Computer Based Newsletter and Literacy Engagement of Middle-school Students

NCT ID: NCT04511065

Last Updated: 2022-06-27

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 1 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-10-02
• Study Completion Date: 2020-12-14

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to improve motivation for reading by implementing a computer-based newsletter and examine the effects on the literacy engagement and reading achievement of middle school-aged students. Research questions to be answered: 1. Does the provision of a computer-based newsletter intervention improve literacy engagement on middle school students in comparison to their pretest scores? 2. Does the provision of computer-based newsletter intervention improve the reading achievement of middle school students in comparison to their pretest scores?

Detailed Description

For children where consent was provided by a parent or legal guardian, an assent form will be completed by the child for the child to also consent to participate in the study. Once consent and assent have been received, the student's reading skills will be assessed using the Gray Oral Reading Test 5 (GORT 5) and Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC). The student will also be assessed using a modified Inventory of Reading Occupations (IRO) to determine their access to reading materials and their perceived proficiency with the reading tasks. From the results of the GORT 5 and TOC, inclusion criteria will be used to determine if students will be included in the study. Once the inclusion criteria have been determined for all students, students will be randomly placed in either a control or intervention group.

The intervention group will be provided with a survey to determine areas of interest to guide the 7-week literacy intervention plan of completing a newsletter. Students will complete the newsletter virtually using secure Zoom meetings 2x per week for 30 minutes per session. The results of the Gray Oral Reading Tets 5 (GORT 5) and Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC) will be used to determine the baseline reading skills of the students and each researcher will use the results of the assessments to guide the intervention with the newsletter topic that is chosen by the student. For example, if the GORT 5 notes a deficiency in reading accuracy, the focus of the intervention will be ensuring that reading accuracy is a focus of the summary that is crafted by the student for the newsletter.

At the end of 7-weeks, the control group and intervention group will be re-administered the Gray Oral Reading Test 5 and Test of Orthographic Competence to determine reading skills. Students will also be provided with the modified Inventory of Reading Occupations (IRO). The control and intervention group's GORT 5, TOC, and modified IRO scores will be analyzed to find out the differences between the groups in reading skills (using the GORT 5 and TOC) and reading interest/perceived reading proficiency (using the modified IRO).

Conditions

Reading Problem

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Intervention Group

The intervention group will be provided with a survey to determine areas of interest to guide the 7-week literacy intervention plan of completing a newsletter. Students will complete the newsletter virtually using secure Zoom meetings 2x per week for 30 minutes per session. The results of the GORT 5 and TOC will be used to determine the baseline reading skills of the students and each researcher will use the results of the assessments to guide the intervention with the newsletter topic that is chosen by the student. For example, if the GORT 5 notes deficiency with reading accuracy, the focus of the intervention will be ensuring that reading accuracy is a focus of the summary that is crafted by the student for the newsletter.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Newsletter using a virtual mode of delivery

Intervention Type: OTHER

Newsletter creation where topics in the newsletter are chosen by participants in the intervention group.

Control Group

The control group will not participate in the newsletter creation for the 7-week study period. These students will engage in the after-school programs at the Center, some of which may be literacy-based, but not the prescriptive model that is being followed by the researchers.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Newsletter using a virtual mode of delivery

Newsletter creation where topics in the newsletter are chosen by participants in the intervention group.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Participants must be in After-school participants ages 10-13 years old and in grades 6-8.

2. Have access to a computer: laptop, Chromebook, or desktop.

3. Can identify and press all keys on a keyboard.

4. Can use a mouse to navigate on a computer.

5. Have internet access at home or center.

6. Computer system has the capability to download Zoom.

7. One grade equivalent or more below in areas of: fluency, rate, accuracy, or comprehension on Gray Oral Reading Test 5 (GORT 5).

8. Standard score in the below average range on the Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC).

9. Participants must speak, read, and write in English

Exclusion Criteria

• 1. Students who do not have access to a computer, internet, and Zoom access at home.

2. Students who do not speak, read, and write in English.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 13 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

State University of New York at Buffalo

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Turquessa Francis

Clinical Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Turquessa Francis

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University at Buffalo

Locations

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, New York, United States

Countries

United States

References

Grajo LC, Candler C, Bowyer P, Schultz S, Thomson J, Fong K. Determining the Internal Validity of the Inventory of Reading Occupations: An Assessment Tool of Children's Reading Participation. Am J Occup Ther. 2016 May-Jun;70(3):7003220010p1-9. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2016.017582.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 27089292 (View on PubMed)

Kim, A.-H., Vaughn, S., Klingner, J. K., Woodruff, A. L., Reutebuch, C. K., & Kouzekanani, K. (2006). Improving the reading comprehension of middle school students with disabilities through computer-assisted collaborative strategic reading. Remedial and Special Education, 27(4), 235-249. doi: 10.1177/07419325060270040401

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

STUDY00004610

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id