Association for Behavior Analysis International

What we know about a child's reading level in early grades is a significant predictor of future educational outcomes. There is a need for scientifically based instruction in order to teach children fluent reader behavior. We present 4 papers that address new behavior analytic advances in acquiring fluent reader repertoires. The first paper reports the effects of a reader immersion procedure on increasing students' comprehension repertoires. This paper extends findings on effective reading interventions to increase untaught reading comprehension responses. The second paper reports the effects of the Corrective Reading curriculum to increase derived relations responses, reading comprehension, and metaphor responses for first grade students. The third paper tested for the effects of the Naming capability and presence of visual stimulus on students' reading comprehension repertoires for third and fourth grade students. Results demonstrated a discrepancy between the presence and absence of visual stimuli on reading comprehension for students performing below grade level. The fourth paper demonstrates that scientifically based instruction and curriculum is critical in order to teach children fluent reader repertoires. All findings will be discussed in terms of new behavior analytic advances for reading instruction.

I conducted an experiment in which I tested the effects of a reader immersion procedure on the untaught reading comprehension responses of Kindergarten and 1st grade students. The dependent variables were untaught reading comprehension responses for 4 reading tasks. The reading tasks included 1) a 10-step read and build task 2) a 10-step read and draw task, 3) a 20-step read and build task and 4) a 20-step read and draw task. The participants selected for this study were able to textually respond to words at a rate of 80 words per minute with 0 incorrect words per minute. They had acquired verbal capabilities such as incidental language learning and observational learning. However, they were unable to complete reading comprehension tasks for read and build and/or read and draw tasks with at least 80 percent accuracy. The independent variable was a reader immersion procedure. During the intervention sessions, participants could access reinforcement only after they read directions and completed each corresponding action with 100 percent accuracy. Criterion for mastery of the reading immersion procedure was 100 percent accuracy across 1 intervention session. Following the intervention, the number of untaught reading comprehension responses increased for all participants.

We tested the effects of Corrective Reading (CR) on students in an inclusive setting who were identified as reading below proficient across third, fourth, and fifth grade CABAS Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) classrooms, that utilized behavioral principles to teach children with and without disabilities. In the initial study, 26 participants received Corrective Reading intervention, and were matched to 23 students that functioned at similar levels academically, throughout the school. Overall, children who received four months of Direct Instruction intervention with the use of behavioral tactics, increased their grade level equivalence in comparison to the control group. A follow up study was conducted with 16 participants. 8 of the participants continued to receive an additional seven months of Corrective Reading Intervention. A year follow up post-probe was conducted for both groups. The results of the follow up study identified that students who continued to receive Corrective Reading intervention in the AIL setting made more significant gains than students who were in the control group. The follow up study demonstrates a need for scientifcally based procedures and curriculum to address students that are not proficient readers.