The Effects of Two Repeated Reading Interventions on Generalization of Fluency

Abstract

A multitreatment, single-subject research design was used to compare the effects on gains in fluency of two types of mastery criteria for repeated reading. The subjects were four males with learning disabilities, who were at a beginning reading level. One intervention required the students to reread a passage until they demonstrated three successive improvements; the other intervention required rereading until 90 correct words per minute was reached. Both types of criteria resulted in fluency gains for all students, with a mean gain of 58% under the improvements condition and 62% under the fixed-rate condition. The successive improvements criterion appeared to be the more efficient and showed consistent positive effects of fluency gains on generalization to unpracticed passages.

Effects of Repeated Readings on Reading Abilities of English Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities

“…Tam et al (2006) conducted generalization probes and found that an increased reading rate on intervention passages may have contributed to positive effects on untaught passages. Weinstein and Cooke (1992) found that fluency increased in unpracticed passages following repeated readings until three observed improvements occurred in intervention. This study extended their research findings by using researcher created passages with 80% of the same words as passages used during intervention.…”

“…A thorough search of the literature revealed only two studies conducted with ELLs (Linan- Thompson et al, 2003;Tam et al, 2006). A somewhat broader base of research exists examining repeated readings with students who have SLD (Begeny et al, 2006;Nelson et al, 2004;Weinstein & Cooke, 1992). Further, only one study was found that included 2 participants who were identified as ELLs with SLD (Tam et al).…”

“…Recently, research in this area has focused on different aspects of the repeated readings process. One aspect is comparing the results of repeatedly reading a short passage until a criterion reading rate is reached to repeatedly reading a set number of times or until consecutive improvements are made (Tam et al, 2006;Weinstein & Cooke, 1992). Another researched aspect is the pairing of repeated readings with some form of error correction (Begeny et al, 2006;Nelson, et al, 2004;.…”

“…ELLs have been shown to benefit from interventions that include vocabulary instruction (Fitzgerald, 1995;Gersten & Baker, 2000;Tam et al, 2006), repeated exposure to English print (Tam et al, 2006), explicit instruction in comprehension strategies (Denton et al, 2004), and one-on-one instruction with a teacher (Linan-Thompson et al, 2003). Similarly, students with SLD have been found to benefit from interventions that include vocabulary instruction (Therrien & Kubina, 2006), repeated readings (Chard, Vaughn, & Tayler, 2002;Nelson, Alber, & Gordy, 2004;Therrien & Kubina, 2006;Weinstein & Cooke, 1992), and individual attention (Elbaum et al, 2000). Noting the similarities in effective reading strategies for these two groups of students, Fitzgerald (1995) suggested that ELLs might benefit from interventions known to benefit monolingual students with SLD.…”

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Combined Reading Interventions on Improving Oral Reading Fluency of Students with Reading Disabilities

“…Findings from various studies have indicated that repeated readings resulted in increased reading fluency and comprehension skills for variety of populations such as students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties (Ardoin et al, 2008;Begeny, Daly, & Valleley, 2006;Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler, 2002;Kuhn & Stahl 2003;Levy, Nicholls, & Kohen, 1993;Therrien, 2004;Valleley & Shriver, 2003;Weinstein & Cooke, 1992).…”