Clay's (1985) lesson format was modified to meet the demands of small group instruction of older students. The goal of the program was to develop self-extending systems that would enable students to read independently to the best of their ability. Each student's program was tailored to meet his/her individual needs based on his/her strengths rather than weaknesses. The researcher integrated research on current theories of reading, learning and teaching to interpret and apply the procedures outlined in Clay's (1985) "Reading Recovery Program". -- Prior to the implementation of the instructional intervention program, the researcher administered the Stieglitz Informal Reading Inventory to identify strengths and weaknesses of each student. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised was also administered to determine the students’ potential for language ability. Running records and anecdotal records were taken regularly at the scheduled sessions to monitor students' progress in the independent use of effective reading strategies and to direct instruction. Pre- and posttest scores on the Gates-McGinitie Reading Tests were utilized to determine gains in reading achievement. Scores from the regular September testing, which were available at the school, were used to compare gains made from September to pretest with gains made from pretest to posttest. -- Pretest scores on the Gates-McGinitie Reading Tests revealed that all students were below grade level in vocabulary and comprehension. Posttest scores indicated that all students were still below grade level on both subtests. All but one student made positive gains on vocabulary, and seven students made positive gains in comprehension, compared to all students making positive gains in vocabulary from September to the beginning of the study, and five students showing a regression in performance on comprehension. Group mean gains from pretest to posttest was four months (i.e., 0.4) for vocabulary and eight months (i.e., 0.8) for comprehension for 0.5 of a school year. Group mean gains from September to pretest was nine months for vocabulary (i.e., 0.9) compared to a regression in performance of one month (i.e., -0.1) on the comprehension subtest for 0.4 of a school year. -- Information gleaned from running records and anecdotal records revealed that, at the beginning of the study, all students used "sounding out" to identify unknown words and there was a general overreliance on visual cues when reading connected text. By the end of the study all students exhibited some evidence of integrating semantic, syntactic and visual cues to predict and confirm their reading, and were showing varying degrees of proficiency in monitoring and self- correcting. -- Based on the results of this study, it was concluded that elementary school students experiencing difficulties with reading benefited from an instructional intervention program based on Clay's (1985) "Reading Recovery Program".

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