Does Reading Fluency Contribute to Comprehension - Research Proposal Example

Reading Fluency and Comprehension Does fluency contribute to comprehension? A Research Proposal by Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Bachelor’s Degree in Education August 2014 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study will be to investigate the extent to which reading fluency contributes towards reading comprehension. A correlational study design of 15 participants, 9 girls and 6 boys will be used. This sample population will be randomly selected from third-grade students in an Elementary public School using a table of random numbers (Mulaudzi, 2006). Data regarding students’ performance on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), 6th Edition will be collected and analysed using the Pearson correlation (Good & Kaminski, 2002). The analysis is expected to show a significant relationship between third-grade students’ reading fluency rates and reading comprehension performance. This will be in line with findings found in the literature review. Table of Contents Title page 1 Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 4 Chapter Overview 4 Background To The Study 4 Rationale 5 Statement of the Problem 5 Research Question 5 Hypothesis 5 Limitations to the Study 6 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 7 Introduction 7 Reading 7 Decoding 7 Fluency 8 Comprehension 8 The Relationship between Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension 9 Interventions for Developing Reading Fluency and Comprehension 10 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS 11 Introduction 11 Design 11 Participants 11 Instruments and Materials 11 Procedure 12 Expected Outcomes 12 REFERENCES 13 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Overview The area under investigation is very critical because it touches on a very significant part of a student’s academic life – ‘the ability to read’. It does not matter whether one is fluent or not but able to comprehend what he or she is reading. This chapter attempts to solve this problem by presenting a background to the study, rationale, statement of the problem, the research question, hypothesis and limitations to the study. Background to the Study Research has shown that the main objective of learning to read is comprehension and understanding. This very core objective has recently fallen under threat as illustrated by Hudson et al. (2005, p705). In his views, more emphasis has been placed on ‘reading to learn’ as opposed to ‘learning to read’. This shift has necessitated a major reduction in the amount of time spent on comprehension strategies and skills especially during middle school years (Block & Parris, 2008). Consequently, many students are found struggling with reading comprehension since they lacked a strong foundation in their formative years. Stringent measures are under way to identify the most suitable interventions to mitigate these challenges. As noted by Pardo (2004, p275), comprehension is considered as the basis for reading. For this reason, students must possess a variety of skills, including decoding and fluency in order for them to obtain and use effective comprehension skills and strategies. According to Walczyk & Griffith-Ross (2007, p563), decoding comes first since it allows a child to be able to recognise words. After developing word recognition skills, then a learner is able read fluently. But if the learner has problems with word recognition, it will lead to problems with fluency and then with comprehension (Walczyk & Griffith-Ross). This implies that there is a strong relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension. O’Connor et al. (2007, p34) underline this relationship by observing that “students whose decoding skills and word recognition has become natural and automatic, significant gains in fluency and comprehension are evident”. In this sense, decoding, then fluency largely contributes towards improved reading comprehension (Block & Parris, 2008). This realisation forms the basis for this research proposal. Rationale This proposal aims to investigate the extent to which reading fluency contributes towards improving comprehension skills in third grade learners. The proposal is informed by the fact that majority of learners are struggling to read comprehension even in their middle years of learning. Statement of the Problem This study will explore the contribution of reading fluency to reading comprehension after having been reported that there is a strong relationship between the two (Block & Parris, 2008). Research Question Does fluency contribute to comprehension? Hypothesis There will be a significant relationship between third-grade students’ reading fluency rates and reading comprehension performance. Limitations to the Study In this study, a major limitation will be found resident in the use and application of the tool of data collection. The tool is bound to be biased and lacking validity and reliability as explained by Mulaudzi (2006). CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction This literature review examines the relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension. It specifically explores the contributions of fluency to comprehension. The chapter addresses certain aspects including reading, decoding, fluency, comprehension and the relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension. The chapter also offers interventions that can be used to develop each. Reading Angell & Nation (2006, p81) define reading as the process of deriving meaning from written or printed text. The process has a multiplicity of components including “phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension” (Rasinski, 2006, p704). All these components are inter-related and must be developed in a sequence starting with the acquisition of skills in ‘decoding, fluency, background knowledge, vocabulary, motivation, and engagement’ (Walczyk & Griffith-Ross). Decoding As noted earlier, decoding is the process of recognising letters and sounds in order to read words (Therrien et al., 2006, p24). Effective readers use decoding skills to translate printed text into the sounds of language. These skills involve instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, and word recognition. As decoding skills become more proficient for a child, less attention can be spent on identifying what a word is and more time can be spent identifying what the word means. Fluency Fluency is seen as the link between decoding and comprehension. Problems with fluency may stem from poor decoding skills and may greatly impact on comprehension skills. In their study involving children performing below their grade level in comprehension, decoding, and fluency, Pikulski & Chard (2005, p512) identified fluency as the biggest area of concern. It was thus noted an improvement in fluency led to a significant increase in comprehension. The shorter the students took to decode the words and the faster they read the passages led to better understanding of the text (Eldredge, 2005, p170). Based on this discovery, Hudson et al. (2005, p711) contend that ‘reading fluency is the ability to read text accurately and quickly’. This ability therefore allows readers to rapidly decode text while maintaining high comprehension (Therrien et al., 2006, p25). This is achieved by applying the three major components of fluency namely: accuracy, rate and prosody. The role of fluency according to Rasinski (2006, p706) is to link ‘word recognition with comprehension’. This argument is supported by study findings by Eldredge which contend that “phonemic awareness and word recognition are a precursor of fluency”. Similarly, O’Connor et al. (2007, p43) believe that fluent readers are capable of recognising words accurately and automatically after a session of fluency instruction. Comprehension Comprehension is the level of understanding a passage or text after reading. Pardo (2004, p. 272) agrees that the sole objective of reading is to understand what has been read and comprehend it well (Angell & Nation, 2006). Angell & Nation further assert that a good reader must be able to identify the words as well as understanding them correctly. This means that comprehension requires a myriad of skills ranging from recognising individual words to “forming a coherent and cohesive mental model of a text” (Nation & Angell, p. 86). The Relationship between Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension Evidence is rife that there is a strong relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension. In fact, Pardo (2004, p280) argues that poor fluency can have an effect on reading comprehension. This is witnessed in a reader who frequently stops to figure out unknown words. It is most likely that this reader will not remember or understand much of what is read according to claims by Hudson et al. Moreover, students skilled in comprehension read faster than students with poor reading comprehension. This is probably because fluent readers recognise words and comprehend at the same time, whereas less fluent readers must focus their attention on figuring out the words, leaving them little attention for understanding the text (Eldredge, 2005, p168). When gains are made in fluency, readers can focus their attention on comprehension and understand more of what is read (Pikulski & Chard). Pikulski & Chard (2005) underline two theories that warn against the harmful effects of inefficient fluency skills on comprehension. These are “the automaticity theory and the verbal efficiency theory (Rasinski, 2006). In view of these two theories, beginning readers first concentrate on word reading and gradually shift their attention to what they read and understand (Eldredge, 2005, p171). Pardo (2004, p279) suggested that when readers focus attention heavily on decoding accurately, less attention is available for comprehension. However, when decoding becomes automatic, requiring little attention, more attention may be allocated for comprehending a text (Pikulski & Chard (2005, p517). Thus, a direct relationship can be assumed between fluency and reading comprehension. Interventions for Developing Reading Fluency and Comprehension Research work in recent times has identified a number of interventions that are most likely to improve reading fluency and hence comprehension. One such intervention is modeled reading where both parents and teachers can “read” aloud to their students for them to experience “good reading” (Rasinski, 2006). In addition to this, independent reading can be used to make students ‘avid’ readers and hence become fluent for better comprehension. This is associated with the last intervention of repeated reading which is considered by Pikulski & Chard (2005, p519) as the most useful technique in achieving fluency in reading. CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODS Introduction The purpose of this proposal is to establish whether there is a relationship between reading fluency and comprehension. This is done by describing the design, participants, instrumentation, procedure and the expected outcomes. Design The research proposes to use a correlational design in exploring the relationship between the variables of reading fluency and comprehension. Participants will complete the tool for assessing their level of reading fluency and comprehension over a period of one week. Participants For this proposal, 15 participants will be randomly selected from a population of 44 students from an Elementary School in their third-grade to participate in the study. Nine of them will be girls and the remaining six boys, ensuring ethnical balance as much as possible. Instruments and Materials The instrument of measurement in this study will be the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Sixth Edition to assess reading fluency and comprehension. DIBELS is designed to measure reading standards in third-grade students and consists of seven different assessments namely: “Letter Naming Fluency, Initial Sound Fluency, Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, Nonsense Word Fluency, Oral Reading Fluency, Oral Retelling Fluency, and Word Use Fluency” (Good & Kaminski, 2002). Procedure Student performance on DIBELS will be measured by having students individually read three different passages aloud for one minute. The participants will have been given these instructions by the researcher. After the one minute, a record of each participant’s correct words will be kept. This will be considered as the oral reading fluency for the participant. The procedure will apply for the other two passages, and the participants. The participants will also answer comprehension items from the passages. Expected Outcomes It is expected that students with high levels of reading fluency will similarly have higher levels of reading comprehension. The student will be able to ‘read smoothly with intonation and expression, using the speed of normal conversation’ (O’Connor et al., 2007, p46). The hypothesis that “There is a significant relationship between third-grade students’ reading fluency rates and reading comprehension performance” will be upheld. REFERENCES Angell, P., & Nation, K. (2006). Learning to read and learning to comprehend. London Review of Education, 4, 77 – 87. Block, C. C & Parris, S. R (2008) Comprehension Instruction: Research-Based Best Practices. (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press, New York Eldredge, J. L. (2005). Foundations of fluency: An exploration. Reading Psychology, 26, 161 – 181. Good, R. H., & Kaminski, R. A. (2002). DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency passages for first through third grades (Technical Report No. 10). Eugene, OR: University of Oregon. Hudson, R. F., Lane, H. B., & Pullen, P. C. (2005). Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how? Reading Teacher, 58, 702 – 714. Mulaudzi, T. R. (2006). Techniques in Research. New York: Pearson Publishing. O’Connor, R. E., White, A., & Swanson, H. L. (2007). Repeated reading versus continuous reading: Influences on reading fluency and comprehension. Exceptional Children, 74, 31 – 46. Pardo, L. S. (2004). What every teacher needs to know about comprehension. Reading Teacher, 58, 272 – 280. Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. Reading Teacher, 58, 510 – 519. Rasinski, T. V. (2006). Reading fluency instruction: Moving beyond accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. The Reading Teacher, 59, 704 – 706. Therrien, W. J., Gormley, S., & Kubina, R. M. (2006). Boosting Fluency and Comprehension to Improve Reading Achievement. Teaching Exceptional Children; 38, 3; pg. 22 – 26 Walczyk, J. J., & Griffith-Ross, D. A. (2007). How important is reading skill fluency for comprehension? Reading Teacher, 60, 560 – 569. Read More