Eye Movements, Prosody, and Word Frequency Among Average- and High- Skilled Second-Grade Readers

This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A100496 to the University of Georgia. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

Abstract.

The present study explored how average- and high-skilled second-grade readers (as identified by their Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Academic Achievement Broad Reading scores) differed on behavioral measures of reading related to comprehension: eye movements during silent reading and prosody during oral reading. Results from silent reading implicate word processing efficiency: high skilled readers had fewer fixations and intraword regressions, and shorter first fixation, gaze duration, and total word reading times. Their skipping and regression patterns during silent reading were representative of a more systematic approach to passage reading, suggesting that meta-cognitive or motivational factors may also differentiate the groups. Compared to high-skilled readers, average readers' oral reading was characterized by longer pauses, less differentiation across pause types, and more intrusions. Counter to prior research, aspects of prosody associated with expressivity favored average readers: they had a sharper pitch declination at the end of declarative sentences and used a wider range of pitch within sentences. High- and low-frequency target words yielded frequency effects during both silent and oral reading. Interactions with skill level on the oral reading task are discussed in terms of potential differences in strategic approaches to reading challenges.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Araceli Valle

Araceli Valle, PhD, had a 20-year career in the computer industry (MS, computer engineering, Stanford University) before turning her attention to sociocultural and motivational factors that influence human cognitive development (PhD, developmental psychology, University of California—Santa Cruz). Her research has explored origins of scientific thinking in informal learning contexts among middle-class U.S. families, and literacy development in schools in the United States and in Spain. She has taught at the University of California—Santa Cruz, Mount Holyoke College, and Allegheny College.

Katherine S. Binder

Katherine Binder, PhD, is a professor in the Psychology and Education Department at Mount Holyoke College. Her research interests include how skilled readers use various sources of contextual information in the service of word recognition and comprehension, how functionally illiterate adults acquire literacy skills, and more recently, how children learn to read. She has published more than 20 articles across these areas. Her research with adult literacy students is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and her work with beginning readers is supported by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences.

Caitlin B. Walsh

Caitlin Walsh is a 2012 graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a degree in neuroscience and behavior. She worked with Katherine Binder to complete her senior thesis for high honors. She later worked in the cognition laboratory as a research assistant investigating reading behavior, specifically errors made by developing readers. She will apply to graduate school as a PhD candidate this coming fall.

Carolyn Nemier

Carolyn Nemier is currently a laboratory director for Katherine Binder's cognition laboratory at Mount Holyoke College. Her current work investigates reading behaviors and early intervention for beginning readers.

Kathryn E. Bangs

Kathryn Bangs is a graduate student under the supervision of Katherine Binder at Mount Holyoke College. Her research interests involve communication and literacy development in special populations. Currently, she is investigating how a morphological awareness intervention aids literacy skills in adult basic education students and includes students with and without learning disabilities. She also teaches the psychology statistics laboratories and previously taught research methods laboratories in the Psychology and Education Department at Mount Holyoke.