Avaliação da eficácia de um programa suplementar para o ensino de leitura e escrita aplicado em ambiente escolar

Abstract

A computerized teaching program for the individualized teaching of reading and writing has been developed and periodically revised by a research team. Designed under the conceptual framework of stimulus equivalence, the program teaches conditional relations between printed words and dictated words. Additional teaching trials include matching printed syllables to dictated syllables. The assessment of the program in laboratory settings has systematically shown that it is very effective in promoting the emergence of reading (textual behavior) and dictation-taking (performances not directly taught). The present study is part of a broader research program on the feasibility and efficacy of the teaching program when implemented in school settings by the school s staff. The specific goal was to evaluate the efficacy of the teaching program under these new conditions. Sixty-four students participated. They were not learning to read and write in the classroom and a pre-test evaluation demonstrated that they did not read single words. The study used a group design. The Experimental Group (N=38) was exposed to the program (a sequence of 17 teaching units interspersed among 15 assessment units). The Control Group (N=26) was exposed to a similar program, except that the task required only matching pictures to dictated words and naming the pictures. Statistical analyses showed no significant differences between the groups on the pre-test, but on the post-test only the Experimental Group showed accurate reading and writing performances and also generalized those repertoires to new words. These results replicate and extend the findings of previous studies in laboratory settings, thus recommending the teaching program as a remedial tool that could be useful in supplementing the school efforts to teach students who fail with the conventional procedures.