Teaching Spelling of Social Studies Content Vocabulary Prior to Using the Vocabulary in Inclusive Learning Environments: An Examination of Constant Time Delay, Observational Learning, and Instructive Feedback

This study evaluated the effectiveness of using a 5 s constant time delay (CTD) procedure to teach the written spelling of social studies vocabulary words taken from the general education social studies content to students with mild disabilities. Subjects were 3 elementary students with mild disabilities. Instruction was delivered in a small group setting. Vocabulary words were different for each student, which allowed for observational learning by the other students in the group. Assessments of observational learning were conducted when each student attempted to spell their group-mate's words. Related instructive feedback (meaningful sentences containing the social studies vocabulary words) was presented in the consequent event of instructional trials. A multiple probe design across word sets was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedure. Results indicated that (a) CTD was reliably implemented and all students acquired the spelling of their own sets of 12 social studies vocabulary words with 100% accuracy and maintained this accuracy over time, (b) all students generalized their target spellings across settings and instructors, and (c) some observational and instructive feedback learning occurred for all students. Additionally, long-term maintenance of observational spellings decreased over time, and minor fluctuations in long-term maintenance of instructive feedback occurred.     

How and to What Extent Do Two Cover, Copy, and Compare Spelling Interventions Contribute to Spelling, Word Recognition, and Vocabulary Development?

We used an adapted alternating treatments design to evaluate and compare the effects of 2 spelling interventions on spelling acquisition and maintenance, word reading, and vocabulary in three first-grade students. The first intervention, Cover, Copy, and Compare (CCC), involved having participants look at a word, cover it, write it, then compare the written response with the original stimulus. For the second intervention, Cover, Copy, and Compare + Sentence Definition (CCC + SD), CCC was supplemented with the experimenter reading a sentence containing the word and a brief definition of the word. Results showed that both interventions increased participants’ spelling at an equivalent rate, which was greater than a control condition. All participants showed greater gains in word reading in the 2 interventions than the control condition, and only 1 participant was better able to define words learned in the CCC + SD condition relative to the CCC condition.     

Spontaneous Response Generalization During Whole Word Instruction: Reading to Spell and Spelling to Read

The bulk of the existing literature emphasizes the use of phonemic/phonetic based instruction to enhance generalization between reading and written language. However, phonetically irregular words are common in English and may require the use of whole word approaches. This study examined generalization between from reading to spelling and from spelling to reading following whole word based instruction using a delayed prompt procedure. The total instructional time was equated across conditions. Students exhibited substantial but incomplete generalization with the degree of generalization varying somewhat across responses and students. The most striking finding was that oral spelling instruction in which the printed word was neither presented nor produced resulted in substantial generalization to reading. These data illustrate a model for examining response generalization in instructional contexts.     

A Comparison of the Taped Spelling Intervention and Cover,Copy, and Compare for Students with Learning Disabilities

This study evaluated the effectiveness and compared the efficiency of two interventions on the spelling performance of four fifth-grade students with learning disabilities in reading and writing. The first intervention, Cover, Copy, and Compare (CCC), is an established, evidence-based procedure, while the second, the Taped Spelling Intervention (TSI), is a new procedure with only one published article establishing its effectiveness at the time of this study. Although both interventions resulted in spelling performance gains, learning speed was higher in the CCC condition and students overwhelmingly reported preferences for CCC over TSI. Spelling gains were maintained on assessments administered approximately two weeks following the final intervention sessions for both interventions. Discussion focuses on the importance of easily implemented, socially acceptable, time- and resource-efficient interventions for increasing the academic performance of students, and the value of comparative analyses for choosing appropriate interventions.     

Comparing the Effects of Unknown-Known Ratios on Word Reading Learning Versus Learning Rates

An extension of G. L. Cates et al. (2003) investigation was conducted to determine if students’ cumulative learning rates would be superior for words read under a traditional drill and practice condition (as they were for spelling in the previous study) than under interspersal conditions of varying ratios of unknown to known words. Participants consisted of three intermediate grade students who were delayed readers. They received a less challenging ratio of unknown to known word (High-P sequencing) interspersal procedure, a more challenging ratio of unknown to known word interspersal training procedure, and a traditional drill and practice procedure in an alternating fashion across several tutoring sessions. Cumulative words read with mastery and cumulative rates of words read with mastery were measured across sessions for each participant under each instructional condition. Findings were consistent with the Cates et al., study revealing that children learn more words per minute of instructional time under the traditional drill and practice condition. These results further support examining instructional efficiency as well as effectiveness when making decisions about selecting and implementing interventions.     

THE EFFECTS OF KNOWN-ITEM INTERSPERSAL ON ACQUISITION AND RETENTION OF SPELLING AND SIGHTREADING WORDS1

The use of well-documented procedures such as shaping, differential reinforcement, and fading may not be the most practical for teaching certain academic behaviors. An alternative procedure of interspersing trials on previously trained items with trials on unknown items has been suggested, but its effects on acquisition and retention have not been systematically examined. This study investigated the effects of interspersing known items during training on new tasks. Six mentally retarded adolescents were given pretests on spelling and sightreading words, which were divided into pools of learned and unlearned items. Training and baseline conditions were implemented concurrently, using a multi-element design. During interspersal training sessions, 10 known words from the pretest were alternately presented with each of 10 test words that were incorrect on the pretest. The ratio of previously mastered words to test words was gradually reduced. During baseline sessions, 10 different test words were presented without alternation of previously known words. During this condition, a procedure involving high-density social reinforcement contingent on task-related behaviors, but not necessarily correct responses, was later introduced, followed by a return to the original noninterspersal baseline. During all conditions, test words were deleted and replaced after meeting a mastery criterion of three consecutive correct trials. Retention tests were administered over learned test words for all conditions, at specified intervals. Results showed that both acquisition and retention of spelling and sightreading words were facilitated by the interspersal procedure. All subjects acquired more words during the interspersal condition than either the high-density or baseline conditions. The effectiveness of the procedure may possibly be attributed to better maintenance of attending behavior to unknown items as a function of the inclusion of known items, which directly increase the amount of reinforcement for correct responses during the early stages of skill acquisition.     

Recognizing orally spelled words: an analysis of procedures shared with reading and spelling

Some investigators have suggested that recognizing orally spelled words is dependent on the same procedures ordinarily used in spelling, whereas others have viewed it either as dependent on reading procedures or as an independent ability. In the present study, a single subject with dyslexia and dysgraphia was examined on parallel tests of recognizing orally spelled words, reading, and spelling (writing), and a comparison was made of his performance on the three tasks. On both words and nonwords, the patient's errors in recognizing orally spelled words and in reading were alike, whereas his spelling errors were often different. The distinction between recognizing orally spelled words and spelling was further shown by his inability to recognize a set of orally spelled words that he could write correctly to dictation or on the basis of word meaning. These findings suggest that the procedures normally used for reading can accept sequences of letter identities as input when orally spelled words must be recognized.     

TEACHING CHILDREN TO SPELL: DECREASING CONSONANT CLUSTER ERRORS BY ELIMINATING SELECTIVE STIMULUS CONTROL

Six elementary-aged children were taught to spell words containing initial consonant clusters (CCs). They were trained to select printed words in response to the corresponding spoken words using computerized matching-to-sample procedures. After each training session, they were tested for spelling with a constructed-response transfer test. Based on previous selective stimulus control research, we hypothesized that only the first letter of an initial CC might control spelling when CC spelling errors are made. Thus, a critical-difference matching-to-sample training condition that required the children to respond to both letters of the CC to be correct was compared to a multiple-difference training condition that required the children to respond to only one letter of the pair. Results showed that children made fewer errors during the multiple-difference training condition than during the critical-difference training condition. On the constructed-response transfer tests, however, more overall errors and CC errors were made in the multiple-difference condition than in the critical-difference condition, and the words trained in the multiple-difference condition required more training sessions to reach criterion. All children improved their spelling of novel CC words by the completion of training. If normal classroom or home reading was to be supplemented by computer tasks of the kind used here, some spelling problems could be circumvented without costly intervention by a teacher or a special trainer.     

Effects on spelling of training children to read

Experiment 1 investigated whether training subjects to read words aloud would induce correct written spelling of the words even though spelling had no experimental consequences. Training in reading was followed by a weak increment in correct spelling. Experiment 2 investigated whether overtraining in reading would improve spelling more. Spelling improved as overtraining continued until the subjects spelled all the words correctly. Experiments 3 and 4 investigated the components of overtraining responsible for this improvement in spelling. Initial training in reading followed by repeated opportunities to look at (but not say aloud) the printed words resulted in the same gradual improvement in spelling as seen in Experiment 2. The results were related to Skinner's theory of verbal behavior and to studies of the relationship between speaking and instruction-following in children.     

A Comparison of Simultaneous Prompting and Constant Time Delay Procedures in Teaching State Capitals

This investigation compared the effectiveness and efficiency of constant time delay (CTD) and simultaneous prompting (SP) procedures in teaching discrete social studies facts to 4 high school students with learning and behavior disorders using an adapted alternating treatments design nested within a multiple probe design. The results indicated that both procedures were effective, with the simultaneous prompting procedure being slightly more efficient in terms of errors during instructional and maintenance phases. In addition, when interviewed about their preferences, both the instructor and participants preferred the simultaneous prompting procedure. This investigation extends current research as there are small numbers of studies comparing SP to other response prompting strategies, and to date, SP and CTD have not been compared with high school students with high-incidence disabilities. Future research issues are discussed.     

Invented Spelling,Word Stress,and Syllable Awareness in Relation to Reading Difficulties in Children

The study assessed the clinical utility of an invented spelling tool and determined whether invented spelling with linguistic manipulation at segmental and supra-segmental levels can be used to better identify reading difficulties. We conducted linguistic manipulation by using real and nonreal words, incorporating word stress, alternating the order of consonants and vowels, and alternating the number of syllables. We recruited 60 third-grade students, of which half were typical readers and half were poor readers. The invented spelling task consistently differentiated those with reading difficulties from typical readers. It explained unique variance in conventional spelling, but not in word reading. Word stress explained unique variance in both word reading and conventional spelling, highlighting the importance of addressing phonological awareness at the supra-segmental level. Poor readers had poorer performance when spelling both real and nonreal words and demonstrated substantial difficulty in detecting word stress. Poor readers struggled with spelling words with double consonants at the beginning and ending of words, and performed worse on spelling two- and three-syllable words than typical readers. Practical implications for early identification and instruction are discussed.     

An analysis and replication of the Add-A-Word Spelling Program with mildly handicapped middle school students

The effects of the Add-A-Word Spelling Program was examined in two experiments with mildly handicapped middle school students. In Experiment I, the Add-A-Word program with daily testing of small word lists; drill through the copy, cover, and compare method; a high level of mastery before words were removed from the student's list; and reappearance of mastered words, was evaluated with a multiple baseline design across three students. The data indicated improved performance on daily spelling tests when the Add-A-Word system was implemented. The purpose of Experiment II was to compare the Add-A-Word spelling program to the more traditional Monday Pre- and end of the week Posttest spelling procedures found in most classrooms. The comparisons were made in a counterbalanced multiple baseline design across six students. The students' overall accuracy in spelling was higher during the Add-A-Word Program than during either Baseline (daily testing) or the Preand Posttest systems. However, student's spelling scores were also higher during the Pre-Posttest procedure than during the Baseline condition. Benefits of the Add-A-Word spelling program for middle school students were discussed.     

Corrective Feedback in Oral Reading

We examined 24 studies to determine the effects on word recognition and reading comprehension of correcting errors during oral reading. Corrective feedback improved students' word reading accuracy on words in lists, and accuracy in reading words in passages. Some correction procedures had greater benefits than others. Successful error correction procedures share common characteristics, leading to recommendations about instruction: Teachers should (a) correct errors immediately; (b) require students to repeat the correct response; and (c) match correction procedure to the instructional situation and the learner. Several research recommendations are outlined.     

Letter-by-letter reading: natural recovery and response to treatment

The present investigation provides a longitudinal study of an individual (RB) with acquired alexia following left posterior cerebral artery stroke. At initial testing, RB exhibited acquired alexia characterized by letter-by-letter (LBL) reading, mild anomic aphasia, and acquired agraphia. Repeated measures of reading accuracy and rate were collected for single words and text over the course of one year, along with probes of naming and spelling abilities. Improvements associated with natural recovery (i.e., without treatment) were documented up to the fourth month post onset, when text reading appeared to be relatively stable. Multiple oral reading (MOR) treatment was initiated at 22 weeks post-stroke, and additional improvements in reading rate and accuracy for text were documented that were greater than those expected on the basis of spontaneous recovery alone. Over the course of one year, reading reaction times for single words improved, and the word-length effect that is the hallmark of LBL reading diminished. RB's response to treatment supports the therapeutic value of MOR treatment to in LBL readers. His residual impairment of reading and spelling one-year post stroke raised the question as to whether further progress was impeded by degraded orthographic knowledge.     

EFFECTS OF INVENTED SPELLING AND DIRECT INSTRUCTION ON SPELLING PERFORMANCE OF SECOND-GRADE BOYS

Four second-grade boys, 2 rated by their classroom teacher as below average and 2 as above average in basic language skills, participated in a 16-week spelling investigation. The participants alternately received, in counterbalanced order, 5 weeks of an invented spelling approach that incorporated 15-min creative writing periods and 5 weeks of direct instruction that involved 15-min periods of guided practice on spelling word lists. At the end of 10 weeks, each condition was replicated for 3 additional weeks. Although direct instruction resulted in more targeted words spelled correctly, invented spelling resulted in more nontargeted words spelled correctly, higher preference ratings by children, and higher teacher ratings of the quality of 3 of the children's writing samples.     

Orthographic learning in children with isolated and combined reading and spelling deficits

Dissociations between reading and spelling problems are likely to be associated with different underlying cognitive deficits, and with different deficits in orthographic learning. In order to understand these differences, the current study examined orthographic learning using a printed-word learning paradigm. Children (4th grade) with isolated reading, isolated spelling and combined reading and spelling problems were compared to children with age appropriate reading and spelling skills on their performance during learning novel words and symbols (non-verbal control condition), and during immediate and delayed reading and spelling recall tasks. No group differences occurred in the non-verbal control condition. In the verbal condition, initial learning was intact in all groups, but differences occurred during recall tasks. Children with reading fluency deficits showed slower reading times, while children with spelling deficits were less accurate, both in reading and spelling recall. Children with isolated spelling problems showed no difficulties in immediate spelling recall, but had problems in remembering the spellings 2 hours later. The results suggest that different orthographic learning deficits underlie reading fluency and spelling problems: Children with isolated reading fluency deficits have no difficulties in building-up orthographic representations, but access to these representations is slowed down while children with isolated spelling deficits have problems in storing precise orthographic representations in long-term memory.     

Enhancing Spelling Performance in Students with Learning Disabilities

The present study, using a single subject adapted alternating treatments design, compared the effects of two spelling strategies (cover, copy, compare, and copy-only) used to enhance spelling performance in 2, third-grade students with learning disabilities. The cover, copy compare (CCC) method required the students to say the word, point to the word, repeat the word, cover the word, print the word, compare the word to the correct model, and correct errors if necessary. The copy-only method required the students to say the word, point to the word, repeat the word, and print the word. Overall, the CCC strategy was more effective in words learned and words retained. Results are discussed in light of CCC requiring a self-evaluation/self-correction component not required in the more traditional method of instruction. By incorporating a simple, self-management component to spelling instruction, teachers may improve spelling performance in the classroom.     

TEACHING MEMORIZED SPELLING WITH A MICROCOMPUTER: TIME DELAY AND COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION

A computer-assisted instruction program was evaluated that used a constant time-delay procedure to teach 5 students 18 spelling words. In addition to delivering the instructional procedure, the program managed the presentation of training content based on individual student responding and collected instructional data on individual student performance. The procedure was effective at teaching 4 of the 5 students the words, and generalization occurred from the computer-delivered keyboard response format to a teacher-delivered hand-written response format. Maintenance data varied among the students. The study demonstrated the feasibility of using microcomputers to deliver time-delay instruction in special education classrooms and suggested several research questions related to specific features of microcomputer-delivered time-delay instruction.     

Effects of self-correction on the spelling performance of junior high students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Self-Correction and Traditional spelling on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of spelling words with five junior high school students with learning disabilities. During Traditional spelling students received a weekly list of 20 unknown words. Daily 20-minute assignments with these words varied among writing them, arranging them in alphabetical order, dividing the words into syllables, and using a dictionary to locate word meaning. Students were tested on the 20 words at the end of the week. During Self-Correction, students received 20 words on a 5-column sheet of paper. Columns were arranged so that stimulus words could be hidden by folding the paper back, and later exposed after the teacher dictated and the student wrote the words. Students used proofreading marks to self-correct. Sessions lasted 20 minutes, and weekly, delayed, and generalized assessments were conducted. Results indicated that for all five students the Self-Correction procedure was more effective for word acquisition than Traditional spelling. Also, for four of the five students, maintenance of words was higher under Self-Correction. Generalization occurred for three students. Finally, measures of social validity indicated that the students preferred Self-Correction over Traditional spelling, although two teachers in regular classrooms did not notice significant changes in the overall spelling performance for the students. Implications for the classroom practitioner are discussed.     

Teaching Vocabulary with Students with Learning Disabilities Using Classwide Peer Tutoring and Constant Time Delay

This study examined the effectiveness and efficiency of combining classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) and constant time delay (CTD) on the academic performance of 3 students with learning disabilities (LD) and 15 students without LD enrolled in an inclusive sixth-grade language arts class. Treatment integrity checklists were used to measure the extent to which the tutors with LD used the constant time delay procedure correctly. A multiple-probe design across behaviors replicated across students was used to examine the effectiveness of the CTD peer tutoring procedures. The results indicated that students with LD reliably implemented the CTD peer tutoring procedures with a high degree of treatment integrity. When implemented by students without LD, the procedures were effective and efficient for teaching targeted vocabulary words to students with LD. Similarly, students without LD mastered the targeted vocabulary words when tutored by peers with LD and by peers without LD using the CTD peer tutoring procedures. Additionally, students with LD and without LD maintained the targeted vocabulary words over time, generalized the words across context, and generalized the CTD peer tutoring procedures across content. Finally, measures of social validity indicate that students and teachers involved in this study were satisfied with the CTD peer tutoring procedures.