1 the USE of PSEUDOWORDS for DECODING INSTRUCTION By
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THE USE OF PSEUDOWORDS FOR DECODING INSTRUCTION By KERI MARIE MADSEN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2014 1 © 2014 Keri M. Madsen 2 This work is dedicated to my mom – one of the strongest, most intelligent, and hard- working women I will ever know. You have inspired me to push myself beyond what was even imaginable, and I simply could not have made it this far without you. I also dedicate this to the memory of my dad. It fills my heart to know how proud you would be if you were here today. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I wish to thank Dr. Holly Lane for giving me this awesome opportunity and offering me tireless patience and support throughout this long and often difficult journey. Her mentorship was paramount to my growth as a doctoral student as well as an educator, a researcher, and a writer. My success in this doctoral program can be credited largely to her dedication to her students, and I feel extremely grateful to be fortunate enough to have had Holly as my mentor and the chair of my committee. In addition, I wish to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Hazel Jones, Dr. David Miller, and Dr. Paul Sindelar. I respect each of these individuals immensely for their leadership and scholarship, and I appreciate their commitment to providing me with guidance and support throughout my doctoral program. Each offered valuable insight, direction, and feedback that has truly helped me grow as a researcher and a writer. I must also thank the wonderful staff in the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida. Elizabeth, Lynette, Michell, Shaira, and Vicki have provided continuous assistance and support throughout every aspect of the doctoral program, ensuring that the entire process moved along flawlessly. These ladies are invaluable, and I have grown to appreciate each one of them for their support, hard work, and the friendships we have developed. Several individuals also deserve acknowledgement and gratitude for their direct support and assistance with my dissertation work. First, I would like to thank Kari Cronin for her positive attitude and complete willingness to assist in any way possible. Kari served as a liaison between the school site and me, facilitating the initial contact and arranging all of the details so I could begin my work. Without her support, my study certainly would not have run as smoothly. I also wish to thank the principal, Valde 4 Fortner, and all of the kindergarten teachers at my school site for their gracious hospitality and their flexibility during the data collection and intervention of my study. These educators were impressive on many levels, and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to work alongside of them. I must also thank my fellow doctoral students, colleagues, and friends, Carrie, Gayle, Julie, Lourdes, Shaunté, and Vivian, each who donated their precious time and effort to help me complete hours of kindergarten assessments. Lourdes also conducted fidelity observations and provided meticulous editorial services. These ladies deserve enormous gratitude because, without their selfless acts, I would never have achieved this monumental goal. I must thank the fabulous ladies in my cohort as well – Candy, Lourdes, Mary Anne, and Pam – for putting up with me and my antics all along the way. These women provided a critical support system to me, and I want them to know how lucky I feel to have shared this amazing experience with them. Finally, I must show my appreciation for a few very special people in my life who have provided much needed patience, love, and understanding during my doctoral program. First, I am grateful to Shane for seeing me through this long and difficult chapter of my life. Lastly, I want to thank my mom, Paulette and my stepdad, Al, who have sacrificed in enormous ways so I could pursue this goal. Without the support of all of these individuals, this achievement would have been insurmountable. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. 9 LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... 10 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 13 Research Problem and Professional Significance ................................................... 15 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................ 19 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 22 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .................................................................... 24 Ehri’s Phases of Word Recognition Development ................................................... 25 Pre-alphabetic Phase ........................................................................................ 26 Partial-alphabetic Phase ................................................................................... 27 Full-alphabetic Phase ........................................................................................ 28 Consolidated-alphabetic Phase ........................................................................ 29 Automatic Phase ............................................................................................... 29 The Critical Transition to Skilled Decoding .............................................................. 30 Problems Learning to Decode ................................................................................. 33 Instruction that Promotes Decoding ......................................................................... 34 Phonemic Awareness Instruction ...................................................................... 34 Phonics Instruction ............................................................................................ 37 Intervention to Develop Decoding Skills in Struggling Readers ............................... 39 Phonics with phoneme level instruction ............................................................ 40 Multisensory word work ..................................................................................... 41 Using Pseudowords .......................................................................................... 48 Instructional Time .............................................................................................. 49 Group Size ........................................................................................................ 52 Instructor Variables ........................................................................................... 54 Summary and Conclusions ...................................................................................... 56 Implications for Research ........................................................................................ 57 3 METHODS ............................................................................................................... 60 Hypotheses .............................................................................................................. 60 Setting ...................................................................................................................... 61 Participants .............................................................................................................. 62 6 Measures ................................................................................................................. 65 Screening Measure ........................................................................................... 65 Pre-test/Post-test Measures .............................................................................. 67 Assessment Procedure ............................................................................................ 70 Intervention .............................................................................................................. 71 Treatment Condition .......................................................................................... 72 Comparison Condition ....................................................................................... 76 Control Condition ............................................................................................... 77 Instructional Fidelity ................................................................................................. 78 Analysis ................................................................................................................... 78 4 RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 82 Pretest Findings ....................................................................................................... 83 Analysis of Hypothesized Intervention Effect ........................................................... 85 Results for Decoding Accuracy ........................................................................