Investigating the effects of a game-based approach in teaching word recognition and spelling to students with reading disabilities and attention deficits

Abstract

The purpose of this small-scale exploratory study was to examine the effects of using a game-based instructional approach to teach word recognition and spelling to Grade 6 students with reading disabilities (RD) and attention deficit disorders. Treatment and comparison groups were formed. The students were placed in either a traditional spelling group or an alternate game group. Different measures of phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid naming as well as the word recognition and spelling subtests were administered to six students with RD and attention deficits. The study results indicate that students in the game-based approach outperformed students in the traditional, text-based spelling programs. In addition, the remediation of specific deficit subskills was possible through a game-based approach. Rapid naming, word recognition and spelling subtest results all improved through this method, with rapid naming improving the most. The study provides evidence for marked improvement in engaging behavior as well as literacy skills through alternate instructional methodologies.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board and all the parents and children for their involvement and participation in this study. We are grateful to the teachers Raymonda Najem and Micheline Goguen for their assistance in the data collection. Further, we wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their time and insightful recommendations for this manuscript.

Notes

1. The first author in this paper taught the class in the participating special education program.