MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach
Study: Serido & Wilhelm (2006)
Summary
My Reading Coach is a technology-based program that uses an interactive video teacher. 61 computer-based lessons are delivered directly to the student via an embedded Speech Pathologist and special needs teacher. Supplemental teacher-directed activities and support materials accompany the program. Students alternate between virtual on-line instruction and a series of up to 9 activities that must be mastered before moving on to more advanced lessons. The order of the online lessons reflects a model of speech acquisition: sounds are presented based on ease of producing and blending sounds together. MRC™ instruction begins with sound production, and sound/symbol association using written letters and emphasizing auditory and visual discrimination skills. Once the letter and its sound are introduced, the student begins a series of activities (e.g., drag and drop letters to build words, visual and auditory recognition of words/images, visual and auditory discrimination among multiple words/images). A 10,000-item feedback table pinpoints each student’s specific error allowing each to student receive unique targeted, specific feedback on his error to maximize learning. Comprehension is taught as early as lesson 30 with decodable passages from graded from K – 10.5. There are 24 grammar lessons that are introduced as early as lesson 8. These lessons help students progress from reading words, to sentences, to paragraphs and finally at lesson 30 to comprehension with graded stories. The computer program groups students with similar skills so that teachers can work with students in small groups or on a one-on¬-one basis using offline comprehension exercises, called Expert Sheets. Each time students master a set of four online lessons, reading one of the Expert Sheets is recommended. In addition to reading for accuracy, these sheets emphasize: inflection, proper pausing, to enable students to read with prosody. Prosody is also directly taught in the MRC program. Additional offline supplemental lessons and remediation activities are provided so that teachers can work directly with students having difficulty mastering an online lesson. (Appendix A : Program Description)
- Target Grades:
- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
- Target Populations:
-
- Students with disabilities only
- Students with learning disabilities
- English language learners
- Any student at risk for academic failure
- Area(s) of Focus:
-
- Phonological awareness
- Phonological awareness
- Phonics/word study
- Comprehension
- Fluency
- Spelling
- Spelling
- Sentence construction
- Other: Grammar
- Where to Obtain:
- MindPlay®, Division of Methods and Solutions, Inc
- 440 S. William Blvd. Suite 206 Tucson, AZ 85711
- 520-888-1800
- www.mindplay.com
- Initial Cost:
- $299.00 per student
- Replacement Cost:
- Contact vendor for pricing details.
-
Pricing: • Implementations in most schools are by concurrent connection (the number of students who can use the program at the same time), not by the total number of students entered in to the program. • There are home-user product designed for families. This is limited to one specific student for one year. That is the only version available direct from MindPlay itself. • Technical support is free within the active lifecycle of a product. • Cost varies on implementation type. MindPlay develops the software, sales and independent representatives handle pricing. Included in the purchases: Support Materials: Consist of complete program software, teacher guide. The teacher guides offer a comprehensive description of the lessons and activities, and report details. In addition : MRC™ provides a colorful poster of key lessons, teacher manual with over 300 blackline masters for Phonics, Grammar and Comprehension - “Read-Like-You-Talk®” supplemental lessons. Blacklines are also printable directly from the program
- Staff Qualified to Administer Include:
-
- Special Education Teacher
- General Education Teacher
- Reading Specialist
- Math Specialist
- EL Specialist
- Interventionist
- Student Support Services Personnel (e.g., counselor, social worker, school psychologist, etc.)
- Paraprofessional
- Other:
- Training Requirements:
- 4-8 hours of training
-
The local vendor provides training from a certified MindPlay trainer. MindPlay has a minimum standard required training expectation to include: Initial Implementation for My Reading Coach (MRC™) is 4 hours. Initial Training sessions are designed to prepare the site coordinator and targeted teachers with the ability to successfully implement these MindPlay products into their school. The goal is to provide the site coordinator and targeted teachers with the skills to effectively implement and integrate the technology programs into the school’s existing curriculum. This includes using the management and reporting features of the programs. The training includes hands-on interaction with the software programs, strategies for using technology in the school effectively, report and data tracking, goal setting and individual school needs. Follow-Up Training is available per individual site as requested and can include: o Visitation of classes/students/teachers utilizing the CAI programs FLRT™, MRC™ o Observation of teacher/student utilizing supplemental support lessons o Follow-up training with site coordinator on using U-ARC Management features. o Reports and data analysis for each program o Meet with Site Coordinator and/or principal to look at data generated from benchmark assessments. o Create a School Data Snapshot that utilize data from benchmark and/or school multiple measures to establish and monitor goals. o Provide a school wide teacher and/or parent presentation on Programs Overview and answer questions about program goals, usage, etc. o Discussions o Teacher Options/Management System o Questions/Concerns
Training presentations and materials have been compiled into the current Professional Teaching Guide and Training Syllabus. Because staff training for My Reading Coach is mandatory, the materials have been used with thousands of teacher and students. Their feedback is the bases for revisions, which are incorporated into the manual and the program. A Director of Education Services was hired in 2009 to assist in monitoring the effectiveness and consistency of training provided.
- Access to Technical Support:
- Educators may obtain professional and technical support through several methods, all of which are free. An in-house technical support staff is available by calling 800-221-7911. The team members have been directly involved in the development, testing, and implementation of all products so they are aware of the instructional methodology as well as technical aspects of the program. An e-mail address is dedicated to technical support, and the Web site offers downloadable updates, answers to frequently asked questions, and a support knowledge base. Independent software dealers provide local, in-person support. All trainers and support staff must be certified by MindPlay, Inc, are trained by company personnel, and must pass oral and written examinations.
- Recommended Administration Formats Include:
-
- Individual students
- Small group of students
- Minimum Number of Minutes Per Session:
- 30
- Minimum Number of Sessions Per Week:
- 4
- Minimum Number of Weeks:
- 10
- Detailed Implementation Manual or Instructions Available:
- Yes
- Is Technology Required?
-
- Computer or tablet
- Internet connection
- Other technology: Appendix B: MRC™ Technical Requirements My Reading Coach WAN Edition System Requirements Server (Windows) Hardware Requirements CPU Intel Pentium 4 (or equivalent) or better CPU, at least one processor for every 100 simultaneous connections RAM 512 MB RAM baseline, plus an additional 128 MB RAM for every 20 simultaneous connections (minimum 1.5 gigabytes of RAM) Disk Space 1 Gigabyte of free hard drive space DVD drive Recommended: a RAID disk array, tape backup, or other form of disaster recovery for the server’s hard drive containing the student data. Requirements listed are for a server dedicated to My Reading Coach. A non-dedicated server may require more RAM and/or processing power, depending on what else is being used and the server load. Network requirements • TCP/IP network • The server must have a static IP address • The server must be reachable (via TCP/IP) from all the workstations that will run My Reading Coach. • The TCP/IP port used by the database manager must not be blocked by any firewalls over the wide area network (the connections between the schools/sites and the district/organization). MySQL uses TCP port 3306 by default. Microsoft SQL Server uses TCP ports 1433 and 445 by default. • A read-only network share visible to all workstations running My Reading Coach. • Recommended: 100-megabit Ethernet on the internal networks. At least a T1 connection between the district/organization and each of the individual schools/sites. Software requirements • A Windows Server OS (Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003) • At least enough Client Access Licenses (CALs) for Windows Server to match the maximum number of My Reading Coach connections. • A database manager. Supported database managers are MySQL Server – supplied with My Reading Coach WAN Edition on the Setup CD with a license for use with My Reading Coach only. Microsoft SQL Server – must be purchased independently and installed prior to the My Reading Coach WAN Server Setup. SQL authentication is required. Windows authentication is not supported. Other requirements • Someone at the district-level needs to be in charge of the program as a whole—adding schools to the database, allocating connections to the schools and retrieving lost/forgotten passwords for the program administrators at the schools. Server (Macintosh) Hardware Requirements CPU Intel Core 2, 1.5GHz or better RAM 1 gigabyte RAM baseline, plus an additional 128 MB RAM for every 20 simultaneous connections (minimum 2 gigabytes of RAM) Disk Space 1 Gigabyte of free hard drive space DVD drive Recommended: a RAID disk array, tape backup, or other form of disaster recovery for the server’s hard drive containing the student data. Requirements listed are for a server dedicated to My Reading Coach. A non-dedicated server may require more RAM and/or processing power, depending on what else is being used and the server load. Network requirements • TCP/IP network • The server must have a static IP address • The server must be reachable (via TCP/IP) from all the workstations that will run My Reading Coach. • The TCP/IP port used by the database manager must not be blocked by any firewalls over the wide area network (the connections between the schools/sites and the district/organization). MySQL uses TCP port 3306 by default. • Recommended: 100-megabit Ethernet on the internal networks. At least a T1 connection between the district/organization and each of the individual schools/sites. Software requirements • Mac OS 10.4 or better • MySQL Server – supplied with My Reading Coach WAN Edition on the Setup CD with a license for use with My Reading Coach only. Other requirements • Someone at the district-level needs to be in charge of the program as a whole—adding schools to the database, allocating connections to the schools and retrieving lost/forgotten passwords for the program administrators at the schools. My Reading Coach WAN Edition System Requirements Workstation (Windows) Hardware Requirements CPU 1Ghz (or better) RAM 512 MB (1GB for Vista) Graphics Card SVGA (16-bit color) HD Free Space (Platinum) 3.5 gigabytes (GB) HD Free Space (Platinum/Spanish) 7 gigabytes (GB) HD Free Space (Gold) 3 gigabytes (GB) Also: DVD drive; Sound card with speakers (headphones recommended) Optional: Printer; Microphone Software requirements • A Windows XP or newer • Platinum: Direct X 9.0c (installed by setup if needed) • Adobe Flash 9 (installed by setup if needed) • Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or later Workstation (Macintosh) Development of the native Mac version of My Reading Coach has been discontinued. In lieu of the native Mac version, we are recommending installing the Parallels Desktop virtual machine, setting up a Windows virtual machine with either Windows XP or Vista, and installing the Windows version of My Reading Coach in that virtual machine. System requirements for Parallels Desktop are CPU Intel processor only RAM 1GB Operating System OS 10.4.9 HD Space (Parallels/Windows/MRC) 5 gigabytes
Program Information
Descriptive Information
Please provide a description of program, including intended use:
My Reading Coach is a technology-based program that uses an interactive video teacher. 61 computer-based lessons are delivered directly to the student via an embedded Speech Pathologist and special needs teacher. Supplemental teacher-directed activities and support materials accompany the program. Students alternate between virtual on-line instruction and a series of up to 9 activities that must be mastered before moving on to more advanced lessons. The order of the online lessons reflects a model of speech acquisition: sounds are presented based on ease of producing and blending sounds together. MRC™ instruction begins with sound production, and sound/symbol association using written letters and emphasizing auditory and visual discrimination skills. Once the letter and its sound are introduced, the student begins a series of activities (e.g., drag and drop letters to build words, visual and auditory recognition of words/images, visual and auditory discrimination among multiple words/images). A 10,000-item feedback table pinpoints each student’s specific error allowing each to student receive unique targeted, specific feedback on his error to maximize learning. Comprehension is taught as early as lesson 30 with decodable passages from graded from K – 10.5. There are 24 grammar lessons that are introduced as early as lesson 8. These lessons help students progress from reading words, to sentences, to paragraphs and finally at lesson 30 to comprehension with graded stories. The computer program groups students with similar skills so that teachers can work with students in small groups or on a one-on¬-one basis using offline comprehension exercises, called Expert Sheets. Each time students master a set of four online lessons, reading one of the Expert Sheets is recommended. In addition to reading for accuracy, these sheets emphasize: inflection, proper pausing, to enable students to read with prosody. Prosody is also directly taught in the MRC program. Additional offline supplemental lessons and remediation activities are provided so that teachers can work directly with students having difficulty mastering an online lesson. (Appendix A : Program Description)
The program is intended for use in the following age(s) and/or grade(s).
Age 0-3
Age 3-5
Kindergarten
First grade
Second grade
Third grade
Fourth grade
Fifth grade
Sixth grade
Seventh grade
Eighth grade
Ninth grade
Tenth grade
Eleventh grade
Twelth grade
The program is intended for use with the following groups.
Students with disabilities only
Students with learning disabilities
Students with intellectual disabilities
Students with emotional or behavioral disabilities
English language learners
Any student at risk for academic failure
Any student at risk for emotional and/or behavioral difficulties
OtherIf other, please describe:
ACADEMIC INTERVENTION: Please indicate the academic area of focus.
Early Literacy
Print knowledge/awareness
Alphabet knowledge
Phonological awareness
Phonological awarenessEarly writing
Early decoding abilities
OtherIf other, please describe:
Language
Expressive and receptive vocabulary
Grammar
Syntax
Listening comprehension
OtherIf other, please describe:
Reading
Phonological awareness
Phonics/word study
Comprehension
Fluency
Vocabulary
Spelling
OtherIf other, please describe:
Mathematics
Computation
Concepts and/or word problems
Whole number arithmetic
Comprehensive: Includes computation/procedures, problem solving, and mathematical concepts
Algebra
Fractions, decimals (rational number)
Geometry and measurement
OtherIf other, please describe:
Writing
Handwriting
Spelling
Sentence construction
Planning and revising
OtherIf other, please describe:
Grammar
BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION: Please indicate the behavior area of focus.
Externalizing Behavior
Physical Aggression
Verbal Threats
Property Destruction
Noncompliance
High Levels of Disengagement
Disruptive Behavior
Social Behavior (e.g., Peer interactions, Adult interactions)
OtherIf other, please describe:
Internalizing Behavior
Depression
Anxiety
Social Difficulties (e.g., withdrawal)
School Phobia
OtherIf other, please describe:
Acquisition and cost information
Where to obtain:
- Address
- 440 S. William Blvd. Suite 206 Tucson, AZ 85711
- Phone Number
- 520-888-1800
- Website
- www.mindplay.com
Initial cost for implementing program:
- Cost
- $299.00
- Unit of cost
- student
Replacement cost per unit for subsequent use:
- Cost
- Unit of cost
- Duration of license
Additional cost information:
Describe basic pricing plan and structure of the program. Also, provide information on what is included in the published program, as well as what is not included but required for implementation (e.g., computer and/or internet access)
Pricing: • Implementations in most schools are by concurrent connection (the number of students who can use the program at the same time), not by the total number of students entered in to the program. • There are home-user product designed for families. This is limited to one specific student for one year. That is the only version available direct from MindPlay itself. • Technical support is free within the active lifecycle of a product. • Cost varies on implementation type. MindPlay develops the software, sales and independent representatives handle pricing. Included in the purchases: Support Materials: Consist of complete program software, teacher guide. The teacher guides offer a comprehensive description of the lessons and activities, and report details. In addition : MRC™ provides a colorful poster of key lessons, teacher manual with over 300 blackline masters for Phonics, Grammar and Comprehension - “Read-Like-You-Talk®” supplemental lessons. Blacklines are also printable directly from the programProgram Specifications
Setting for which the program is designed.
Individual students
Small group of students
BI ONLY: A classroom of students
If group-delivered, how many students compose a small group?
2-4Program administration time
- Minimum number of minutes per session
- 30
- Minimum number of sessions per week
- 4
- Minimum number of weeks
- 10
N/A (implemented until effective)- If intervention program is intended to occur over less frequently than 60 minutes a week for approximately 8 weeks, justify the level of intensity:
Does the program include highly specified teacher manuals or step by step instructions for implementation?- Yes
BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION: Is the program affiliated with a broad school- or class-wide management program?-
If yes, please identify and describe the broader school- or class-wide management program: -
Does the program require technology? - Yes
-
If yes, what technology is required to implement your program? -
Computer or tablet
Internet connection
Other technology (please specify)
If your program requires additional technology not listed above, please describe the required technology and the extent to which it is combined with teacher small-group instruction/intervention:
Appendix B: MRC™ Technical Requirements My Reading Coach WAN Edition System Requirements Server (Windows) Hardware Requirements CPU Intel Pentium 4 (or equivalent) or better CPU, at least one processor for every 100 simultaneous connections RAM 512 MB RAM baseline, plus an additional 128 MB RAM for every 20 simultaneous connections (minimum 1.5 gigabytes of RAM) Disk Space 1 Gigabyte of free hard drive space DVD drive Recommended: a RAID disk array, tape backup, or other form of disaster recovery for the server’s hard drive containing the student data. Requirements listed are for a server dedicated to My Reading Coach. A non-dedicated server may require more RAM and/or processing power, depending on what else is being used and the server load. Network requirements • TCP/IP network • The server must have a static IP address • The server must be reachable (via TCP/IP) from all the workstations that will run My Reading Coach. • The TCP/IP port used by the database manager must not be blocked by any firewalls over the wide area network (the connections between the schools/sites and the district/organization). MySQL uses TCP port 3306 by default. Microsoft SQL Server uses TCP ports 1433 and 445 by default. • A read-only network share visible to all workstations running My Reading Coach. • Recommended: 100-megabit Ethernet on the internal networks. At least a T1 connection between the district/organization and each of the individual schools/sites. Software requirements • A Windows Server OS (Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003) • At least enough Client Access Licenses (CALs) for Windows Server to match the maximum number of My Reading Coach connections. • A database manager. Supported database managers are MySQL Server – supplied with My Reading Coach WAN Edition on the Setup CD with a license for use with My Reading Coach only. Microsoft SQL Server – must be purchased independently and installed prior to the My Reading Coach WAN Server Setup. SQL authentication is required. Windows authentication is not supported. Other requirements • Someone at the district-level needs to be in charge of the program as a whole—adding schools to the database, allocating connections to the schools and retrieving lost/forgotten passwords for the program administrators at the schools. Server (Macintosh) Hardware Requirements CPU Intel Core 2, 1.5GHz or better RAM 1 gigabyte RAM baseline, plus an additional 128 MB RAM for every 20 simultaneous connections (minimum 2 gigabytes of RAM) Disk Space 1 Gigabyte of free hard drive space DVD drive Recommended: a RAID disk array, tape backup, or other form of disaster recovery for the server’s hard drive containing the student data. Requirements listed are for a server dedicated to My Reading Coach. A non-dedicated server may require more RAM and/or processing power, depending on what else is being used and the server load. Network requirements • TCP/IP network • The server must have a static IP address • The server must be reachable (via TCP/IP) from all the workstations that will run My Reading Coach. • The TCP/IP port used by the database manager must not be blocked by any firewalls over the wide area network (the connections between the schools/sites and the district/organization). MySQL uses TCP port 3306 by default. • Recommended: 100-megabit Ethernet on the internal networks. At least a T1 connection between the district/organization and each of the individual schools/sites. Software requirements • Mac OS 10.4 or better • MySQL Server – supplied with My Reading Coach WAN Edition on the Setup CD with a license for use with My Reading Coach only. Other requirements • Someone at the district-level needs to be in charge of the program as a whole—adding schools to the database, allocating connections to the schools and retrieving lost/forgotten passwords for the program administrators at the schools. My Reading Coach WAN Edition System Requirements Workstation (Windows) Hardware Requirements CPU 1Ghz (or better) RAM 512 MB (1GB for Vista) Graphics Card SVGA (16-bit color) HD Free Space (Platinum) 3.5 gigabytes (GB) HD Free Space (Platinum/Spanish) 7 gigabytes (GB) HD Free Space (Gold) 3 gigabytes (GB) Also: DVD drive; Sound card with speakers (headphones recommended) Optional: Printer; Microphone Software requirements • A Windows XP or newer • Platinum: Direct X 9.0c (installed by setup if needed) • Adobe Flash 9 (installed by setup if needed) • Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or later Workstation (Macintosh) Development of the native Mac version of My Reading Coach has been discontinued. In lieu of the native Mac version, we are recommending installing the Parallels Desktop virtual machine, setting up a Windows virtual machine with either Windows XP or Vista, and installing the Windows version of My Reading Coach in that virtual machine. System requirements for Parallels Desktop are CPU Intel processor only RAM 1GB Operating System OS 10.4.9 HD Space (Parallels/Windows/MRC) 5 gigabytes
Training
- How many people are needed to implement the program ?
Is training for the instructor or interventionist required?- Yes
- If yes, is the necessary training free or at-cost?
- Free
Describe the time required for instructor or interventionist training:- 4-8 hours of training
Describe the format and content of the instructor or interventionist training:- The local vendor provides training from a certified MindPlay trainer. MindPlay has a minimum standard required training expectation to include: Initial Implementation for My Reading Coach (MRC™) is 4 hours. Initial Training sessions are designed to prepare the site coordinator and targeted teachers with the ability to successfully implement these MindPlay products into their school. The goal is to provide the site coordinator and targeted teachers with the skills to effectively implement and integrate the technology programs into the school’s existing curriculum. This includes using the management and reporting features of the programs. The training includes hands-on interaction with the software programs, strategies for using technology in the school effectively, report and data tracking, goal setting and individual school needs. Follow-Up Training is available per individual site as requested and can include: o Visitation of classes/students/teachers utilizing the CAI programs FLRT™, MRC™ o Observation of teacher/student utilizing supplemental support lessons o Follow-up training with site coordinator on using U-ARC Management features. o Reports and data analysis for each program o Meet with Site Coordinator and/or principal to look at data generated from benchmark assessments. o Create a School Data Snapshot that utilize data from benchmark and/or school multiple measures to establish and monitor goals. o Provide a school wide teacher and/or parent presentation on Programs Overview and answer questions about program goals, usage, etc. o Discussions o Teacher Options/Management System o Questions/Concerns
What types or professionals are qualified to administer your program?
Special Education Teacher
General Education Teacher
Reading Specialist
Math Specialist
EL Specialist
Interventionist
Student Support Services Personnel (e.g., counselor, social worker, school psychologist, etc.)
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapist or Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Paraprofessional
OtherIf other, please describe:
- Does the program assume that the instructor or interventionist has expertise in a given area?
-
No
If yes, please describe:
Are training manuals and materials available?- Yes
-
Describe how the training manuals or materials were field-tested with the target population of instructors or interventionist and students: - Training presentations and materials have been compiled into the current Professional Teaching Guide and Training Syllabus. Because staff training for My Reading Coach is mandatory, the materials have been used with thousands of teacher and students. Their feedback is the bases for revisions, which are incorporated into the manual and the program. A Director of Education Services was hired in 2009 to assist in monitoring the effectiveness and consistency of training provided.
Do you provide fidelity of implementation guidance such as a checklist for implementation in your manual?-
Can practitioners obtain ongoing professional and technical support? -
Yes
If yes, please specify where/how practitioners can obtain support:
Educators may obtain professional and technical support through several methods, all of which are free. An in-house technical support staff is available by calling 800-221-7911. The team members have been directly involved in the development, testing, and implementation of all products so they are aware of the instructional methodology as well as technical aspects of the program. An e-mail address is dedicated to technical support, and the Web site offers downloadable updates, answers to frequently asked questions, and a support knowledge base. Independent software dealers provide local, in-person support. All trainers and support staff must be certified by MindPlay, Inc, are trained by company personnel, and must pass oral and written examinations.
Summary of Evidence Base
- Please identify, to the best of your knowledge, all the research studies that have been conducted to date supporting the efficacy of your program, including studies currently or previously submitted to NCII for review. Please provide citations only (in APA format); do not include any descriptive information on these studies. NCII staff will also conduct a search to confirm that the list you provide is accurate.
Study Information
Study Citations
Serido, J. & Wilhelm, M. S. (2006). The Effects of My Reading Coach on Reading Achievement of Elementary Education Students . Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona.
Participants
- Describe how students were selected to participate in the study:
- Prior to conducting the study, the researchers submitted a project approval packet to the Human Subjects Committee at the University of Arizona. The committee approved a waiver of signed consent in accordance with Title 45 CFR 46.116 (d1, d2,and d4). Parents received a letter notifying them about the study, explaining the purpose of the study, the role that their child would play in the study (i.e., receive the intervention or receive classroom instruction), and the use of their child’s test scores in evaluating the effectiveness of the program. Each participating school (N=4) identified the grades that would participate. Once a grade was selected, all classes in that grade level participated in the study. Schools provided the list of students by grade to the researchers, who randomly assigned students to treatment /control group by class (students within class)
- Describe how students were identified as being at risk for academic failure (AI) or as having emotional or behavioral difficulties (BI):
- Students were classified as at-risk based on their pretest scores: those reading “below grade level” were considered “at-risk” while those scoring “at or above” grade level were considered “not at risk”.
-
ACADEMIC INTERVENTION: What percentage of participants were at risk, as measured by one or more of the following criteria:
- below the 30th percentile on local or national norm, or
- identified disability related to the focus of the intervention?
- %
-
BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION: What percentage of participants were at risk, as measured by one or more of the following criteria:
- emotional disability label,
- placed in an alternative school/classroom,
- non-responsive to Tiers 1 and 2, or
- designation of severe problem behaviors on a validated scale or through observation?
- %
- Specify which condition is the submitted intervention:
- My Reading Coach is the treatment program
- Specify which condition is the control condition:
- While the intervention group worked on the software in the lab, students in the control groups engaged in other supplementary literacy activities such as review lessons and practice exercises in the classroom with an aide or assistant.
- If you have a third, competing condition, in addition to your control and intervention condition, identify what the competing condition is (data from this competing condition will not be used):
Using the tables that follow, provide data demonstrating comparability of the program group and control group in terms of demographics.
Grade Level
| Demographic | Program Number |
Control Number |
Effect Size: Cox Index for Binary Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age less than 1 | |||
| Age 1 | |||
| Age 2 | |||
| Age 3 | |||
| Age 4 | |||
| Age 5 | |||
| Kindergarten | |||
| Grade 1 | 4.0% | 5.4% | 0.14 |
| Grade 2 | 15.7% | 23.2% | 0.27 |
| Grade 3 | 19.3% | 33.0% | 0.45 |
| Grade 4 | 7.3% | 10.3% | 0.24 |
| Grade 5 | |||
| Grade 6 | |||
| Grade 7 | |||
| Grade 8 | |||
| Grade 9 | |||
| Grade 10 | |||
| Grade 11 | |||
| Grade 12 |
Race–Ethnicity
| Demographic | Program Number |
Control Number |
Effect Size: Cox Index for Binary Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| African American | 17.0% | 23.7% | 0.26 |
| American Indian | 1.0% | 2.2% | 0.43 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 2.0% | 5.4% | 0.57 |
| Hispanic | 16.0% | 31.3% | 0.52 |
| White | 3.0% | 3.1% | 0.00 |
| Other | 0.7% | 0.0% | 1.40 |
Socioeconomic Status
| Demographic | Program Number |
Control Number |
Effect Size: Cox Index for Binary Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subsidized Lunch | 33.0% | 62.9% | 0.75 |
| No Subsidized Lunch | 7.0% | 2.7% | 0.54 |
Disability Status
| Demographic | Program Number |
Control Number |
Effect Size: Cox Index for Binary Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speech-Language Impairments | |||
| Learning Disabilities | 2.0% | 4.5% | 0.43 |
| Behavior Disorders | |||
| Emotional Disturbance | |||
| Intellectual Disabilities | |||
| Other | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.00 |
| Not Identified With a Disability | 38.3% | 61.2% | 0.57 |
ELL Status
| Demographic | Program Number |
Control Number |
Effect Size: Cox Index for Binary Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Learner | 12.0% | 22.8% | 0.48 |
| Not English Language Learner | 34.3% | 49.1% | 0.38 |
Gender
| Demographic | Program Number |
Control Number |
Effect Size: Cox Index for Binary Differences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 24.3% | 31.3% | 0.21 |
| Male | 22.0% | 40.6% | 0.55 |
Mean Effect Size
For any substantively (e.g., effect size ≥ 0.25 for pretest or demographic differences) or statistically significant (e.g., p < 0.05) pretest differences between groups in the descriptions below, please describe the extent to which these differences are related to the impact of the treatment. For example, if analyses were conducted to determine that outcomes from this study are due to the intervention and not demographic characteristics, please describe the results of those analyses here.
Design
- What method was used to determine students' placement in treatment/control groups?
- Random
- Please describe the assignment method or the process for defining treatment/comparison groups.
- This study was designed as a scientific experimental study with students randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups for participation and comparison. Schools provided the research team with the list of students by class. Then the research team randomly assigned students within each class to either an intervention or control group.
-
What was the unit of assignment? - Students
- If other, please specify:
-
Please describe the unit of assignment: -
What unit(s) were used for primary data analysis? -
Schools
Teachers
Students
Classes
Other
If other, please specify:
Students within class -
Please describe the unit(s) used for primary data analysis:
Fidelity of Implementation
- How was the program delivered?
-
Individually
Small Group
Classroom
If small group, answer the following:
- Average group size
- 3
- Minimum group size
- 2
- Maximum group size
- 4
What was the duration of the intervention (If duration differed across participants, settings, or behaviors, describe for each.)?
- Weeks
- 19.00
- Sessions per week
- 4.00
- Duration of sessions in minutes
- 45.00
- What were the background, experience, training, and ongoing support of the instructors or interventionists?
- Four teachers received the training and administered the intervention: two were identified as reading specialists, one was a third grade classroom teacher, and the fourth was a teacher’s aide.
- Describe when and how fidelity of treatment information was obtained.
- Teachers involved in the pilot were required to send weekly reports containing program statistics captured via the software program to the researchers and local pilot coordinator. These reports contained information per student as far as time on task, daily usage, etc. In addition, the researcher or his assistant made regular site visits and logs were kept of the visitations. Finally, a MindPlay pilot coordinator made regular contact and visited the sites to monitor program fidelity. Logs were kept.
- What were the results on the fidelity-of-treatment implementation measure?
- On average, treatment students averaged 2.5 hours per week on the program, and 80% of the treatment students completed the prescribed number of lessons for their grade level.
- Was the fidelity measure also used in control classrooms?
Measures and Results
Measures Broader :
| Targeted Measure | Reverse Coded? | Reliability | Relevance | Exposure |
|---|
| Broader Measure | Reverse Coded? | Reliability | Relevance | Exposure |
|---|
| Administrative Data Measure | Reverse Coded? | Relevance |
|---|
Effect Size
Effect size represents the how much performance changed because of the intervention. The larger the effect size, the greater the impact participating in the intervention had.
According to guidelines from the What Works Clearinghouse, an effect size of 0.25 or greater is “substantively important.” Additionally, effect sizes that are statistically significant are more trustworthy than effect sizes of the same magnitude that are not statistically significant.
Effect Size Dial
The purpose of the effect size dial is to help users understand the strength of a tool relative to other tools on the Tools Chart.
- The range represents where most effect sizes fall within reading or math based on effect sizes from tools on the Tools Chart.
- The orange pointer shows the average effect size for this study.
Targeted Measures (Full Sample)
| Measure | Sample Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|
| Average across all targeted measures | Full Sample | -- |
| * = p ≤ 0.05; † = Vendor did not provide necessary data for NCII to calculate effect sizes. | ||
Broader Measures (Full Sample)
Average Reading Effect Size
| Measure | Sample Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|
| Average across all broader measures | Full Sample | 0.26* |
| * = p ≤ 0.05; † = Vendor did not provide necessary data for NCII to calculate effect sizes. | ||
Administrative Measures (Full Sample)
| Measure | Sample Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|
| Average across all admin measures | Full Sample | -- |
| * = p ≤ 0.05; † = Vendor did not provide necessary data for NCII to calculate effect sizes. | ||
Targeted Measures (Subgroups)
| Measure | Sample Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|
| * = p ≤ 0.05; † = Vendor did not provide necessary data for NCII to calculate effect sizes. | ||
Broader Measures (Subgroups)
| Measure | Sample Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|
| * = p ≤ 0.05; † = Vendor did not provide necessary data for NCII to calculate effect sizes. | ||
Administrative Measures (Subgroups)
| Measure | Sample Type | Effect Size |
|---|---|---|
| * = p ≤ 0.05; † = Vendor did not provide necessary data for NCII to calculate effect sizes. | ||
- For any substantively (e.g., effect size ≥ 0.25 for pretest or demographic differences) or statistically significant (e.g., p < 0.05) pretest differences, please describe the extent to which these differences are related to the impact of the treatment. For example, if analyses were conducted to determine that outcomes from this study are due to the intervention and not pretest characteristics, please describe the results of those analyses here.
- Please explain any missing data or instances of measures with incomplete pre- or post-test data.
- If you have excluded a variable or data that are reported in the study being submitted, explain the rationale for exclusion:
- Describe the analyses used to determine whether the intervention produced changes in student outcomes:
- Using percentile scores from the post-tests, t-tests comparisons evaluated the difference scores between the treatment and control groups using the full sample of students who completed both the pre and post test (n=281).
Linear regression analyses were used to estimate the effects of variations within the treatment group (i.e., at risk versus not at risk students and English Language Learners versus native English speakers.
Additional Research
- Is the program reviewed by WWC or E-ESSA?
- E-ESSA
- Summary of WWC / E-ESSA Findings :
What Works Clearinghouse Review
This program was not reviewed by What Works Clearinghouse.
Evidence for ESSA
None of the studies considered met Evidence for ESSA's inclusion requirements.
- How many additional research studies are potentially eligible for NCII review?
- 0
- Citations for Additional Research Studies :
Data Collection Practices
Most tools and programs evaluated by the NCII are branded products which have been submitted by the companies, organizations, or individuals that disseminate these products. These entities supply the textual information shown above, but not the ratings accompanying the text. NCII administrators and members of our Technical Review Committees have reviewed the content on this page, but NCII cannot guarantee that this information is free from error or reflective of recent changes to the product. Tools and programs have the opportunity to be updated annually or upon request.
