Date of Award
5-2021
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Alan Poling
Second Advisor
Dr. Ron Van Houten
Third Advisor
Dr. Richard Malott
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Kelly Kohler
Keywords
Multiple exemplar instruction, textual responding, secondary students, reading delays
Abstract
A majority of eighth-grade students in the United States read below a proficient level, which means that they may have difficulty reading and comprehending grade-level text. Research indicates that older struggling readers may be missing phoneme-related skills, which limits their ability to read proficiently. Unfortunately, there is little research examining strategies for establishing such skills in older struggling readers. Multiple exemplar instruction (MEI), which has benefited young readers with phoneme-related skill deficits, is an intervention that may also be effective for older struggling readers who need phonemic skills. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of an MEI intervention on older struggling readers’ phonemic skills.
This study used a multiple-probe design across responses to examine the effects of a MEI intervention on how accurately students read 1) words that contain the target sounds and 2) sentences with words that contain the target sounds. Four 5th and 6th grade private school students with reading delays, participated in the study during sessions held within their school. The MEI procedure was completed in approximately 10-minute sessions during which the student was taught to read the target sound across topographies including 1) reading the target sound, 2) writing the target sound, 3) selecting the target sound from other sounds, 4) selecting the target sound in words, 5) reading the target sound in a word, 6) segmenting sounds, and 7) writing a word comprised of the target sound. Following the implementation of MEI, one participant read more words and sentences comprised of the target sounds across all three target sounds; one participant read more words and sentences comprised of the target sound across two target sounds; one participant read more words comprised of the target sounds across two target sounds and sentences across one target sound; and, one participant read more words comprised of target sounds across two target sounds. Results, which suggest that MEI may be useful in teaching phoneme-related skills to older struggling readers, are discussed in terms of related literature, future research, and practice.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
D’Arms, Ariana, "The Effects of Multiple Exemplar Instruction on the Textual Responding of Secondary Students with Reading Delays" (2021). Dissertations. 3712.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/3712
Comments
5th advisor: Dr. Denise Ross