Journal Article

Investigating the Efficacy of a Web-Based Early Reading and Professional Development Intervention for Young English Learners

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne, Amendum, Steven J., Bratsch-Hines, Mary

2018

Overview

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), a professional development and early reading intervention program delivered via webcam technology, could support the early reading progress of English learners (ELs). Participants for the current study were drawn from a larger three-year randomized controlled trial and included 108 ELs from 47 classrooms randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Teachers in treatment classrooms used the TRI in one-on-one sessions in the regular classroom for approximately 15 minutes per day. Weekly, and later biweekly, webcam coaching sessions between a TRI coach and each classroom teacher allowed the coach to interact with both the teacher and students in real time and allowed classroom teachers to receive real-time feedback from the coach. Two-level hierarchical linear models suggested that ELs struggling with learning to read in intervention classrooms significantly outperformed their peers in control classrooms on word-level measures of early reading, with effect sizes of .43 and .45, but not on text-level measures. Results also suggested that ELs struggling with learning to read were gaining at the same rate as their nonstruggling peers but were unable to catch up within the study year.

• Publisher: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc,Wiley-Blackwell,Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subject: Achievement Gains / and materials / Childhood / Classrooms / Clinical trials / Coaching / Coaching (Performance) / Control Groups / Early intervention / Early literacy / Early Reading / Effect Size / Efficacy / Elementary School Students / English as a second language / English as a second language learning / English for speakers of other languages / English Language Learners / English Learners / Experimental / Experimental Groups / Faculty Development / Feedback / Feedback (Response) / Instructional Effectiveness / Instructional intervention / Instructional models / Intervention / In‐service / Language learners / Learning / Lecture Method / Linear analysis / methods / Peers / Professional Development / Professional training / Quasi-experimental methods / quasi‐experimental / Randomized Controlled Trials / Reading Achievement / Reading acquisition / Reading comprehension / Reading Difficulties / Reading Instruction / Reading Programs / Research methodology / Strategies / Struggling learners / Student teacher relationship / Teacher education / Teachers / Teaching Methods / Web Based Instruction