Funding phase

LAUTARIUM

Construction and evaluation of a computer-based training program for children with dyslexia and children at risk of dyslexia

In the first stage of this project, a computer program that combines the training of phoneme perception and phonological awareness with an instruction in grapheme-phoneme-mappings was constructed and evaluated in a training study with a sample of third-grade children with dyslexia. The program (“LAUTARIUM”) comprises exercises for phoneme perception, phonological awareness, letter-sound-correspondences as well as reading and spelling exercises with transparent words.

The evaluation study confirmed significant training effects for phonological processing, reading, and spelling. The second stage of the project comprises two areas of activity: (1) further improvement of LAUTARIUM based on data gathered from the training study and construction of a marketable version for dyslexic children, and (2) construction and evaluation of a modified version for younger children with difficulties in the early stages of reading and spelling acquisition. The early intervention may help to prevent the development of persisting reading and spelling disorders in this group.

Objectives

The applied objective of the project is to construct an effective, evaluated and practicable program for the promotion of children with dyslexia and for the prevention of dyslexia in first- and second-grade at-risk children. The program Lautarium can be used as teaching method at school, but also for out-of-school instruction. The application of Lautarium in school promotes the education of children with dyslexia in regular classes and thus supports the efforts for inclusion of all children with learning disorders. Prior studies confirm the high acceptance among teachers, parents and children and the practicability of the program for use at school. The children can work autonomously through the program, as instruction, feedback, task selection etc. is controlled for by the program itself. Therefore, it is also suitable for application at home and as a result, the training is independent of the need for a teacher. This favors the wide distribution of the program – also in families which do not strive for or cannot finance an additional training for their children.

The scientific objective of the program is to enhance our knowledge about the impact of phonological processing functions (phoneme perception and phonological awareness) on literacy in German, for the trainability of these functions in primary school age and for the short and long-term effects of phonological and letter-sound training on reading and spelling.

Methods

Activity area (1) comprises, among others: the optimization of the adaptive learning algorithms, the construction and implementation of interactive instructions, the extension of exercises for reading and spelling, and the verification of the phonetic transcription of the used real words.

Activity area (2) comprises: the adaptation of the program to young children exhibiting difficulties in the early stages of reading and spelling acquisition, and the execution of an evaluation study of the program in this group. The training data from a pilot study with 41 first-graders can be used as an indication for the program adaptation on younger children. The evaluation study with the adapted program will be conducted on children with substantial problems in literacy at the beginning of the second grade. The longitudinal study is designed with 4 measurement points using a wait-list control group (pretest before training; 3 posttests immediately, 6 months and 12 months after the end of the training). Hereby, short- and long-term effects of training with Lautarium on children´s phonological, reading and spelling skills can be assessed.

Results

In der ersten Förderphase des Projekts wurden drei Teilstudien bearbeitet. In Teilstudie 1 (Steinbrink et al., submitted) wurde geprüft, ob Kinder mit Lese- Rechtschreibstörung spezifische Probleme bei der Verarbeitung zeitlicher oder spektraler Aspekte der Phonemwahrnehmung zeigen. Die Ergebnisse des Experiments flossen in die Gestaltung der Phonemwahrnehmungsübungen im Trainingsprogramm ein. In Teilstudie 2 (Klatte et al., 2013) wurde die erste Programmversion konstruiert und empirisch geprüft. Es konnte bestätigt werden, dass die implementierten Aufgaben die phonologischen Defizite von Kindern mit Lese- Rechtschreibstörung wie intendiert abbilden. Leseschwache Grundschulkinder zeigten in allen Übungen schlechtere Leistungen als Kontrollkinder. Im nächsten Schritt (Teilstudie 3, Klatte et al., 2014) wurden die Effekte des Trainings mit dem Programm auf die phonologischen und Lese- Rechtschreibleistungen bei Drittklässlern mit Lese- Rechtschreibstörung anhand eines Kontrollgruppendesigns mit drei Messzeitpunkten (Prätest – Posttest - Follow-up) analysiert. In Untertests aus allen Bereichen ließen sich signifikante und anhaltende Leistungsunterschiede zugunsten der Trainingsgruppe nachweisen. Hierbei ist zu berücksichtigen, dass alle teilnehmenden Kinder eine intensive schulische Förderung in speziellen LRS-Förderklassen erhielten. Der Nachweis von hierüber hinausreichenden Trainingseffekten kann als überzeugender Beleg für die Wirksamkeit des neuen Programms gewertet werden. Die Studie erbrachte jedoch auch Hinweise auf notwendige Modifikationen, die in der nächsten Projektphase umgesetzt werden sollen. Weiterhin soll eine modifizierte Version des Programms für jüngere Kinder, die Probleme in der frühen Phase des Schriftspracherwerbs zeigen, entwickelt und evaluiert werden.

Contact

  • apl. Prof. Dr. Maria Klatte (Project management, University of Kaiserslautern Cognitive…)
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Lachmann (Cognitive and Developmental Psychology…)
  • Prof. Dr. Claudia Steinbrink (University of Erfurt)
  • Dr. Kirstin Bergström (Project collaborator University of…)
  • LAUTARIUM

    Construction and evaluation of a computer-based training program for children with dyslexia and children at risk of dyslexia

    In the first stage of this project, a computer program that combines the training of phoneme perception and phonological awareness with an instruction in grapheme-phoneme-mappings was constructed and evaluated in a training study with a sample of third-grade children with dyslexia. The program (“LAUTARIUM”) comprises exercises for phoneme perception, phonological awareness, letter-sound-correspondences as well as reading and spelling exercises with transparent words.

    The evaluation study confirmed significant training effects for phonological processing, reading, and spelling. The second stage of the project comprises two areas of activity: (1) further improvement of LAUTARIUM based on data gathered from the training study and construction of a marketable version for dyslexic children, and (2) construction and evaluation of a modified version for younger children with difficulties in the early stages of reading and spelling acquisition. The early intervention may help to prevent the development of persisting reading and spelling disorders in this group.

    Objectives

    The applied objective of the project is to construct an effective, evaluated and practicable program for the promotion of children with dyslexia and for the prevention of dyslexia in first- and second-grade at-risk children. The program Lautarium can be used as teaching method at school, but also for out-of-school instruction. The application of Lautarium in school promotes the education of children with dyslexia in regular classes and thus supports the efforts for inclusion of all children with learning disorders. Prior studies confirm the high acceptance among teachers, parents and children and the practicability of the program for use at school. The children can work autonomously through the program, as instruction, feedback, task selection etc. is controlled by the program itself. Therefore, it is also suitable for application at home and as a result, the training is independent of the need for a teacher. This favours the wide distribution of the program – also in families which do not strive for or cannot finance an additional training for their children.

    The scientific objective of the program is to enhance our knowledge about the impact of phonological processing functions (phoneme perception and phonological awareness) on literacy in German, for the trainability of these functions in primary school age and for the short and long-term effects of phonological and letter-sound training on reading and spelling.

    Methods

    Activity area (1) comprises, among others: the optimisation of the adaptive learning algorithms, the construction and implementation of interactive instructions, the extension of exercises for reading and spelling, and the verification of the phonetic transcription of the used real words.

    Activity area (2) comprises: the adaptation of the program to young children exhibiting difficulties in the early stages of reading and spelling acquisition, and the execution of an evaluation study of the program in this group. The training data from a pilot study with 41 first-graders can be used as an indication for the program adaptation on younger children. The evaluation study with the adapted program will be conducted on children with substantial problems in literacy at the beginning of the second grade. The longitudinal study is designed with 4 measurement points using a wait-list control group (pretest before training; 3 posttests immediately, 6 months and 12 months after the end of the training). Hereby, short- and long-term effects of training with Lautarium on children's phonological, reading and spelling skills can be assessed.

    Contact

  • apl. Prof. Dr. Maria Klatte (Project management, University of Kaiserslautern Cognitive…)
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas Lachmann (Cognitive and Developmental Psychology…)
  • Prof. Dr. Claudia Steinbrink (University of Erfurt)
  • Dr. Kirstin Bergström (Project collaborator University of…)