DRAFT+Research+Plan


 * What affect does technology have on student's reading comprehension? **

Leah G. Doughman // Graduate student at the University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, USA //

 ** Abstract: ** 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. My hopes are that the treatment group will show greater gains in reading comprehension than my control group, which will indicate that the CAI works to improve reading comprehension among students.

** 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) (include page numbers for direct quotes) . I feel that reading is a skill as well as subject that affects all other subjects; if one cannot read, then they cannot do word problems, read their science or world history books, and the list continues. Reading and comprehension of the material is critical for students to be successful in school and as productive adults—the ultimate goal of a teacher. (Citations? )

In knowing the benefits of being a successful comprehender, I wanted to take it a step further and incorporate technology. I feel that technology can help aid educators and students in achieving high goals in reading comprehension. (Citations? )  I wanted to know more about technology and it capabilities. McKeown, Beck, and Blake (2009) said it beautifully in their 2009 article, “Students don’t just read books. They read television screens”. (page#? ) 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 all around our students, and they are continuously engaged in it. School systems have to incorporate the resources to reach students in the classroom, and once this is done the comprehension will come along with student engagement. We just have to be up-to-date, flexible, and willing to take on today’s learners in today’s world.

** Review of Related Literature: **

Over the years, much research has been conducted in the area of reading comprehension. (Citations? ) The research for this study has been focused on reading comprehension and the impact of technology in this field. This study focuses on the affects //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] ). (Is this the correct APA citation? )

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 provide 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] ). 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. (Good description )

// 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. Many teachers use the quantitative data gathered by this program to guide individual student instruction. (Citations? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) To determine if the games are worth instructional time and teacher’s efforts, I will be conducting research to determine if Lexia //S.O.S.// games impact student’s reading comprehension skills.

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. Most of the studies that I reviewed indicated that CAIs can improve reading comprehension, while some stated “no differences”. McKeown, Beck, and Blake acknowledged in their research that “a large body of research on [reading] strategies instruction has accumulated” and yet “a deal remains to be explained” (McKeown, Beck, Blake, 2009). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Check citations? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) This should be taken into consideration before adopting any CAI and implementing in the classroom. “The technology market changes rapidly and careful consideration of new products is always necessary” (Balajthy, 2007). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Check citations? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">)

In Applegate, Applegate, and Modla’s (year?) research study, they state that “many schools overemphasis” without paying any attention to comprehension. In Deeney’s <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(year? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) article, //One-Minute Fluency Measures: Mixed Messages in Assessment and Instruction//, accuracy, rate, prosody were included in with the assessment, but many of times comprehension was excluded. In Rasinski’s <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(year? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) study, it was 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. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(I like that you identified a gap and state that as your direction for this research <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">)

Zawilinski (year) stated in her research that “the internet is this generation’s defining technology for literacy” (Zawilinski, 2009 -- this needs to be page number ). Weber and Cavanaugh <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(year? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) along with Grimshaw, Dungworth, McKnight, and Morris <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(year? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) studied eBooks as a means of improving reading comprehension and prove that they are readily available. McVicker <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(year? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) 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// 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” <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(page # <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">), 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 S.O.S.// games do increase reading comprehension. This would supply evidence and value in incorporating these games into the daily second grade reading schedule.

<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Stepping deeper into the reading comprehension research, I am starting to see the patterns and hear the common phrases. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Citations? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) 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, I have started to see that what students are doing in schools are somewhat disconnected from their lives away from school. I do not feel this should be the case; I feel like what is taking place in the classrooms should transfer over and apply to student’s lives away from school. We are a very technologically advanced society, and schools should be preparing students for this advanced work field.

<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Students need to be able to read fluently and comprehend text that are and will be put 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. I have found that there are computer based programs that help with this (though not all are an accurate means of assessing and teaching). Technology “integrates both traditional reading comprehension skills and the new, higher order thinking skills that are often required during online reading comprehension”. (Zawilinski, 2009). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(include page # <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">)

<span style="background: white; font-family: Calibri; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">For this study I will be exploring the possibilities of computer assisted instruction to aid reading comprehension among second grade students in the general education classroom. I will be examining the benefits of Lexia S.O.S. games to see if they help aid with reading comprehension scores. The program contains elements designed to support text level skills such as comprehension. The program will monitor the student’s progress and progress with the student as needed.

** Research Question: ** What effect does //Lexia S.O.S.// have on reading comprehension? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Integrate this to section above <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">)

**Methodology** //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Research Design and Types 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. I was particularly interested in investigating technologies that might help to improve student’s reading comprehension skills and aid educators in the classroom. The CAI that I am researching is one that is currently present at my school and I want to see if the program can aid with reading comprehension in the second grade classroom.

My 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, B., Christensen, L., 2008) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Check for correct APA format <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). Johnson and Christensen also state that both qualitative and quantitative research methods help “improve the quality of research” and fewer mistakes will be made. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Check for correct APA format <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). I will be using the qualitative data to see if the CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction) was effective. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Why? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). I will use the quantitative data to support the results of my research.<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Why? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">).

The sample will consist of two second grade classrooms with twenty students in each—one being the control group and the other being the experimental group. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(How were they selected? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). 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 computer program. Students in the experimental group will play the Lexia S.O.S. games Tuesday through Thursday for twenty minutes. I will be giving a pre and post test to help accurately assess my findings. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Include instrument in the appendices <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). I will test students to see where they stand before using the program, and then I will give them a post-test after a certain period to see if the CAI has increased reading comprehension skills. This will allow for adequate data gathering time. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(What do you mean? <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). I will examine the comprehension results from the beginning time period to the end time period to in order to examine and analyze my results.

//<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Data Collection Strategy and Tool: // After looking at tools that we currently have at my school (that involves reading comprehension), I want to investigate and explore the effects of Lexia S.O.S. on students’ reading comprehension. I want to know if the Lexia S.O.S. games (a CAI) can help to improve students’ reading comprehension ability. Lexia is an assessment tool that I currently use at my school to assess phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. It also comes with a variety of grade appropriate games. I will use the Lexia S.O.S. games with my second graders (they will be the experimental group). I will then compare their Lexia scores to the control group (a class who did not use Lexia S.O.S.). I can use the first session (for example: Fall Session) of the Lexia CRT (the assessment tool which comes as part of the program) as a pretest, then allow a specified time of using the Lexia S.O.S. games with students, and then use the next assessment period (Winter Session) as the posttest. This would allow me to see if the Lexia S.O.S. games helped to improve reading comprehension among students. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(This sounds more like a problem statement than your collection strategy and tool <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">).

** Research Timeline ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Include an introductory paragraph <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). Send home permission slip forms to participate in research study. || (2 second grade classrooms; one control class, one experimental class)  ||
 * ** Date(s): ** ||  ** Task(s): **  ||
 * January 10 ||  Start back to school.
 * January 19 ||  Form experimental and control groups based on the returned permission slip forms.
 * 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.  ||

//**<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-style: normal;">Data Analysis: **// “In a mixed research study, after you have collected qualitative and/or quantitative data, you will be in a position to analyze the data.” (Johnson & Christensen, 2008) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Suggest you rewrite the sentence and include the page number for direct quote <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">). In my study, I will be analyzing both forms <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(you mean the data collection tool <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">) of data to help eliminate any weaknesses. First I will send a survey to teachers and parents to gather some information on student’s computer abilities. After determining their computer abilities and abilities on the Lexia S.O.S. games, I will then begin collecting my quantitative data. My main focus is on the quantitative data (test scores from the control as well as experimental group); I want to see if the computer program, Lexia S.O.S, helped to improve comprehension scores among students. I can then compare the experimental and control groups pretest comprehension results to the posttest comprehension results to see if the CAI was effective or not.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Need to explain how and why is the appropriate approach to analyze your data <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">).

** Results: ** Once this study is conducted and carried out for two school nine weeks, the results will be analyzed and compared to see if the CAI helped to improve reading comprehension among second grade students. I am hoping that my findings will indicate that the CAI will help to increase reading comprehension. I would like to point out that I do not feel that these CAI should stand alone; it should be used as “supplement” and aid with teacher directed instruction and all activities should be carefully integrated into the curriculum. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008000; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">(Needs to be integrated to the above section <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">).

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