Dialogic reading is an evidence-based practice for preschool children who are typically developing or at-risk (WWC, 2007). However, there is limited research to evaluate if dialogic reading has similar positive effects on the language and preliteracy skills of preschool children with disabilities (WWC, 2010). This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of dialogic reading, with the incorporation of pause time, on the language and preliteracy skills of 42 preschool children with disabilities within 5 inclusive and 7 self-contained preschool classrooms. Following random assignment of students at the level of the classrooms, participants were equally distributed into an intervention (n=21) and a comparison group (n=21). The intervention consisted of dialogic reading, with the incorporation of pause time, based on the Read Together, Talk Together (RTTT; Pearson Early Learning, 2006) program kit. The targeted outcomes were receptive language skills, expressive language skills, and preliteracy skills. Children received either dialogic reading or typical storybook reading for 10 to 15 minutes per day, three days per week, for six weeks (i.e., 18 sessions in total) in small groups. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4th Edition (PPVT-4; Dunn & Dunn, 2007), Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-4th Edition (EOWPVT-4; Martin & Brownell, 2011), Get Ready to Read!-Revised (GRTR-R; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2010), and the ‘Which One Doesn’t Belong’ and Picture Naming subtests of the Individual Growth and Development Indicators of Early Literacy (IGDIs-EL; McConnell, Bradfield, Wackerle-Hollman, & Rodriquez, 2012) were used as pre and posttest assessments. A researcher developed near transfer test of receptive and expressive vocabulary words was also administered pre and post intervention to determine if words specifically targeted during the intervention were learned. These standardized and researcher developed measures were analyzed with one-way ANCOVAs, using pretest scores and age as covariates to determine within and between group differences. The Johnson-Neyman procedure was utilized as necessary when violations of heterogeneity of slopes occurred. Following the intervention period, children in the intervention group scored significantly higher on the receptive and expressive near transfer vocabulary assessments. This occurred both for words that were specifically targeted during dialogic reading, as well as additional vocabulary words in the storybook.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) commonly present with reading comprehension impairments that impede their academic achievement and independent living. Research suggests that intervening on listening comprehension deficits of preschool children with ASD may contribute to improved reading comprehension proficiency in the school aged years. Dialogic reading is an empirically supported shared reading method known to increase the oral language and listening comprehension of young children with and without language impairments prior to formalized schooling. This study utilized a single subject repeated acquisition design to evaluate the effect of a parent-delivered dialogic reading intervention on the independent and accurate responding of preschool children with ASD. Overall, results showed that the dialogic reading intervention was highly effective for increasing the independent and accurate responding for two of the three participants; however minimally effective for the third. Although the parent participants demonstrated varying levels of procedural fidelity to the dialogic reading procedures, they perceived the intervention to be both feasible and effective when implemented with their preschool children with ASD. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Receptive and expressive vocabulary skills in preschoolers are predictors of later literacy skills. Research shows that children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are generally behind their peers in the area of vocabulary skills when they enter school. Many preschool programs now focus on increasing these skills through shared book reading interventions. The purpose of the current research is to study the efficacy of a specific shared book reading intervention, dialogic reading, with low-income preschoolers in the area of vocabulary development. The search yielded 10 intervention studies that utilized dialogic reading strategies in interventions with the target population. Studies yielded mixed results but generally found that dialogic reading intervention does have significant positive effects on receptive and expressive vocabulary. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed. / text

The purpose of this study was to determine if dialogic reading involving diverse kindergarten students would significantly affect narrative language. Various studies have corroborated the effectiveness of dialogic reading instruction on the expressive vocabulary of monolingual children. However, few studies have examined oral narrative language outcomes, especially with diverse students. A total of 142 kindergarten students were randomly assigned to a treatment group or control group. Each child in the treatment group received 14 weeks of whole-class dialogic reading instruction from their kindergarten teacher two times per week for 20 minutes each session in their classroom. The dialogic reading program included explicit target vocabulary instruction based on unfamiliar vocabulary selected from each storybook. The oral narrative language (narrative retells and personal narratives) of each child were assessed using the CUBED Narrative Language Measures subtest (NLM). Results indicated that students in the control group and the treatment group (including culturally and linguistically diverse students) showed no significant difference in their narrative retell scores after the intervention. However, students (including CLD students) in the treatment group demonstrated significant improvement in their personal story generations when compared with the control group after dialogic reading intervention. The current research gives implications for current kindergarten education by indicating that a focus on early dialogic reading can augment oral language skills and therefore academic skills later in elementary school.

This study explored the reading habits and dialogic book reading practices in parents of preschool-aged children. Early literacy practices in the home influence the development of language skills and academic learning of children. These practices were explored by directly by asking parents to reflect and report on their literacy habits in the home setting. It specifically addresses current reading behaviors that parents implement when reading with their child and observations of their child's attention and involvement during book-sharing sessions. This study was part of a larger study focusing on developing and implementing dialogic reading workshops for parents. A survey with 36 parent-report questions was distributed to parents across the United States via social media. Parents were asked to identify specific demographic variables and rate their perceptions of reading habits, interactive reading strategies used with their child, and library use. Following survey completion, 83 responses were analyzed. Key findings included consistent use of positive parent-child reading behaviors and the influence of parent characteristics. Parents consistently reported feeling confident or somewhat confident in reading with their child and consistent use of reading strategies in the home. Future research should study additional demographic variables. The results from this study will be used to inform a larger study of dialogic reading trainings with parents.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of paraprofessional-implemented dialogic reading (DR) strategies on the comprehension, interaction, and attending abilities of a child on the autism spectrum. The secondary purpose was to understand whether the DR strategies assisted the paraprofessional in establishing meaningful interactions and positive behavioral changes with her student on the autism spectrum. A single subject across behaviors design was implemented with one paraprofessional and her student with autism. Judged from visual analysis of the graphical representation of the data, it was determined that there was a medium to strong functional relationship (depending on the individual strategy) between the education of the paraprofessional on DR and the utilization of DR during shared book reading. The child participant did not exhibit overt gains through traditional DR in appropriate verbal responding but did experience a shift towards more consistent correct responding as a result of the DR prompts. These results provide preliminary evidence that paraprofessionals can effectively implement DR strategies in shared book reading with children who are not typically developing. Future research for this population should address certain aspects of traditional DR that could be adapted to more appropriately cater to the needs of children on the autism spectrum.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dialogic reading as an intervention on participant ability to answer “wh” comprehension questions correctly and independently. Previous research conducted on dialogic reading was primarily conducted with young individuals with autism spectrum disorder, leaving a gap in the research with older age participants. Participants of this study included four students in upper elementary grades 4-6, ages 8-12 who have been identified to have a known deficit in reading comprehension, a cognitive disability, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an attempt to further extend the research on dialogic reading as an intervention strategy. A multiple probe across participants design was used to determine efficacy of the intervention. Data collection probes were conducted during baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases to determine efficacy of the intervention on participant ability to answer “wh” comprehension questions. Results indicate an increase in participant ability to answer comprehension questions while engaging in dialogic reading lessons for two participants. Limitations and implications for future research and practice will be discussed.

Digital media technologies have been extensively utilized in children's daily lives and many researchers, educators, caregivers, and developers have been interested in finding ways to utilize these technologies in educational settings to facilitate early cognitive development. Among a wide range of media technologies, the accessibility of voice assistants and smart speakers powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) has notably increased. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about how this advanced technology can be used to teach young children important mathematical concepts during shared book reading. The current study aimed to examine whether and under what circumstances shared book reading with an AI voice agent would enhance preschool-aged children's learning of mathematical language, a critical domain-specific language highly associated with early numeracy skills and vocabulary development. Sixty-six participants who were recruited for home-visit and school-visit sessions were randomly assigned to one of three reading conditions to read a storybook with the AI voice agent three times: math storybook reading with dialogic questions, math storybook reading without dialogic questions, and non-math storybook reading with dialogic questions. The findings indicate that shared math storybook reading supports children's target mathematical language learning differently based on their initial understanding of numeracy skills. Children with higher levels of numeracy skills demonstrated greater benefits from simply listening to the story, whereas children with lower levels of numeracy skills showed a tendency to learn better when hearing questions and feedback from the AI voice agent. This study provides implications for the use of advanced technology involving social interaction to support children's learning of key mathematical language that can benefit from repeated reading. / Doctor of Philosophy / Digital media technologies have been widely used in children's daily lives and many researchers, educators, caregivers, and developers have been interested in finding ways to utilize these technologies in educational environments to support children's early cognitive development. Among a wide range of media technologies, more and more families with young children have access to smart speakers using voice assistant technology where users can talk to and give commands verbally. However, we do not know much about how this advanced technology can be used to teach young children important mathematical concepts during everyday activities. The goal of this study is to look at whether and in what condition shared book reading with an AI voice agent would support preschool-aged children's learning of mathematical language such as fewer, fewest, and a little bit which is critical in developing numeracy skills and vocabulary. Sixty-six participants who were recruited for home-visit and school-visit sessions were randomly assigned to one of the three reading conditions to read a storybook with the AI voice agent three times: math storybook reading with dialogic questions, math storybook reading without dialogic questions, and non-math storybook reading with dialogic questions. The findings suggest that shared math storybook reading supports children's target mathematical language learning differently based on their initial understanding of numeracy skills. Children with higher levels of numeracy skills benefited more from simply listening to the story, whereas children with lower levels of numeracy skills showed a tendency to learn better when hearing questions and feedback from the AI voice agent. This study provides implications for the use of advanced technology involving social interaction to support children's learning of mathematical language that can benefit from repeated reading.