This study demonstrates how the technology used to assist formative assessment in spelling can have an impact on learning. Formative assessment represents a set of student-centered practices, the results of which are not always optimal. Furthermore, different technologies are better suited to certain tasks than to others. The study follows a…

This study explored the effects of an evidence-based literacy program, ABRACADABRA, on the spelling abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty children with ASD aged 5-11 years were assigned to matched instruction and waitlist control groups. Children in the instruction group received 26 hrs of individualized, home-based…

Our spelling training software recodes words into multisensory representations comprising visual and auditory codes. These codes represent information about letters and syllables of a word. An enhanced version, developed for this study, contains an additional phonological code and an improved word selection controller relying on a phoneme-based…

An increasing number of K-12 school teachers have been using handheld, or palmtop, computers in the classroom as an integral means of facilitating education due to the flexibility, mobility, interactive learning capability, and comparatively inexpensive cost. This study involved two experiments in handheld computers: (a) a comparison of the…

A teacher in a small Christian school noticed that many of her third grade students found the A Beka spelling drill rather tedious. Many Christian schools use the A Beka spelling curriculum with lessons based upon special phonetic sounds. The students are introduced to alphabetical order and dictionary skills. These skills seem appropriate and…

Learning-disabled elementary-school students (n=126) who received computerized math and spelling drill-and-practice for a year expressed more positive attitudes toward academic work on the computer than toward similar academic tasks. They also reported more favorable opinions toward academic work than did 89 learning-disabled students not using…

A review was conducted of 16 research studies evaluating the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in teaching reading and language arts in the elementary school. The studies were of what K. A. Hall has termed "interactive instruction," which includes drill and practice as well as tutoring. Of the studies reviewed, 13 used at least…

A study of 38 fifth-grade students investigated the effectiveness of two interactive multimedia instructional spelling programs, one offering behaviorist-visual learning options and the other offering cognitivist-phonological learning options. Both groups showed increased spelling ability, though neither program outperformed the other, suggesting…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of superlearning on retention/hypermnesia of rare English words in college students; (2) a Delphi study of American, British, and Canadian English…