A Reading Intervention with ELs with Disabilities at the High School Level

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of a reading comprehension strategy designed to enhance learning for participants with disabilities who come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Specifically, a multiple probe design was used to examine the effects of a reading comprehension strategy on the summarization skills of English learners with disabilities at the high school level. Individualized support was provided through an intervention that utilized a modified version of the Generating Interaction between Schemata and Text (GIST) strategy. The intervention incorporated strategy instruction and explicit instruction in the summarization of expository passages. Visual analysis indicates that all participants improved in their ability to summarize expository passages, as demonstrated by an increased level of change between the baseline and intervention phases. Statistical analysis using NAP and TAU-U reveals all participants demonstrated improvement between the baseline and intervention phases.

IMPACT STATEMENT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a reading comprehension intervention on the summarization skills of ELs with disabilities at the high school level. Results show improvements in summarization skills for all three participants.

Ethical approval

In the manuscript, we included information about the Instructional Review Board (IRB) and Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB) approval from both the university and the school district. However, to protect the identity of the participants, we did not provide specific information about the university or school district in the manuscript. We confirm that all researchers had appropriate CITI training, HSRB/IRB approval was obtained, and ethical guidelines were followed.

Author note

This article is based on the first author’s dissertation research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Research grant funds provided by the Office of Special Education Programs were used to complete the research study (Grant #: H325D080036).