Computer Based Newsletter and Literacy Engagement of Middle-school Students
Condition: Reading Problem
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to improve motivation for reading by implementing a
      computer-based newsletter and examine the effects on the literacy engagement and reading
      achievement of middle school-aged students. Research questions to be answered: 1. Does the
      provision of a computer-based newsletter intervention improve literacy engagement on middle
      school students in comparison to their pretest scores? 2. Does the provision of
      computer-based newsletter intervention improve the reading achievement of middle school
      students in comparison to their pretest scores?
    

Detailed description: 
      For children where consent was provided by a parent or legal guardian, an assent form will be
      completed by the child for the child to also consent to participate in the study. Once
      consent and assent have been received, the student's reading skills will be assessed using
      the Gray Oral Reading Test 5 (GORT 5) and Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC). The student
      will also be assessed using a modified Inventory of Reading Occupations (IRO) to determine
      their access to reading materials and their perceived proficiency with the reading tasks.
      From the results of the GORT 5 and TOC, inclusion criteria will be used to determine if
      students will be included in the study. Once the inclusion criteria have been determined for
      all students, students will be randomly placed in either a control or intervention group.

      The intervention group will be provided with a survey to determine areas of interest to guide
      the 7-week literacy intervention plan of completing a newsletter. Students will complete the
      newsletter virtually using secure Zoom meetings 2x per week for 30 minutes per session. The
      results of the Gray Oral Reading Tets 5 (GORT 5) and Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC)
      will be used to determine the baseline reading skills of the students and each researcher
      will use the results of the assessments to guide the intervention with the newsletter topic
      that is chosen by the student. For example, if the GORT 5 notes a deficiency in reading
      accuracy, the focus of the intervention will be ensuring that reading accuracy is a focus of
      the summary that is crafted by the student for the newsletter.

      At the end of 7-weeks, the control group and intervention group will be re-administered the
      Gray Oral Reading Test 5 and Test of Orthographic Competence to determine reading skills.
      Students will also be provided with the modified Inventory of Reading Occupations (IRO). The
      control and intervention group's GORT 5, TOC, and modified IRO scores will be analyzed to
      find out the differences between the groups in reading skills (using the GORT 5 and TOC) and
      reading interest/perceived reading proficiency (using the modified IRO).
    

Intervention name(s): Newsletter using a virtual mode of delivery
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Newsletter creation where topics in the newsletter are chosen by participants in the intervention group.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment