Effects of Repeated Readings, Article Writing Example

Effects of Repeated Readings on the Oral Fluency of Urban Fourth-Grade Students:Implications for Practice

The purpose of this study is to determine the potential positive effects of repeated readings interventions to improve reading fluency. The focus of the study was a group of fourth-grade students in an urban elementary school setting. The authors explain their reasoning for choosing both this particular demographic group and the repeated readings intervention. According to statistics cited in the article, “60% of African American fourth-grade students read below basic levels;” similar figures are seen among students from low socioeconomic and culturally diverse backgrounds” (Musti-Rao, Hawkins & Barkley, 2009). Students facing such challenges are often referred for special education and remedial programs, and are more likely to face continuing and worsening educational challenges as they advance to higher grade levels. Citing the key components of “effective reading instruction” (Musti-Rao, Hawkins & Barkley, 2009) including phonemic awareness, comprehension and fluency- the authors set out to implement repeated readings interventions among the students in their study group.

These participants in this study were 12 African American fourth grade students who varied in age from as young as 9 years old to as old as 12 years old, and who had been identified as facing challenges with reading fluency and other reading-related issues . 7 of the students were male and 5 were female; several had repeated one or more grade levels; and several hjad been identified with disabilities and received special education instruction The repeated readings interventions were implemented across an entire class of 32 students, but data was collected only for the 12 students participating in the study. Students participating in the study were given repeated reading interventions in a separate classroom during regular reading periods; students in the general education classroom engaged in silent reading exercises, while the study-group students engaged in oral reading exercises. The dependent variable for the study was based on correct words per minute (cwpm) during oral reading, with a baseline established at the start of the study using fourth-grade-level DIBELS fluency tests.

As described by the authors, they“used a multiple-baseline-across-participants design” which allowed for flexibility both in terms of data collection and the capacity to adjust interventions to the individual needs and progress of each participants. Students in the study group engaged in silent reading activities for specified periods, and were given instruction through peer-modeling techniques on the repeated reading processes.  Students were grouped together in pairs, and the repeated readings interventions were introduced to different pairs at different times, for the purpose of assessing whether earlier interventions had a noticeable effect on the progress of each student pair over the course of the study period. Students were given 120-150 word passages to read aloud after their silent readings periods, and their cwpm rates were monitored and assessed over the course of the school year.

The researchers used several different methods to analyze the data they collected: these induced quantitative analysis of the change in cwpm rates; interobserver agreement of DIBELS scores and quantitative analysis using multiple observers, and qualitative-based social validation assessment gathered from questionnaires given to participants at the conclusion of the study. The researchers concluded that all participants demonstrated improvements in fluency that exceeded statistical norms, and determined that the results of this study have practical implications for educators and for further research into fluency interventions.

Reference

Musti-Rao, S., Hawkins, R., & Barkley, E. (2009). Effects of repeated readings on the oral reading fluency of urban fourth-grade students: Implications for practice. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education For Children And Youth, 54(1), 12–23.