[Effects of computer-assisted practice on reading and spelling in children with learning disabilities].
The main purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of computer-assisted practice on reading and spelling in children with learning disabilities (LD). We compared three practice conditions, one with reading and two with spelling, in order to test whether computer-based reading and spelling practice has an influence on the development of reading and spelling ability in children with LD. A sample was selected of 85 children with LD, with age range between 8 years and 10 years (age, M=111.02, SD=9.6), whose spelling performance was two years below grade level. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) Copy the target word from the computer screen (n=22), 2) Memorize the target word and write it from memory (n=21), 3) Word reading (n=21), and 4) the untrained control group (n=21). We administered measures of pseudoword reading, phonological awareness, phonological word decoding and orthographical word decoding tasks. We examined the learning effects and transfer effects on words classified as a function of length, consistency, and complexity of syllable structure. Overall, the results showed that reading training did not improve spelling; however, the children who participated in the copy training condition improved their spelling skills.
Universidad de La Laguna, Facultad de Psicología, La Laguna, Spain. ejimenez@ull.es
Juan E
JE
Jiménez
Mercedes A
MA
Muñetón
D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010700:Phonetics; D011932:Reading; D012984:Software; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014956:Writing