Technical Reading Comprehension in Preschool and Second-Grade Students

Technical reading comprehension, a byproduct of read-do correspondence, refers to a student accurately reading and following written directions. Across two experiments, the present study evaluated the effects of a reader immersion procedure on the acquisition of read-do correspondence for preschool and second-grade students. The reader immersion procedure induces read-do correspondence as the participants must read a series of steps to access preferred stimuli. Within the first experiment, we tested the reader immersion procedure on the acquisition of read-do correspondence, as evidenced by read-draw and read-build responses, for four preschool students. The second experiment evaluated the effects of the reader immersion procedure on the acquisition of read-do correspondence, as evidenced by read-draw responses, for three second-grade students. All seven participants showed increases in read-do correspondence after the intervention. Implications for education and independent functioning are discussed. center dot Technical reading comprehension is a byproduct of read-do correspondence. center dot Educators can teach students to read and follow written instructions accurately by arranging the classroom environment and providing reinforcement. center dot Potential implication of this research, although not directly demonstrated, is that students may learn faster as they can independently complete tasks such as completing worksheets without the educator's direct instruction. center dot Students may also learn to function independently outside the classroom by responding to environmental stimuli such as stop signs, recipes, and instructional manuals.