A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Reading Fluency Interventions on Comprehension

Abstract

Brief experimental analyses were conducted using two dependent variables to evaluate the effectiveness of reading interventions. Specifically reading rate (words read correctly per minute) and mean reading comprehension levels for six students with reading difficulties were obtained using six different reading intervention/intervention combinations. These interventions included contingent reinforcement, listening passage preview, repeated reading, listening passage preview with contingent reinforcement, repeated reading with contingent reinforcement, and repeated reading with listening passage preview. Results suggested that no one intervention was best for all students. In addition, it was found that interventions that increased reading rate for half of the students also increased reading comprehension for the same students. Discussion focuses on student-treatment interactions, measuring student reading performance, matching treatments to students, and directions for future research.     

The influence of visual mental imagery size on metamemory accuracy in judgment of learning

Many studies have found the font size of to-be-remembered words has a significant influence on judgments of learning (JOLs). However, few studies have investigated whether JOLs are affected by the mental imagery size of to-be-remembered words, even when the font sizes themselves are kept identical in study materials. This study investigated whether the visual mental imagery size influences the participants’ JOLs and what the underlying mechanisms are. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants learned words with identical font sizes, mentally generated large or small imageries and then made JOLs. We found that JOLs under the large imagery condition were significantly higher than those under the small imagery condition, but actual recall performance exhibited no significant difference. In Experiment 3, participants pressed a button immediately after mental imagery generation and showed that it took significantly longer to generate large imageries than to generate small imageries, and the difference in JOLs between two conditions was no longer significant. In Experiment 4, we used a questionnaire to investigate the contribution of beliefs and found that participants believed large imageries were easier to remember. These findings indicate that imagery size has a significant impact on JOLs, in which beliefs may play a leading role.     

The effects of implementation intention strategies on prospective memory cue encoding

Implementation intentions, which include a structured verbal statement and mental imagery, improve prospective memory performance (i.e. remembering to execute delayed intentions). To investigate whether, and how, implementation intention strategies affect encoding processes we had participants complete a thought probe procedure immediately after forming the intention to remember to press Q when seeing fruit words. In Experiment 1, an implementation intention verbal statement (relative to control statement) significantly increased generation of high typicality exemplars (apple, banana, orange). In Experiment 2, an implementation intention imagery procedure (relative to control imagery) produced similar outcomes. In Experiment 3, combining the statement and imagery components of the implementation intention (relative to control statement and imagery) demonstrated even more potent effects (e.g. three-fold increase in fruit exemplars generated). In Experiment 4, we tested whether the control statement versus control imagery procedure differentially affected encoding, but these control procedures showed no significant differences. An interesting, unanticipated finding was that there was significantly less mind wandering in the implementation intention conditions relative to the control conditions. The current experiments provide novel information on the processes operating during intention encoding, and support the classic view that implementation intentions increase the encoding of specific retrieval cues.     

短期习得的语言范畴使成人大脑右半球颜色范畴知觉转为左半球颜色范畴知觉

本研究探讨了色词与颜色重组训练能否让被试习得与真实情境相似的色词与颜色范畴联结, 并引起相应的偏侧化颜色范畴知觉, 从而进一步揭示语言编码对颜色范畴知觉的影响。采用六种蓝色作为材料。B1与B2为先前研究的两种蓝色。B11和B12, B21和B22分别为使B1, B2变浅和变深所得, 四者是连续的蓝色。训练被试分别用“duān”和“kěn”命名B1和B2。由于被试可能习得色词与颜色范畴的联结, 因此B12与B21为可能变范畴间颜色, B11和B12, B21和B22为可能变范畴内颜色。训练前后分别让被试完成一个视觉搜索测验。结果发现：前测中可能变范畴间颜色的辨别优于可能变范畴内颜色, 且在左视野呈现时更显著; 后测中可能变范畴间颜色的辨别同样优于可能变范畴内颜色, 但在右视野呈现时更显著。这提示：(1)人们在知觉同一语言范畴的不同颜色时可能会区分深浅范畴, 并因此引发右半球颜色范畴知觉; (2)短期习得的语言范畴能引起偏左半球颜色范畴知觉, 且使右半球颜色范畴知觉转为左半球颜色范畴知觉; (3)被试在训练中习得了色词与颜色范畴的联结; (4)范畴学习可以在仅学习一个样例的条件下自动发生。     

Languages on the screen: Is film comprehension related to the viewers’ fluency level and to the language in the subtitles?

This research aimed at studying the role of subtitling in film comprehension. It focused on the languages in which the subtitles are written and on the participants' fluency levels in the languages presented in the film. In a preliminary part of the study, the most salient visual and dialogue elements of a short sequence of an English film were extracted by the means of a free recall task after showing two versions of the film (first a silent, then a dubbed-into-French version) to native French speakers. This visual and dialogue information was used in the setting of a questionnaire concerning the understanding of the film presented in the main part of the study, in which other French native speakers with beginner, intermediate, or advanced fluency levels in English were shown one of three versions of the film used in the preliminary part. Respectively, these versions had no subtitles or they included either English or French subtitles. The results indicate a global interaction between all three factors in this study: For the beginners, visual processing dropped from the version without subtitles to that with English subtitles, and even more so if French subtitles were provided, whereas the effect of film version on dialogue comprehension was the reverse. The advanced participants achieved higher comprehension for both types of information with the version without subtitles, and dialogue information processing was always better than visual information processing. The intermediate group similarly processed dialogues in a better way than visual information, but was not affected by film version. These results imply that, depending on the viewers' fluency levels, the language of subtitles can have different effects on movie information processing.     

Preference for fluent versus disfluent work schedules

Two studies were conducted that examined the preference of a student diagnosed with a brain injury. In Study 1, a preference assessment was followed by a three-choice concurrent-operants reinforcer assessment. Two choices resulted in access to preferred activities for completing work, and a third choice resulted in access to nothing (i.e., no activity). Unpredictably, the participant consistently chose the no-activity option. Study 2 examined why this student preferred work associated with no activity over preferred activities. Through a variety of concurrent-operants procedures, it was determined that she preferred fluent work followed by reinforcers rather than work that was broken up by access to preferred activities. Implications for research on preference are discussed.     

Improving oral reading fluency with a peer-mediated intervention

This study examined the effects of an experimentally derived, peer-delivered reading intervention on the oral reading fluency of a first-grade student who had been referred for poor reading fluency. Same-grade peers were trained to lead the target student through a structured intervention protocol based on the results of a brief experimental analysis. Results indicated that reading improvements were obtained and are discussed in terms of selecting efficient interventions for use by peers.     

The utility and accuracy of oral reading fluency score types in predicting reading comprehension

This study used data from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS; Good & Kaminski, 2002) oral reading fluency (ORF) probes to examine variation among different ORF score types (i.e., the median of three passages, the mean of all three passages, the mean of passages 2 and 3, and the score from passage 3) in predicting reading comprehension as a function of student reading fluency level and to compare the screening accuracy of these score types in predicting student reading comprehension. The results revealed that the relation between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension varied as a function of students' oral reading fluency and that different score types had varying predictive validity for year-end reading comprehension. The mean of all three passages demonstrated a marginally better balance in screening efficiency from September to December of grade one (especially for low-performing students), whereas in grades two and three, the median score was the best predictor. Furthermore, across all grades, increasing reading rates were observed for the three administered passages within an assessment period. The observed patterns mimicked previous experimental studies (Francis et al., 2008; Jenkins, Graff, & Miglioretti, 2009), suggesting that practice effects are an important consideration in the administration of multiple passages assessing oral reading fluency.     

Bayesian Estimation for Item Factor Analysis Models with Sparse Categorical Indicators

Psychometric models for item-level data are broadly useful in psychology. A recurring issue for estimating item factor analysis (IFA) models is low-item endorsement (item sparseness), due to limited sample sizes or extreme items such as rare symptoms or behaviors. In this paper, I demonstrate that under conditions characterized by sparseness, currently available estimation methods, including maximum likelihood (ML), are likely to fail to converge or lead to extreme estimates and low empirical power. Bayesian estimation incorporating prior information is a promising alternative to ML estimation for IFA models with item sparseness. In this article, I use a simulation study to demonstrate that Bayesian estimation incorporating general prior information improves parameter estimate stability, overall variability in estimates, and power for IFA models with sparse, categorical indicators. Importantly, the priors proposed here can be generally applied to many research contexts in psychology, and they do not impact results compared to ML when indicators are not sparse. I then apply this method to examine the relationship between suicide ideation and insomnia in a sample of first-year college students. This provides an important alternative for researchers who may need to model items with sparse endorsement.