ERIC Number: EJ1148043
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-8756-8705
EISSN: N/A
Delivery and Evaluation of Synchronous Online Reading Tutoring to Students At-Risk of Reading Failure
Vasquez, Eleazar, III; Forbush, David E.; Mason, Lee L.; Lockwood, April R.; Gleed, Linsey
Rural Special Education Quarterly, v30 n3 p16-26 Sep 2011
In a technological society, demands for higher literacy are ever increasing, creating grievous consequences for those who fail to meet these demands (National Research Council, 1998). Both legislative mandates, such as NCLB, and developments in the provision of reading instruction, such as RtI, have increased the demand for high quality tutoring services. However, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE, 2005) and state officials (Richard, 2005) report that access to intensive supplemental tutoring may be limited in rural areas due to limited availability of qualified providers. One way to overcome this obstacle is to supplement classroom instruction with live systematic, comprehensive, and explicit online reading tutoring. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe and discuss a preliminary investigation of the effects of live online reading tutoring on 4th grade students in a high minority, high poverty school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although this study was not conducted in a rural location, the implications are great for rural schools where qualified tutors may be nonexistent or inaccessible. Using a distance teleconferencing system, trained and supervised undergraduate students located at Utah State University delivered tutoring. The researchers employed a multiple-baseline across participants design to determine the effects of 1:1 online reading tutoring on reading fluency scores for 3 students. In addition, they compared data on tutors' face-to-face and online tutoring behaviors. Data collected from parents, teachers, tutees, and tutors evaluating the effectiveness, efficiency, and feasibility of online tutoring for remediating students' skill deficiencies are presented and discussed.
Descriptors: Synchronous Communication, Online Courses, Delivery Systems, Program Evaluation, Reading Programs, Tutoring, Grade 4, African American Students, Undergraduate Students, Reading Fluency, Oral Reading, Reading Tests, Intervention, Check Lists, Observation, Tutors, Elementary School Students, Achievement Tests, Emergent Literacy, Preservice Teachers
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Utah; Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement; Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A