SchoolZone
Research evidence for this approach to improving reading
Our software was designed in conjunction with research evidence to improve specific skills associated with reading. The following sections explain how:
Increases the speed at which eyes scan through text In a reading exercise, the student sees a piece of text for a controlled length of time that can vary from 15 to 0.05 second. The software automatically adjusts to the student's progress, speeding up and presenting more challenging texts as improvements are made. This is based on research that started in 1897 when it was noticed that when we read, we can only take in words when our eyes are stationary. So our eyes do not move smoothly across the page: they have to stop to take in a word or phrase and then move on. (Huey (1908/1968), Paulson and Goodman (1999)) These stops are called fixations. The number of words that our eyes can focus on, or recognise, at one fixation is called the recognition span. The larger this recognition span, the faster and more efficiently we can read. Poor readers tend to read one word at a time and also stop, or fixate, more frequently than more fluent readers do: "Advances in eye movement technology have shown that fluent readers not only fixate most words … and do so very rapidly, but also appear to process the individual letters in each word, even when the word is highly predictable. Fluent readers are more efficient than poor readers…. they sample the text more quickly….". Improves spelling and word recognition The software is based on the tried and tested 'flashcard' method to reinforce word recognition by presenting a student a word historically on a card) for a limited amount of time. The student then identifies the word seen. Maia's software uses computer technology to perform this task repeatedly, using single words, phrases or sentences as appropriate for the student and using accurate timings for the display time. The software adapts to the student's performance by comparing the success level against a preset threshold (set by the instructor), adjusting the display time up or down accordingly. Encouragement and motivation are provided by feedback (visual and spoken) and progress charts. "To many cognitive psychologists, good readers are clearly distinguished from poor readers by more rapid, automatic, context-free and accurate word recognition." According to R. T. Vacca (2000) there are four phases of reading development, all of which relate to the alphabet. These are Pre-alphabetic, Partial Alphabetic, Full Alphabetic and Consolidated Alphabetic. The software can present graded words or phrases, starting with the alphabet, in two formats: recognition (multiple-choice) and recall (look/cover/write). Word recognition using flashcards has been shown to provide "an excellent stepping stone to further achievement" in a Literacy Acceleration project (Lingard 1997). In this Lingard describes an approach to helping low-attaining 11 to 13 year old students to read: "Students who are non-readers are taught a sight vocabulary of about 50 words using flash cards before being given their first reading book. … All the words in the first reading book are learned by playing games with the flash cards before the student is presented with the first reader. Thus for a student who has previously failed, being able to read every word in his or her first reading book provides an excellent stepping stone to further achievement." How much better to start students with sight recognition before they fail! The contention here is that sight recognition is one of many skills required in the process of reading and that there are various methods of presenting words. Historically these have been on paper but computers can now add a new dimension to the teacher's armoury of tools. It has also been found that reading from a computer can be motivational (Byatt, J. Davies, K. and Garner, J. (1997)). Expands vocabulary and comprehension Because poor readers tend to read one word at a time it is difficult for them to grasp an overall idea because each word by itself does not convey much meaning. The most likely scenario is that, after three or four words, the reader has forgotten the first word and has to go back to the beginning. This tendency is called regression and it was recognised as early as 1922 that poor readers make more of these regressions than good readers (reported in M. Beveridge and S. Edmundson,(1989)). Regression slows down the reading process to a speed much below that at which the brain can perform. Consequently, the brain looks for other stimuli and the reader is easily distracted. Keith Stanovich's 'Interactive-Compensatory Model' of the reading process (1984) points out that reading involves a number of interactions with the text. One of the most important of these is the reader's allocation of 'processing capacity' to the text. Fluent readers need less processing capacity for word recognition, freeing more capacity for comprehension… … Stanovich … (1986) [also] argued that there was clear evidence of a 'rich get richer while the poor get poorer' effect in beginning reading. "Children's initial success in acquiring vocabulary knowledge and reading fluency led to further success, because reading broadens the vocabulary and increases knowledge. On the other hand, those who fail continue to fail." User interface Our software has been designed in accordance with the best of Human Computer Interface (HCI) principles. Squires (1997) lists the following as being some suggested heuristic evaluation guidelines for educational multimedia:
Provides motivation Haring, Lovitt, et al. (1978) discovered that people are strongly motivated by being given immediate positive feedback after completing a task. Their recommended way of presenting feedback was to show the student's progress in the form of a semi-logarithmic graph of performance against time (used specifically to report data quantities that have large differences). Progress feedback charts in our software are presented randomly, as partial reinforcement is known to be more effective than continual or no reinforcement. |
Blease, D. (1988). Evaluating Educational Software. London: Croom Helm.
Chandler, D. (1984).
Young Learners and the Microcomputer. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Wellington, J. J. (1985) Children,
Computers and the Curriculum. New York: Harper and Row.
Software for Primary Schools
- SCANiT Reading in a Flash Primary (ages 5 to 11)
- SCANiT Spelling in a Flash Primary
- SCANiT Plus Primary (Reading, Spelling, Numbers and Quizzes)
Software for Secondary Schools
- SCANiT Reading in a Flash Secondary
- SCANiT Spelling in a Flash Secondary
- SCANiT Plus Secondary (Reading, Spelling, Numbers and Quizzes)
Software for Home Use
synthetic phonics, improve memory, teaching reading, lifelong learning, literacy and reading, developing literacy, brain software training, distance learning school, speed reading software, beat dyslexia
