The use of a computer-assisted assessment program to train phonological awareness skills in grade 1 First Nations students was examined. Thirty-two children ranging in age from six years four months to eight years 1 month participated in an eight-week intervention study. There were two groups involved in the study. The experimental group received approximately fifteen minutes a day, five days a week training with a phonological based computer program called Reading Edge. The comparison group received the same amount of training with a computer program called Living Books which focused on sight words. When compared to the comparison group, children in the experimental group showed significantly greater gains on measures of final phoneme isolation, total phoneme isolation, phoneme blending, initial phoneme deletion, total phoneme deletion, word identification and word attack. Thus, the computer-assisted assessment program Reading Edge was successful in improving the reading and phonological awareness skills of grade 1 First Nations students.

The use of a computer-assisted assessment program to train phonological awareness skills in grade 1 First Nations students was examined. Thirty-two children ranging in age from six years four months to eight years 1 month participated in an eight-week intervention study. There were two groups involved in the study. The experimental group received approximately fifteen minutes a day, five days a week training with a phonological based computer program called Reading Edge. The comparison group received the same amount of training with a computer program called Living Books which focused on sight words. When compared to the comparison group, children in the experimental group showed significantly greater gains on measures of final phoneme isolation, total phoneme isolation, phoneme blending, initial phoneme deletion, total phoneme deletion, word identification and word attack. Thus, the computer-assisted assessment program Reading Edge was successful in improving the reading and phonological awareness skills of grade 1 First Nations students. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate