The Effects of One-On-One Intervention on Letter Recognition in Kindergartners - Dissertation Example

?                 The Effects of One-On-One Intervention on Letter Recognition in Kindergartners Introduction        Problem Statement A letter of recognition by many kindergarten pupils in this day and age has become very elusive due to the fact that some people are questioning its significance. The effect of the intervention by kindergarten teachers to assist their pupils to recognize letters and names is in a major focus to establish its effect on the learning by the pupils. One-on-one intervention by instructors is seen to have positive impact on the learning of these pupils as Pycha (2011) demonstrates. In other words due to the fact that the quick identification and knowledge of the letters is paramount, the role of the instructor is a big part in the process. In his own words, Fox (1975) notes that “it is common knowledge that even well educated adults do not necessarily use the letter names in their pronunciation.” The most important aspect that is considered is the sound that comes out of the pronunciation.        The Topic This topic ‘The Effects of One-On-One Intervention on Letter Recognition in Kindergartners’ in this concept paper is the  heading of the proposed study about the positive or negative effects the one-on-one intervention by the kindergarten instructors has on the learning of their pupils. With many of the learning procedures being brought into sharp criticism about their justification, the direct/one-on-one intervention seems to be the most targeted of them all (Fulk, 1997). The area of study in this context of the topic will show several methods of this concept of intervention. The Research Problem The proponent of the methods of direct intervention letters recognition and naming see that it is absolutely important for this mode of teaching to take place because of the fact that it promotes communication skills. In addition to that, they see that reading skills take into account the knowledge of the individual letters and good readers are able to quickly identify the letters and combine them to form a good sentence and grammatical comprehension. However, those that see the coin from the other side argue that one-on-one intervention is not justified because at the end of the day, individual letters do not matter very much and other lesser grilling methods of teaching can be applied (Gillon, 2004). This study is, therefore, going to look at the effects that some of these interventions have on the kindergarten and establish whether to promote them or curtail their usage. Background and Justification According to Fulk (1997) et al., “there are various conflicts and concerns about the best way to help the pupil to achieve a concrete letter recognition ability, if at all that is needed.” There have been countless critics of the best way to approach this issue with the maximum result. They carried out a study which will be given shortly in the literature review section. It was clear that there were several methods of intervention such as picture mnemonics, letter speed race, letter, matches, rhyming concepts, ordering methods and so forth. The methods have existed from a very long time but also there are those that have come up in the recent past which are either created by the individual teachers creatively approaching the subject. The other references that have been applied in this context also agree that the methods are a good mode of teaching (Bastano, 2008). The study is, therefore, justified to seek answers about the effectiveness of the specific letter-recognition intervention method that are being applied by many people in the learning institutions. Martinez (2010) argues that “despite the curriculum of teaching in schools putting emphasis on the pupils to be able to know letters in all formats and correctly name them, it is not as important as the effort that is put in it”. This poses a big conflict about the justification of the one-on-one intervention of the letter recognition exercise. Because of these arguments the instructional techniques that are used in kindergarten setting ought to be customized for the pupils for better results. As Fulk agrees the effect of each strategy is directly dependent on the general one-on-one instructional intervention activity that the kindergarten pupils are put through. The question here there ore is how effective are those instructional strategies in the teaching environment and what are the impacts of them on the young minds. Deficiencies in the Evidence Because the study seeks to establish the effects of one on one intervention strategy, there are strategies that are to be put in place to conclusively show that the activity gives out the correct finding.  This includes direct introduction of consonants, letters word and names while using methods such as alphabetical ordering, speed racing and mnemonics to know for sure whether the students are able to memorize and produce the letters whenever tested. However, Gillon (2004) quotes by saying that “it is very difficult to link directly the respondents who recognize the letters after the tests and exercises the study put them through”. In other words, some kindergarten students can attest or show the positive result not because of the method but due to other factors such as the effectiveness of the instructors, the individual intelligence of the pupils and the environment. In addition to that, since this is one of the initial studies of its kind, there are limited literature references that one can find for comparison and analysis. Lastly, the evidence of the methods which individual instructors used that worked cannot be verified and precisely established whether they are original or copied. The Audience The concept paper seeks the audience of the stakeholders in the early childhood deduction such as the teachers, the pupils, the administrators of the leering institutions as well as the policy makers in the education sector. The finding of this thesis will help the concerned parties to take into considerations the impact of the interventions that are currently in use at the early leaning institutions. The people who are the audience will be challenged to look critically at the evidence that is to be used and lack of it to establish the fact the intervention of the letter recognition by the teachers is of paramount importance.   Literature Review Literature Review Various studies have taken place in the issue of literacy phonological awareness and communication skills. However, one can conspicuously notice the little research and analysis that has gone into trying to find out the effect of direct intervention of the letter-recognition by the little kindergarten pupils and the general learning that is leant later in life. This study has embarked into finding out the impact of the direct intervention by the teachers to these pupils in both the short and long term. Some scholars through their journals, articles and scholarly works have been used in reference by this work. This has been seen as important because of the opinion that ought to be made in respect to the subject matter of this study. There have been three sections of literature and works that has been used namely the methods to be used, phonological awareness by the pupils, and the aspect of the impact of the use of the methods in question. Boradeu (1999) compares the early teaching skills that were traditionally used in the teaching of the pupils about letter recognition. In their work, they give a comparison of the effect that the traditional teaching skills which were used as well as their comparison with the latest used methods. In this work, he looks at a certain topic which is not directly related to this study namely speech impairment and how the teaching skills are used to alleviate the problem of the pupils. On the other hand, Dodd (2001) concurs in their article about that the   awareness, the recognition and the literacy of the pupils. This literature shows the importance of the young minds to recognize letters and words of the English language with minimal struggle because according to him is the true definition of the term literacy. These two articles challenge the instructors to impart the recognition ability in the kindergarten pupils. In relation to the aspect of the justification of the modern day learning of the languages, the American journal of psychology (2011) in the article of Mc-Bride (1995) he notes that the “despite the fact the letters recognition is not used by the day to aspect of communication, it is still paramount to be known in order to qualify one as a literate individual”.  In the second aspect of awareness and recognition of the words, Hollowell (2011) talks about the reinforcement of the letter recognition methods by the instructors. She recommends the use of consonants and vowels in the most appropriate manner from the first day so that the memory of the young one can be appropriately updated and appropriately equipped with the knowledge. Fulk talks about the specific model of the use of picture mnemonics as a method in his study to show its effectiveness in instructing the special needs pupils. In his study, he found out that the mnemonics are among the best methods used in the instructions for the letter recognition and sound acquisition by these young pupils. A developed perception on some of the critics of the education sector are why letter naming and letter recognition is paramount in reading skills They feel that there is unnecessary used of phonological and letter recognition grilling methods that surpass the teaching of  the language itself Boudreau  (1999). The fact that the methods used in the credentials achieved and the methods used in the teaching including the ordering procedure is known to most of the academicians to be the best in the system. This study also seeks to find out about the best way to carry out assessment the pupils and establish a good platform for learning. Recognition of the third aspect which the study sought to find out about from the other people is the impact of the direct one on one intervention. This is through the use of five methods that are to be seen shortly on the methodology sections which include the interactive alphabet, writing repeater methods, alphabet ordering, rhyming picture mnemonics that are mentioned in the study instruments below. Schultz (2011) in his other study shows the relationship between the slow recognition of the letters and the IQ of the students, as a matter of fact, the professor clarifies though the research that he carried out that “there may be little relationship between the letter recognition or literacy and the intelligence rather the variables that are likely to contribute these are the methods that are used in imparting the knowledge”. It is common to find questions about the validity or the rationale of the direct intervention by the instructors in letter recognition by their students. That is why this concept paper seeks to highlight the justification of the use of these methods to help alleviate the literacy of the pupils in the early levels of learning (McBride, 1995). However, further research ought to be carried out to find out about the shortcomings of the grilling techniques that are used by systems in teaching the pupils. This is because, kindergarten pupils being the new inductees of the education systems, are not supposed to be grilled with the magnitude that some methods put them through. Further research ought to be done on the relationship between the IQ and the letter recognition abilities of the individual kindergarten pupils.  The Research Questions        What is the justification of the use of direct methods of intervention in the subject of letter-recognition?       What is the reason for the focus on the kindergarten student?       Which are the methods of letter recognition that are applied?       What is the effect of one-on-one intervention on Letter Recognition in Kindergartners?       What re the methods to be used in the research exercise?       What is the validity of the data and how is the result able to substantiate the study’s mission.             Methodology   Participants        The main participants for this study are the pupils of kindergarten age, male and female alike aged between the ages of five and eight with a sample size of 100 over a period of two months (or the time the topic in their respective syllabus takes to cover the topic). This is to establish the actual effect that the new methods of letter memorization and letter recognition has to the pupils. Their instructors who will be independently   treated will be included in the participating list. The Study Briefing This study will embark on the use of mixed methods because of the fact that there are several underlying factors that are experienced in the learning environment. In addition to this, there are scores of mainstream modes of one-on-one intervention methods of letter-recognition intervention on the students. This will imply the utilization if the qualitative approach through which the actual memorization and recognition of the letters by the individual pupils are sought be found.  This approach  seeks to establish whether the pupils actually leant and understood the consonants, words and names due to the impact of teaching or not as Gipe (1998) tries to show. The quantitative methods on the other hand will establish the number and amount of information that a particular strategy achieves in the time period that the exercise takes place. Through this study, it can be therefore suitably established the effect of the direct one-on-one intervention on the kindergarten and how that can be uniformly applied in the general curriculum.  The Study Instruments Five methods of teaching the pupils namely interactive alphabet, writing repeat methods, alphabet ordering, and rhyming and picture mnemonics. These are the chosen methods of letter recognition intervention that are to be used which the study is to use. The validity and reliability will be established from the test and assessment that is to be carried out by research assistants. The Study Procedures The Study Design        The prospective research design will be use data this juncture because of the need to make a relationship between a particular method of letter-recognition and the result reported by the pupil through the result of the assessment. This design is used because of the several variables that are stated above that affect the study either directly or indirectly.  In addition to that, the justification of this design is its ability to make the users predict the results that or should be expected from the participants. This prospective design is also appropriate because of the time limit and subjects that the children are subjected to.      Sampling        The target population has been defined and identified to be the children of the kindergarten of the stated age.  The approaches that will be taken to consideration are random sampling methods which will take any random children into the study and focus on their response to the teaching methods that are being subjected to them. Because the method that is being used already is a probability sampling method, a systematic sampling step will be used to the end of the exercise to choose from the sample population of numbers which will assist in the final tallying of the respondents. The aim of the study being knowing the effect of the intervention of letter-recognition the sample population of 100 will be clustered into five random groups of 20 and then given the same instructors and methods but at different time.        Data Collection Methods        As hinted above the time of the study is two months in the context of kindergarten schools with the same intervention methods but different instructors, there will be collection of data through the study times, the assessment times and the evaluations for the final tallying. The data collection methods at this juncture will include observations and recording of the pupil’s responses, document reviews, of the students’ progress and interviews from the instructors.        After the data is collected a compilation and submission will be made to the secondary data analysts who are able to put into consideration the aspect of precision calculation and analysis into book.        Data Analysis        It will involve the process of inspecting, modeling and transformation of the data into conclusions that are of importance to the audience the study seeks to address the research statement. The data analysis will be both exploratory and inferential in the sense that the user will be keen to note whether the methods have any impact at all or the effect that may be reported by the intervention methods. The exploratory analysis will look majorly at the five stated intervention techniques and their effectiveness in content and context.  The type 1 and type 2 errors will be taken considerably to seek a clear and precise conclusion (Robert, 2003). This analysis will be used to look at the qualitative data that the study has taken. By these it means the response of the pupils before and after the exercise in terms of observation and analysis of the assessment tests.        The inferential analysis will look that the actual numbers of the test and data from the sample results of the pupils. This will prompt a conclusion about the validity and the relevance of the five major letter recognition interventions by the pupils.  Two inferential tests such as the chi-test and the linear model of ANOVA are to be used in this analysis. The stability of the data will be ensured by the use of cross-validation methods that will involve splitting of the information from the total population and the sample groups before carrying out an average test as Burne (2009) advices on his researches. Also the stability will be further ensured by sensitivity analysis for the information.        Ethical Considerations           Some factors will be considered ethically such as consent of the respondents in their schools and proper handling of the little ones. The respondents will first have to give a go ahead about participation in the study and if they decline then they will be excluded. The necessary authorities will be alerted to give the necessary legal permission to carry out the study.  This will ensure not only fair play but also a fair chance to interview and observe a course that will be beneficial.        Limitations        These are likely to be logistical and monetary in nature. This is through the fact that the sample size of 100 will require a detailed approach that will be not only time consuming but also financially demanding. This study being a real one may have to seek the additional funding from private means. In addition to that, there may be an aspect of restrictions by guardians and instructors to let the pupils be put into test.        Ultimately, one can say that the methods that are used by the instructors to make their pupils able to recognize letters play a big role in promoting the literacy and the communication skills that is required for them to be fully literate. With the methodology used in the study, it is then possible for the results and conclusions to be discussed by the concerned parties.   Reference Bastano, G. (2008). Devaluation of Teaching Modes. Canadian Literature Studies, 30(3), 6-23. Boudreau, D. (1999). A Comparison of Early Literacy Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment and their typical Peers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 8, pp 245. Burne, D. (2009). Phonology. Buckingham: Open University Press. Dodd, B., (2001). Exploring the Relationship between Phonological Awareness, Speech Impairment and Literacy. Advances in Speech Language Pathology, (3) pp12. Fox, B., (1975). Analyzing Spoken Language into Words, Syllables And Phonemes: A Developmental Study. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, (4). Fulk, et al. (1997). Effect Of Integrated Picture Mnemonics. Learning Disability Quarterly . 20(1) p 33. Gillon, G. (2004). Phonological Awareness: From Research to Practice. New York: Guilford Press. Gipe,   P. (1998). Multiple Paths to Literacy: Corrective Reading Techniques for Classroom Teachers. London: Merrill Pub Co. Hollowell, K.(2011) How to Teach Letter Recognition to Kindergarten Students, Retrieved 31 October 2011 from  http://www.ehow.com/how_4739845_teach-letter-recognition-kindergarten-students.html. Martinez,E (2010). How to Help a Child with Letter Recognition & Fine Motor Skills, Retrieved 31 October 2011 http://www.livestrong.com/article/175459-how-to-help-a-child-with-letter-recognition-fine-motor-skills/. McBride-Chang, C. (1995). What Is Phonological Awareness? Journal of Educational Psychology,( 8), pp34-35. Pycha, A. (2011). Why is letter recognition important? , retrived 31 October http://www.pcboe.net/les/elderweb/letterrecognition.htm. Roberts, A. (2003). Effects of alphabet-letter instruction on young children's word recognition. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol  95(1), pp 41-5. Schultz, J, (2011).Letter Recognition Problems and LD, , Retrieved 31 October 2011 http://school.familyeducation.com/learning-disabilities/medical-tests/42682.html. Smith, H. J. (2002). Language  Specification,Development, and Integration. New York: Cambridge University Press.       Read More