Computer-Assisted or Instructor-Led Reading Instructions of Portuguese Words with Orthography Difficulties

This article presents the findings of a study comparing a computer-assisted teaching program to traditional instructor-led teaching for elementary school children. The study evaluated reading and writing skills and employed a group design. Results showed that both teaching approaches were effective in improving reading performance, with slightly better gains in the instructor-led version. Both conditions facilitated learning transfer to new words with spelling difficulties, although the computer-assisted condition demonstrated higher generalization in final tests. Motivational and attentional factors, easily addressed by instructors but challenging in computer programs, were highlighted. The instructor-led condition's personalized feedback and differential consequences potentially contributed to the observed differences in learning gains. Individual differences in learners' input and performance were emphasized, suggesting the need for program adaptations. The advantages of computer-assisted teaching, such as scalability and individualized pacing, were discussed, along with the need for further refinements and automation. Strategies for enhancing teaching sequence flexibility and reducing the instructor's decision-making burden were proposed. The study contributes valuable insights into computer-assisted reading instructions for children with spelling difficulties, emphasizing their benefits and areas for improvement. The research underscores the importance of designing effective technology-mediated interventions and provides guidance for future developments in this field. (AU)

Are children with early literacy difficulties at risk for anxiety disorders in late childhood?

The present study examined whether literacy difficulties in both grades 2 and 3 are associated with social and generalized anxiety within the school environment in grade 5 and if children with different literacy difficulties differ in anxiety levels compared to typically developing children in grade 5 after controlling for inattention. Sixty-nine Greek children with literacy difficulties and fifty-two children with typical literacy development were assessed at the beginning of grade 2 and at the end of grade 3 on standardized literacy measures (reading accuracy, text-reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling). In grade 5, teachers were asked to rate their children's social and generalized anxiety levels and inattentive behavior in the school context. Results of one-way ANCOVAs showed that children with literacy difficulties were experiencing more social anxiety than typically developing children. Furthermore, children with both reading and spelling difficulties, but not those with single reading or spelling difficulties, had more social anxiety. These findings suggest that there is a close connection between early literacy difficulties and social anxiety in upper elementary grades and particularly among children with both reading and spelling difficulties. Implications for both teachers and other professionals who support children's socioemotional development will be discussed.

Evolution of Writing Impairment in Spanish Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Although some studies suggest that writing difficulties may be one of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD), they have been scarcely studied compared to oral language. Particularly noteworthy is the paucity of longitudinal studies that enable the observation of writing impairment as cognitive decline progresses. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of writing in patients with AD and to monitor the deterioration of their performance over a follow-up period. METHODS: Sixty-four participants (half with AD and half healthy elderly) were compared in a word and pseudo-word dictation task. Patients were evaluated every 6 months over a 2.5 year follow-up period. RESULTS: The evolution of patient performance and error profile shows a typical pattern of deterioration, with early damage to the lexical pathway, which later extends to the phonological pathway and eventually affects peripheral processes. CONCLUSION: These results confirm the presence of writing difficulties from the early stages of AD, supporting the value of this task for early diagnosis. Furthermore, it allows us to explain the contradictory data obtained in previous investigations.

End-of-Kindergarten Spelling Outcomes: How Can Spelling Error Analysis Data Inform Beginning Reading Instruction?

In this article, the authors examined the spelling performance of 430 kindergarteners, which included a high risk sample, to determine the relations between end of kindergarten reading and spelling in a high quality language arts setting. The spelling outcomes including the spelling errors between the good and the poor readers were described, analyzed, and compared. The findings suggest that not all the children have acquired the desired standard as outlined by the Common Core State Standards. In addition, not every good reader is a good speller and that not every poor speller is a poor reader. The study shows that spelling tasks that are accompanied by spelling errors analysis provide a powerful window for making instructional sense of children's spelling errors and for individualizing spelling instructional strategies.