Phonics Instruction Using Pseudowords for Success in Phonetic Decoding Jessica M
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-9-2009 Phonics Instruction using Pseudowords for Success in Phonetic Decoding Jessica M. Cardenas Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI09120818 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Cardenas, Jessica M., "Phonics Instruction using Pseudowords for Success in Phonetic Decoding" (2009). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 139. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/139 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida PHONICS INSTRUCTION USING PSEUDOWORDS FOR SUCCESS IN PHONETIC DECODING A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION by Jessica Marie Cardenas 2009 To: Interim Dean Marie McDemmond College of Education This dissertation, written by Jessica Marie Cardenas and entitled Phonics Instruction using Pseudowords for Success in Phonetic Decoding, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Laura Dinehart _______________________________________ Joyce Harth _______________________________________ Mohammed Farouk _______________________________________ Louis Manfra, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 9, 2009 The dissertation of Jessica Marie Cardenas is approved. _______________________________________ Interim Dean Marie McDemmond College of Education _______________________________________ Dean George Walker University Graduate School Florida International University, 2009 ii © Copyright 2009 by Jessica Marie Cardenas All rights reserved. iii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION PHONICS INSTRUCTION USING PSEUDOWORDS FOR SUCCESS IN PHONETIC DECODING by Jessica Marie Cardenas Florida International University, 2009 Miami, Florida Professor Louis Manfra, Major Professor This study examined a Pseudoword Phonics Curriculum to determine if this form of instruction would increase students’ decoding skills compared to typical real-word phonics instruction. In typical phonics instruction, children learn to decode familiar words which allow them to draw on their prior knowledge of how to pronounce the word and may detract from learning decoding skills. By using pseudowords during phonics instruction, students may learn more decoding skills because they are unfamiliar with the “words” and therefore cannot draw on memory for how to pronounce the word. It was hypothesized that students who learn phonics with pseudowords will learn more decoding skills and perform higher on a real-word assessment compared to students who learn phonics with real words. Students from two kindergarten classes participated in this study. An author- created word decoding assessment was used to determine the students’ ability to decode words. The study was broken into three phases, each lasting one month. During Phase 1, both groups received phonics instruction using real words, which allowed for the exploration of baseline student growth trajectories and potential teacher effects. During iv Phase 2, the experimental group received pseudoword phonics instruction while the control group continued real-word phonics instruction. During Phase 3, both groups were taught with real-word phonics instruction. Students were assessed on their decoding skills before and after each phase. Results from multiple regression and multi-level model analyses revealed a greater increase in decoding skills during the second and third phases of the study for students who received the pseudoword phonics instruction compared to students who received the real-word phonics instruction. This suggests that pseudoword phonics instruction improves decoding skills quicker than real-word phonics instruction. This also suggests that teaching decoding with pseudowords for one month can continue to improve decoding skills when children return to real-word phonics instruction. Teacher feedback suggests that confidence with reading increased for students who learned with pseudowords because they were less intimidated by the approach and viewed pseudoword phonics as a game that involved reading “silly” words. Implications of these results, limitations of this study, and areas for future research are discussed. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 Statement of the Purpose and Problem ................................................................3 Rationale ..............................................................................................................4 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................6 Hypotheses ...........................................................................................................7 Significance of the Study .....................................................................................8 Definition of Terms..............................................................................................9 Organization of the Remaining Chapters .............................................................10 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................11 Phonics .................................................................................................................11 Memory ................................................................................................................36 Pseudoword Reading ...........................................................................................39 Summary of Research ..........................................................................................42 III. METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................46 Site .......................................................................................................................47 Sample..................................................................................................................48 Phonetic Word List Assessment and Pilot Study .................................................51 Pseudoword Phonics Curriculum .........................................................................55 Study Procedures .................................................................................................62 Research Design...................................................................................................65 Statistical Analysis Plan .......................................................................................67 IV. RESULTS ............................................................................................................70 Exploring Demographic and Extraneous Factors ................................................70 Exploring Hypotheses ..........................................................................................81 Multilevel Model .................................................................................................100 V. DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................108 Synopsis of Results ..............................................................................................108 Interpretation ........................................................................................................110 Applications and Implications .............................................................................116 Limitations ...........................................................................................................119 Future Research ...................................................................................................120 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................123 ENDNOTES ....................................................................................................................126 VITA ................................................................................................................................127 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Mean (SD) of Demographic Variables for the Overall Sample .................................49 2. Mean (SD) of Demographic Variables for Experimental Group and Control Group ............................................................................................................50 3. Categories and Themes for Interviews ......................................................................57 4. Positive and Negative Views of Using Nonsense Words to Teach Phonics..............59 5. Mean (SD) of Scores on the PWLA for Experimental Group, Control Group, and Overall .................................................................................................................65 6. Mean (SD) Differences in Sex for the Overall Sample across Time Points and Phases