An investigation of a precision teaching intervention programme as a tier 2 intervention targeting foundational reading skills with at risk readers

This thesis describes the first application of a Tier 2 intervention programme targeting fluency in foundational reading skills with at risk Senior Infant readers (n=36). The PT intervention programme combined: (a) fluency intervention; (b) progress monitoring, and (c) decision rules for programme modifications. The effectiveness and efficiency of the PT intervention programme were evaluated in 11 Single Case Experimental Designs (SCED) that incorporated pre- post-test outcomes of reading measures. These experiments investigated the effects of the PT intervention on four foundational reading skills: letter sounds and names (Experiments 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8); phonemic awareness (Experiments 3, 4, 7, and 10); decoding words (Experiments 9 and 11); and high frequency words (Experiment 11). Results of the SCED indicate that the PT intervention was effective in establishing fluency in the foundational skills targeted. Pre- post-test outcomes indicated that the PT intervention was an effective an efficient form of intervention that helped at risk readers to close the gap with average performing peers. The findings have theoretical significance for the role of sublexical fluency in overall reading development, and practical implications regarding the importance of targeting fluency in foundational reading skills with at risk readers