FINAL+Research+Plan

** Lexia Games: What effect does technology have on student's reading comprehension? **   **  Leah G. Doughman  ** **University of West Georgia** This study will investigate the benefits of the Lexia Computer-Based Program for second graders in the general education classroom. The computer-assisted instruction (CAI) works on strengthening phonics and decoding skills, sight words, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This program will be used on the treatment group. These students will then be compared to the control group which will consist of another second grade class that did not use the CAI. The results will hopefully indicate that the treatment group will show greater gains in reading comprehension than the control group, which will indicate that the CAI works to improve reading comprehension among students.  ** Topic Description  ** ** Introduction  **   As a teacher of reading, as well as all subject matters, I am very concerned with reading comprehension among my students. “Successful reading requires the ability to recognize words in print as well as to comprehend the printed materials” (Macaruso & Rodman, 2009, p. 103). Reading is a skill as well as subject that effects all other subjects; if one cannot read, then they cannot do word problems, read science, world history, and language arts books, and the problems continue. Reading and comprehension of the required or personal material is critical for students to be successful in school, at their jobs, and as productive adults. In knowing the benefits of being a successful reader, I wanted to take the issue a step further and incorporate technology. I feel that technology can help aid educators and students in achieving high goals in reading comprehension. I wanted to know more about technology and it capabilities. McKeown, Beck, and Blake (2009) said it beautifully, “Students don’t just read books. They read television screens”. They read game directions, they read tweets, they read wall postings, they read online directions, they read text on a screen, and it's not just paper and ink anymore. Print is continuously and consistently around students. They are endlessly, and sometimes without choice, engulfed amongst it. School systems desperately need to incorporate the resources to reach students in the classroom. Once this is aspect is carried out, the comprehension will come along as will student engagement. School systems must be up-to-date, flexible, and willing to take on today’s learners in today’s world. So what program can tackle all the components of reading and increase reading comprehension? What program will cover phonics and decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, sight words, and fluency? My overall goal is to research and discover the effects that // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //(a computer-based reading program game) has on student’s comprehension. Through the use of the games and the assessment tools (both offered as part of the package), it is hopeful that I will see an improvement in the experimental group over the control group’s reading scores. 
 * Research Plan **
 * Abstract **

Problem Statement
Through this ongoing process of reading comprehension, technology, and research, one will start to see specific patterns and hear the common phrases of reading. Understanding what the comprehension components are, how they are connected, and what is not taking place in classrooms today is critical in researching and improving reading among all grade levels. For the last couple of years, it has become visibly clear that what students are doing in schools are somewhat disconnected from their lives away from school. This should not be the case; what is taking place in the classrooms should transfer over and apply to student’s lives away from school. As a society we are a very technologically advanced, and schools should be preparing students for this advanced work field. Students need to be able to read fluently and comprehend text that are and will be placed in front of them. As educators, we need to look for ways to incorporate the technology and use the technology to help teach and aid with reading comprehension. Through the course of this research, numerous computer-based programs have been found that indicate they aid with this issue (though not all are an accurate means of assessing and teaching). Technology can be a means of integrating both traditional reading comprehension skills and higher order thinking skills that are often required during reading comprehension” (Zawilinski, 2009). This study will be exploring the possibilities of computer assisted instruction to aid reading comprehension among second grade students in the general education classroom. The research and data will exam the benefits of // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //games to see if it helps aid with reading comprehension scores. The program contains elements designed to support text level skills such as comprehension. The program will also monitor the student’s progress and progression as needed. In the end, results will indicate if // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //games have an effect on reading comprehension.

**  Review of Related Literature   ** Computer-assisted instructional programs are becoming more and more common in the everyday classroom. Many programs state that “their” computer-assisted instructional program(s) can effectively aid with instruction and will support teacher instruction. Before school systems jump on the “technology bandwagon”, programs should be examined with a careful eye before purchasing and implementing. This must be stated before entering into the technology research arena. Most of the studies that I reviewed indicated that CAIs can improve reading comprehension, while some stated “no differences”. McKeown, Beck, and Blake (2009) acknowledged in their research that “a large body of research on [reading] strategies instruction has accumulated” and yet “a deal remains to be explained”. This should be taken into consideration before adopting any CAI and implementing in the classroom. Technology and the technology market change rapidly so careful consideration of new products is always needed (Balajthy, 2007). Over the years, much research has been conducted in the area of reading comprehension (as noted by the numerous research articles found to aid to the process of this research plan). The research for this study has been focused on the concept or topic of reading comprehension and the impact of technology in this field. This study focuses on the effects // Lexia //, a computer-assisted instructional tool, has on reading comprehension in a second grade setting. // Lexia // is a computer-based instructional program that provides research-proven methods to help students acquire the essential reading skills needed to succeed in school and in life ( [|www.lexialearning.com], 2010 ). This program is intended to for students in grades Pre-K through 12th grade and is geared in the direction of reading instruction. It is a program that is designed to present a detailed picture of student’s reading performance. // Lexia // “provides explicit, systematic, and structured practice on the essential reading skills of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension” ( [|www.lexialearning.com], 2010 ). It provides students with the guided reading instruction at their level and provides additional practice on the skills that students are struggling with. It also keeps moving at the child’s pace without stopping the flow of instruction. It can assess and monitor students’ reading progress to provide a measurement of reading skills. // Lexia  // provides games and instruction in two forms: // Lexia Early and Primary Reading // which is designed for students in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade and // Lexia Strategies // which is designed for students in 4th grade and above. // Lexia Early and Primary Reading // is a supplemental tool that my school system purchased to aid with teacher-directed instruction. Many teachers use the quantitative data gathered by this program to guide individual student instruction and differentiate small group instruction (this is an expectation required by the school system and the use of the program is highly emphasized throughout the school system). To determine if the games are worth instructional time, training, and teacher’s efforts, I will be conducting research to determine if // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //games impact student’s reading comprehension skills. In Applegate, Applegate, and Modla’s (2009) research study, they state that “many schools overemphasis” fluency without paying any attention to comprehension. In Deeney’s (2010) article, // One-Minute Fluency Measures: Mixed Messages in Assessment and Instruction //, accuracy, rate, prosody (which is rhythm of words, stress of syllables, and intonation) were included in with the assessment, but many of times comprehension was excluded. In Rasinski’s (2006) study, it was indicated and stated that accuracy, automaticity, and prosody lead to comprehension. But was the focus really on comprehension? My research needs to study the effects // Lexia //has on comprehension and if significant gains are really made in this specific area of reading comprehension. Moving onto studies that have incorporated specific technologies into their research studies; Zawilinski (2009) stated in her research that “the internet is this generation’s defining technology for literacy” and shifts in education need to be made accordingly. Weber and Cavanaugh (2006) along with Grimshaw, Dungworth, McKnight, and Morris (2007) studied eBooks as a means of improving reading comprehension and prove that they are readily available. McVicker (2007) studied the impact that electronic comic strips have on student’s comprehension. Most of these studies have positive results that provided evidence of improved comprehension. These studies will help to guide my research and are worth keeping in mind when conducting the // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //research. Computers and computer programs do provide educators and school systems with another means of reaching students and aiding them with their reading skills. School systems and adoption committees need to have accurate research before adopting. Technology can ease teachers’ assessment burdens and increase efficiency and effectiveness, but it also has to meet the needs of the student population (Balajthy, 2007). Many programs, along with the research, prove that CAI programs do and can help with reading comprehension. They can also help with motivation which could be a step in the right direction to improving student’s reading comprehension abilities. My research could provide sound evidence that the // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //games do increase reading comprehension among elementary students. This would supply evidence and value in incorporating these games into the daily second grade reading schedule. David Williamson Shaffer (2006), the author of the book // How Computer Games Help Children Learn, //believes that there are many computer games that can help children learn and guide them to their innovative futures. Shaffer (2006) indicates that jobs and the job market are not what they use to be. Workers today have to be tech-savvy and not standardized. Schools should be using the technologies to enhance deep content learning and skills, especially the ones we value in society. Psychologists have known for years that games help children learn (Shaffer, 2006). So why are we not incorporating more games into the classroom? Computer games make it possible for students to think in creative and innovative ways, and this is similar to real world jobs. Society has to move away from their “traditional” thoughts of education and the methods of carrying out a task. Times and the world around us are changing as must our thoughts about education. We must be creating and fostering high level thinking skills that are valued in our new world economy. As a whole, we must start to think about education in original and modern ways.  **  Methodology   ** ** Design and Type(s) of Data  ** Comprehension is an issue that many students still struggle with; educators work with this skill daily to help students become more competent, capable readers. This study is particularly interested in investigating a technology that might help to improve student’s reading comprehension skills and aid educator’s instruction in the classroom. The CAI that will be researched is one that is currently present at my school; // Lexia // is an assessment tool and program that is readily available and used quite frequently among educators at my school to assess phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. It also comes with a variety of grade appropriate games (such as // Lexia Early and Primary Reading Games //). In the end, the goal of this research is to see if the program can aid with reading comprehension in the second grade classroom. The research method approach, by nature, is both qualitative and quantitative—thus making it mixed research. The data will show both numerical data as well as non-numerical data such as words and pictures. Johnson and Christensen (2008) also affirm that both qualitative and quantitative research methods help to improve the quality of research and the number of mistakes will be fewer.

This research will be using the qualitative data to see if the CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction) was effective. The // Lexia //program provides a data collection tool (// Lexia CRT //) which will report (in numbers) how a student is progressing based on their individual program results. I will use the quantitative data to support the results of my research. This will include teacher surveys and observations of student’s progress and interaction with the program. Based on the qualitative and quantitative data, this will allow me to determine if // Lexia Early and Primary Reading //program effects reading comprehension among second grade students. //** Data Collection Strategy and Analysis **// The sample will consist of two second grade classrooms, which will be randomly selected, twenty students in each—one being the control group and the other being the experimental group. I will use teacher observations, open-ended surveys, and informal conversational interviews to gather my qualitative data. To collect my quantitative data, I will use the results from the // Lexia CRT //computer program. Before students begin using the CAI they will be given a pretest, which will be the // Lexia CRT. //This is an assessment tool that is offered as part of the // Lexia //program; the program allows for the students to be tested at certain points in the school year—usually Fall, Winter, Spring, and two in-between sessions. The pretest will provide researchers with a starting point for both the control and experimental group. After the pretests have been administered, students in the experimental group will begin playing the // Lexia Early and Primary Reading // games Tuesday through Thursday for twenty minutes. The control group will not receive this treatment. In a mixed research study, after one has collected the qualitative and quantitative data, researchers will be in a position to analyze the data (Johnson & Christensen, 2008). In this study, I will be analyzing both forms of data to help eliminate any weaknesses. After two months, both groups will be assessed again with the // Lexia CRT //assessment tool; this will consist of the post test. The pre and post tests will then be compared and used to help accurately assess the findings. The control group’s posttest scores will be compared to the experimental group’s posttest scores. The progression from pretest to posttest will also be analyzed to see if the CAI has increased reading comprehension skills and/or if the CAI was effective or not. **  Research Timeline   ** In order to gather and analyze the data, a specific timeline must be followed. When this research is carried out, students will be coming back from Christmas Holidays. As soon as students return, permission slip forms will be sent home to randomly selected students in second grade. Students will be given nine days to return the form to school. After this time frame, the experimental and control group will be formed. All students will be given the pretest, so a specified amount of time is designated to this. After all the pretests have been administered, students in the experimental group will then start the // Lexia Early and Primary Games //sessions. These sessions will occur Tuesdays through Thursdays for twenty minutes. After two months, the posttest will be administered to both the control as well as experimental group. The data will then be printed, analyzed, and compared so the data can be compiled into one report summary. The results will then be shared with administration and/or staff. January 10  || Start back to school. Send home permission slip forms to participate in research study. ||  January 19 ||       Form experimental and control groups based on the returned permission slip forms. (2 second grade classrooms; one control class, one experimental class) ||  January 24 ||       Administer Lexia CRT as a pretest to all participants ||  January 31 – March 31 ||       Use Lexia S.O.S. games with experimental group (session 20 minutes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) ||  April 11 ||       Administer the Lexia CRT as a posttest to all participants ||  April 13 – 18 ||       Analysis and compare data. Summarize results. ||  April 26 ||       Share results with staff. || **   Concluding Summary   ** After conducting and analyze the data from this research project, it is my hope that the results will indicate an improvement in reading comprehension among second grade students through the use of a CAI. I would also like to point out that I do not feel that the CAI should stand alone; it should be used as a “supplement” and aid with teacher directed instruction. All activities and/or technology should be carefully thought out before integrating into the classroom curriculum. If the results yield positive effects in the direction of // Lexia //, then this will be a large motivating factor for teachers to incorporate the CAI into their daily lessons. It will also provide educators with another means of reaching their students. **  References:   ** Beck, I. L., Blake, R. G. K., & McKeown, M. G. (2009). Reading comprehension instruction: Focus on content or strategies? // Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 35, //28-32. Marcell, B. (2007). Traffic light reading: Fostering the independent usage of comprehension strategies with informational text. // The Reading Teacher, 60, //778-781. Applegate, M. D., Applegate, A. J., Modla, V. B. (2009). She’s my best reader; she just can’t comprehend: Studying the relationship between fluency and comprehension. // The // // Reading Teacher, 62, //512-521. Deeney, T. A. (2010). One minute fluency measures: Mixed messages in assessment and instruction. // The Reading Teacher, 63, //440-450. Rasinski, T. (2006). Reading fluency instruction: Moving beyond accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. // The ReadingTeacher, 59, //704-706. Zawilinski, L. (2009). HOT blogging: A framework for blogging to promote higher order thinking. // The Reading Teacher, 62, //650-661. Weber, C. L., & Cavanaugh, T. W. (2006). Promoting reading: Using eBooks with gifted and advanced readers. // Gifted Child Today, 29, //56-63. Balajthy, E. (2007). Technology and current reading/literacy assessment strategies. // The Reading // // Teacher, 61, //240-247. McVicker, C. J. (2007). Comic strips as a text structure for learning to read. // International // // Reading Association, 61, //85-88. Baker, E., Hoffner, H., Quinn, K. B. (2008). Lights, camera, pencils: Using descriptive video to   enhance writing. // International Reading Association, 61, //576-579. Dungworth, N., Grimshaw, S., McKnight, C., Morris, A. (2007). Electronic books: Children’s reading and comprehension. // British Journal of Educational Technology, 38, //583-599. Macaruso, P., Rodman, A. (2009). Benefits of computer-assisted instruction for struggling readers in middle school. // European Journal of Special Needs Education, 24, //103-113. Herter, R., J., Montelongo, J., A. (2010). Using technology to support expository reading and writing in science class. // Science Activities, 47, //89-102. Bishop, P., A., Pflaum, S. W., Reyes, C. (2006). Read smarter, not harder: Global reading comprehension strategies. // The Reading Teacher, 60, //66-75. Shaffer, D., W. (2006). // How Computer Games Help Children Learn. //New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillian. Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. (2008). // Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and // // Mixed Approaches //(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Barone, D., Wright, T., E. (2008). Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. // The // // Reading Teacher, 62, //293-302.
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