Cognitive behavior modification : the effects of a self-instructional strategy on the reading comprehension of fifth grade students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a cognitive behavior modification self-instructional training procedure on the reading comprehension performances of fifth grade students with reading comprehension difficulties.Twelve fifth grade students nominated by their classroom teacher as adequate decoders but poor comprehenders served as the subject pool from which the selection of subjects was made. Students were screened to establish adequate decoding skills and below average reading comprehension ability. Additionally, on the basis of the screening process, students were judged to have average intellectual functioning and an adequate receptive vocabulary. Of the students meeting the above criteria, four were randomly selected to participate in the study.A modified multiple baseline design across subjects was utilized to analyze the effects of self-instructional training on reading comprehension. Baseline data was collected according to Homer and Baer's (1978) multiple-probe technique. Self-instructional training was sequentially introduced across subjects. At the completion of the training sequence, posttraining assessments of reading comprehension were made for each subject.Self-instructional training was modeled after Meichenbaum and Goodman's (1971) cognitive behavior modification self-instructional training procedure. Training consisted of five, approximately thirty minute, sessions. Procedural steps of the cognitive behavioral paradigm were progressively introduced over a training period of five days. During training, subjects were individually taught to verbalize self-instructions while reading. The self-instructions consisted of self-statements to be utilized by the subject in comprehending a reading passage.Functional analysis of the treatment effects indicated an increase in reading comprehension performances for three of the four subjects after they were exposed to the training sequence. Only one subject's performance indicated maintenance of the treatment effects over time. All subjects demonstrated individual clinically significant posttraining performances. However, the overall average increase in each subject's posttraining performance did not reach clinical significance.As a result of the data analysis, it was concluded that self-instructional training can be an effective procedure in improving the reading comprehension performances of fifth grade poor comprehenders. Discussion of the obtained results and recommendations for future research were presented.Thesis (D. Ed.