Computer-Assisted Instruction for Students with Attentional Difficulties

The present study compared the efficacy of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) with Traditional Instruction (Tl; i.e., write--and--check) and a no--practice condition in the mastery of spelling words. The subjects for the study were nine elementary age students identified by their teachers as having attentional difficulties. Five new words were assigned for each of the three conditions for each of the five weeks of the study. At the end of each week of practice a spelling test was given for the 15 words. Results indicated that both CAI and Tl were significantly more effective than the no-practice condition in helping the students learn to spell the new words. There was no significant difference between the CAI and Tl practice conditions