The Effects of Differentiated Instruction and Enrichment Pedagogy on Reading Achievement in Five Elementary Schools
Purpose: The main aim of this research study was to examine the effect of a differentiated, enriched reading program on students’ oral reading fluency and comprehension using the schoolwide enrichment model–reading (SEM-R) (Reis, McCoach, Little, Muller, & Kaniskan, 2011).
Significance: The research study was necessary to help
- Establish whether an independent and interest-based program (SEM-R) can be used instead of the normal reading curriculum without imminently influencing scores on standardized assessments of reading fluency and reading comprehension.
- Determine if the use of the SEM-R can help to increase students’ reading fluency and comprehension.
- Assess whether students’ instructors, principals, and literacy coaches taking part in the SEM-R intervention, produce higher levels of student instruction in reading
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Literature: Two major study theories utilized were based on the SEM-R framework;
- The use of enrichment pedagogy as technique to increase student instruction in reading.
- Differentiation of content and instruction by use of data analysis to support instruction changes to respond to variations in students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles (2011).
Sample: The sample included students in second to fifth grades from five elementary schools across the United States.
Setting: The study took place in schools within urban and rural settings and also suburban locations across five states, with most of the students placed at risks of poverty.
Procedure: The study started by recruitment and preparation procedures. There was collection of data pretesting. Data was qualitatively collected and analyzed.
Results: The study found significant differences favoring the SEM-R treatment group in ORF and in reading comprehension at the high poverty urban school (Urban Southeast). SEM-R students outperformed control students in reading fluency at Suburban South (Reis, McCoach, Little, Muller, & Kaniskan, 2011).
Discussion: Enrichment reading approach, with differentiated instruction and less whole group instruction, was as effective as or more effective than a traditional whole group basal approach.
Implication: The findings in these research study imply that the enriched reading program with differentiated instruction resulted to an improved ORF in two schools and higher reading comprehension as compared to the standard basal reading program in the urban school in this, a result that has been consistent across previous research on the SEM-R in urban settings (2011).
Reflection on the study.
Although differentiation is universally embraced as an essential instructional method for students, not much research studied have been undertaken in the use of differentiated instruction in reading. This suggests more research studies involving a wide range of populations and settings in the use of differentiated instructions in reading.
Reference.
Reis, S. M., McCoach, D. B., Little, C. A., Muller, L. M., & Kaniskan, R. B. (2011). The effects of differentiated instruction and enrichment pedagogy on reading achievement in five elementary schools. American Educational Research Journal, 48(2), 462-501. DOI: 10.3102/0002831210382891