A COMPUTER‐BASED PROGRAM OF WORD STUDY: EFFECTS ON READING AND SPELLING

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to see if a computer-based word study method, emphasizing automaticity of response, would improve the word recognition, spelling, and oral reading performance of participating third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Thirty-one (31) children, each of whom met a criterion of 50% accuracy on a fourth grade spelling inventory, were pretested in the following areas: word recognition (flash and untimed); spelling; and oral reading. The students were then randomly assigned to three groups: Treatment 1 (Tl) students used the computer word study program 10 minutes per day for 60 days; T2 students used the program for only 30 days; and T3 students did not use the program at all, receiving only regular classroom instruction during the intervention period. Results showed that the computer-based word study training (emphasizing automaticity) led to significant gains in flash word recognition, untimed recognition of nonsense words, spelling of nonsense words, performance on a standardized spelling test, and performance on a timed oral reading passage. The results were interpreted as supporting a verbal efficiency theory of reading (Perfetti, 1985); that is, the key to developing reading efficiency is to develop word recognition that is automatic.

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