Article #7 The Effects of Theoretically Different Instuction and Student Characteristics on the Skills of Struggling Readers

Abstract from Mathes, P.G., Denton, C.A., Fletcher, J.M., Anthony, J.L., Francis, D.J., & Schatschneider, C. (2005, April/May/June). The Effects of Theoretically Different Instruction and Student Characteristics on the Skills of Struggling Readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 40(2), 148–182. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.40.2.2

This study investigated the effectiveness of combining enhanced classroom instruction and intense supplemental intervention for struggling readers in first grade. Further, it compared two supplemental interventions derived from distinct theoretical orientations, examining them in terms of effects on academic outcomes and whether children's characteristics were differentially related to an instructional intervention. One intervention (Proactive Reading) was aligned with behavioral theory and was derived from the model of Direct Instruction. The other intervention (Responsive Reading) was aligned with a cognitive theory and was derived from a cognitive-apprenticeship model. These interventions were provided to small groups of first-grade students at risk for reading difficulties. Students were assessed on various reading and reading-related measures associated with success in beginning reading. Results indicated that (a) first-grade students who were at risk for reading failure and who received supplemental instruction in the Responsive or Proactive interventions scored higher on measures of reading and reading-related skills than students who received only enhanced classroom instruction, (b) enhanced classroom instruction appeared to promote high levels of reading growth for many children at risk for reading failure, (c) the two interventions were essentially equally effective even though they reflected different theoretical perspectives, and (d) children's characteristics did not differentially predict the effectiveness of an intervention.

The problem is without effective early instruction, which may require supplemental instruction, initial reading difficulties may eventually be compounded as students fall further and further behind their peers and continue with ineffective strategies for coping with reading failure. With a continued use of these strategies students may be learning to be disabled. The children who were in this study were six United States schools in a large urban Texas school district. The school's were selected based on their high proficiency rating in reading by the Texas Department of education and the school district. The kindergartners who were used were based on the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI). A strength of the study is that it determined that high-quality classroom instruction is a primary factor in determining success. A weakness of the research is is still not clear how much instruction must occur, how contextualized skills instruction needs to be, and the level of intensity at which it must occur in order for struggling readers to succeed. The implications for this are that it affirms the value of providing early intervention to struggling readers. The most important finding is that supplemental intervention from different theoretical perspectives were both effective. There is no best approach or one right way every it is important to take a proactive and responsive approach that is relevant to each individual child.