Leiden University Student Repository

Liende, Marijke van der (2024)

Effectiveness of the Universal Instruction in Literacy for Improving the Reading Performance and Motivation of Struggling Readers: An Intensive, Individualized Intervention in Multiple Areas of Reading

Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)

Good reading skills are essential to be successful in life, yet many students struggle with reading fluency, comprehension, and motivation. These students need additional instruction to improve in reading. The Universal Instruction in Literacy (UIL) was developed to provide intensive, individualized instruction in multiple areas of reading to students with reading difficulties. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of the UIL on the reading performance and motivation of struggling readers. The study employed an experimental design in which the effects of the UIL were compared to the effects of a simpler read-along (RA) intervention where students read along with a tutor, and a no-tutoring business-as-usual (BAU) control condition. A total of 86 students in Grades 4 to 6 were randomly assigned within grade to the intervention conditions (UIL, RA, or BAU). Students in the UIL and RA conditions received 25 to 30 minutes of online reading tutoring for two days a...Show moreGood reading skills are essential to be successful in life, yet many students struggle with reading fluency, comprehension, and motivation. These students need additional instruction to improve in reading. The Universal Instruction in Literacy (UIL) was developed to provide intensive, individualized instruction in multiple areas of reading to students with reading difficulties. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of the UIL on the reading performance and motivation of struggling readers. The study employed an experimental design in which the effects of the UIL were compared to the effects of a simpler read-along (RA) intervention where students read along with a tutor, and a no-tutoring business-as-usual (BAU) control condition. A total of 86 students in Grades 4 to 6 were randomly assigned within grade to the intervention conditions (UIL, RA, or BAU). Students in the UIL and RA conditions received 25 to 30 minutes of online reading tutoring for two days a week over a period of four to five weeks. (Students in the BAU condition received tutoring after the study was concluded.) Results revealed that the reading performance of all students significantly improved from pretest to posttest, but that the amount of improvement differed significantly for students in the instructional (UIL and RA) vs. control (BAU) conditions. Further analyses revealed that the relative effects of the UIL and RA intervention methods differed across reading skill (i.e., sight-word reading, reading aloud, and silent reading), and type of text (i.e., instructional and transfer texts). Regarding reading motivation, results revealed that all students significantly improved in reading motivation from pretest to posttest, with no significant differences found across conditions. Students rated the tutoring interventions positively. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.Show less

Author

Liende, Marijke van der

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Educational Science

Supervisors

Espin, C.A.

ECTS Credits

25

Language

en