Discussion of Efforts to Solve Research Problem
The school district in this investigation adopted the 2007 Scott Foresman Reading Street program in 2008. During the first year of the program, teachers were instructed by administration and trainers to demonstrate fidelity to the program. From my experiences, when a basal program is used as a script for instruction, not every child successfully learns to apply strategies to independently read and comprehend appropriately leveled books. Dewitz, Jones, and Leahy (2009) conducted a curriculum analysis of comprehension instruction in five most widely used core reading programs. They found that rarely do the five core programs follow the gradual release-of-responsibility model nor do the programs provide the amount of practice for skills and strategies. Depending on the number of years teaching kindergarten, a variance in educational level and training, and philosophical differences, teachers’ efforts to supplement the core program look different in every classroom. In many classrooms, students engage in independent, student -based learning centers to practice the introduced literacy concepts such as letter matching, beginning sound activities, phonemic awareness activities, alphabetical order, high-frequency word activities, etc. Materials such as letter tiles, letter stamps, pictures, magazines, Lakeshore Learning activity centers, craft activities, SMART Board games, computer games, and worksheets were utilized as instructional tools. While students engage in these independent activities, adult supervision is a critical component to whether or not the student accurately acquires the skill. With the variety of academic and behavioral needs presented in a classroom, the classroom teacher or kindergarten aide must divide his/her attention among one or multiple students at a time and cannot always be monitoring every point of student engagement in an activity. In some kindergarten classrooms, students of varying levels were observed to be completing the same paper and pencil tasks at tables. The differentiation of this type of instruction was a concern for students who had fine motor difficulties, visual perception challenges, are English Language Learners, or are students who have difficulty processing oral or multi-step directions. The iPad could be an avenue for students to receive direct instruction with corrections and reinforcement built in, something no teacher could ever provide to every student at the same time in a classroom. With a variety of apps, instruction can be easily differentiated for every student. The consistency of the supplemental reading instruction teachers implement could be improved throughout the school district with the use of iPad applications. Students would be engaging in activities to practice all letters and letter sounds at the same time. With the development of a strong foundation of early reading subskills in students, it is a possibility that the need for future reading intervention services could decrease.
By using an iPad, students could quickly and independently learn apps and use them to meet learning objectives with minimal teacher instruction. To build foundational literacy subskills, using iPad applications as a supplemental teaching tool for struggling students could help teachers differentiate instruction for each student, something that has not always been possible through traditional classroom activities. Using technology with struggling students could increase time-on-task and highly motivate students to engage in learning. Some iPad applications are designed to encourage the improvement of accuracy of correct skills through immediate correction procedures, and positive reinforcement.
By using an iPad, students could quickly and independently learn apps and use them to meet learning objectives with minimal teacher instruction. To build foundational literacy subskills, using iPad applications as a supplemental teaching tool for struggling students could help teachers differentiate instruction for each student, something that has not always been possible through traditional classroom activities. Using technology with struggling students could increase time-on-task and highly motivate students to engage in learning. Some iPad applications are designed to encourage the improvement of accuracy of correct skills through immediate correction procedures, and positive reinforcement.