Study: Intensive Training Trumps Traditional Instruction

A recent study from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden found that intensive, daily instruction offered for a short time was more effective in helping struggling readers than the remedial reading programs typically offered by Swedish schools. 

Over the course of three years, the Reading and Fluency Training Based on Phonemic Awareness (RAFT) study worked with a group of 100 nine-year-olds. Half of the children were given 40 minutes of daily, intensive reading instruction for a 12-week period. Instruction included structured exercises in linking letters to sounds, phonetic awareness, and fluency. The control group was given their school’s traditional reading remediation offering, such as tutoring or a special reading class.

The results of the study showed that the children in the experimental group made significantly more gains in all areas tested – word decoding, spelling, reading speed, and reading comprehension – than the children who received standard school services.

Read Science Daily’s coverage of the study here.  

-Beth Guadagni, M.A.

Image used under Creative Commons by Elizabeth Albert

Homework Help

The August issue of Good Housekeeping magazine features a list of websites that offer free tutoring in a variety of subjects.

We also have come across a very helpful website sponsored by New York City's Public Libraries which contains information on a wide variety of academic subjects, links to study guides such as Spark Notes and Cliff Notes and standard reference works, as well as links to obtain live help from teachers or librarians. You do not need to be a New York resident or have a library card to use this site although some of the live help features do require residency in certain areas of New York City.

Now, if we only could find a website that gets students to actually sit down and do their homework!