Fluency has recently been operationalized in terms of the acquisition of performance
rates that predict a number of learning outcomes, depicted in the acronym RESAA,
which represents skill retention, endurance, stability, application and adduction
(Johnson & Layng, 1996). The RESAA model has not yet been adequately researched
under controlled, experimental conditions.
A preliminary study (Study 1) compared two rate-building procedures, under
experimental conditions, with five Year 2 children with a mean age of six years eight
months and seven pre-primary children with a mean age of four years seven months.
The effects of practice and reinforcement were controlled. Long-term follow-up
RESAA measures were conducted three months after the completion of the
intervention.
The major study in this research project (Study 2) is an empirical investigation
of the effects on RESAA measures of increasing the performance rates of a component
skill in reading to specific, incremental rate aims with twelve Year 2 children aged
between six years eight months and eight years one month who were categorized into
three levels of reading ability. Speeded practice was compared to slow-paced
constrained-rate practice. The effects of practice and reinforcement were controlled.
The utility of learning channel analysis for defining measures of application and
adduction, and for measuring adduction on two composite tasks involving
topographically dissimilar sensory and response dimensions was examined. Long-term
follow-up RESAA measures were conducted three months after the completion of the
intervention.
The results of Study 1 indicated a procedure in which accuracy and rate were
trained simultaneously was more efficient in increasing component skill rates and
produced higher rates on the RESAA measures than training accuracy to 100% in a
stage before rate-building commenced for the Year 2 children and two pre-primary
children. Training accuracy to 100% before rate-building was marginally more efficient
for five of the pre-primary children. Adduction was greater for a one learning-channel
cross than for a two learning-channel cross.
The results of Study 2 demonstrated that systematic increases in component skill
rates were produced by both the rate-building and constrained-rate procedures, although
higher rates were produced by the rate-building procedures for eleven of the twelve
children. Higher training rates of the component skills produced concurrently higher
rates on repeated RESAA measures during the intervention and on RESAA follow-up
measures. Adduction was greater for a two learning-channel cross than for a one
learning-channel cross. The level of reading ability of the children did not influence
training rates of the component skill but did affect performances on the RESAA
measures. Comparisons indicated that different training rates predicted different
RESAA outcomes for all of the children.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221845 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Catherine Coyle |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Catherine Coyle |
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