Effects of a Virtually Delivered Reading and Embedded Mindset Intervention on Reading Performance for Fourth-Grader Struggling Readers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a virtual intensive reading intervention embedded with mindset training compared to typical reading instruction in a business-as-usual (BAU) condition delivered to fourth grade students with or at-risk for reading disabilities. After screening, the 59 participants were stratified and assigned randomly to condition. Highly trained interventionists delivered the intervention one-to-one with high fidelity and student engagement during the intensive intervention. Classroom teachers delivered the BAU. We examined the effects of the intervention on a variety of standardized timed and untimed measures of word reading and decoding, reading fluency, comprehension, and mindset. We addressed two research questions: What are the effects of intensive virtual reading intervention embedded with mindset training relative to a business-as-usual comparison (BAU) on the reading outcomes of fourth grade students with or at-risk for reading disabilities? Was initial mindset related to student response to intervention? Data analyses examined the main effect and moderation using linear mixed effects models. Significant differences in reading favored the virtual treatment condition for letter and word identification (g = 0.38). No other significant effects were observed. We note limitations in our study and offer directions for future research, including the need to explore additional moderators.

Comparing the Effects of Reading Intervention Versus Reading and Mindset Intervention for Upper Elementary Students With Reading Difficulties.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of providing mindset intervention in addition to reading intervention compared with only reading intervention for fourth graders with reading difficulties. Reading intervention was provided daily in 45 min sessions throughout the school year. Mindset intervention occurred in small groups for 24-30 min lessons. Multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) via n-level SEM was used to account for the latent variable representation of constructs, and the complex nesting and cross-classification structure of the data. Students in the reading intervention plus mindset condition significantly outperformed the business as usual condition on nonword reading (d = 0.35) as did students in the reading intervention condition (d = 0.20), who also outperformed the business as usual condition on phonological processing (d = 0.28). There were no significant differences among students in the three conditions on nonword reading, word reading, phonological processing, reading comprehension, or growth mindset. Initial reading achievement, mindset, and problem behavior did not generally moderate these findings.