Computer-Assisted Instruction in Support of Beginning Reading Instruction: A Review

• Published in: Review of educational research Vol. 72; no. 1; pp. 101 - 130
• Main Authors: Blok, H., Oostdam, R., Otter, M. E., Overmaat, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA American Educational Research Association 01.03.2002; Sage Publications
• Subjects: Automatic teaching; Beginning Reading; CAI; Computer Assisted Instruction; Control Groups; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; Dyslexia; Educational Objectives; Educational research; Educational sciences; Effect Size; Grade 1; Language arts; Literature Reviews; Medium of instruction; Orthographies; Phonemes; Phonological awareness; Phonology; Primary Education; Reading; Reading Instruction; Reading, writing; Standard error; Teaching; Teaching aids; Teaching Methods; Netherlands; meta-analysis; computer-assisted instruction; learning results; primary education; reading instruction; Phonology; Reading; Computer assisted instruction; Comparative analysis; Efficiency; Research Review
• ISSN: 0034-6543; 1935-1046
• DOI: 10.3102/00346543072001101

How effective are computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs in support- ing beginning readers? This article reviews 42 studies published from 1990 onward, comprising a total of 75 experimental comparisons. The corrected overall effect size estimate was d = 0.19 (± 0.06). Effect sizes were found to depend on two study characteristics: the effect size at the time of pre-testing and the language of instruction (English or other). These two variables accounted for 61 percent of the variability in effect sizes. Although an effect size of d = 0.2 shows little promise, caution is needed because of the poor quality of many studies.