Improving Response to Intervention in Students With or at Risk of Reading Disabilities
Condition: Reading Problem
MeSH terms: Dyslexia
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of the proposed studies is to examine a reading intervention for fourth grade
      students with reading difficulties that integrate work in mindset (beliefs about whether
      abilities are innate or can be developed) with the academic component of reading.
      Specifically, the investigators will examine the extent to which integrating mindset
      intervention improves student response to reading intervention. The investigators will use
      previous research in intensive reading intervention for students with reading difficulties in
      the upper elementary grades to examine an intervention that addresses reading skill deficits,
      while also providing mindset training along with (Study 1) or embedded in (Study 2) the
      reading intervention. It is hypothesized that students in the reading intervention with
      mindset conditions will improve their reading outcomes more than students in the reading
      intervention only and business as usual groups.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of the proposed studies is to examine a reading intervention for fourth grade
      students with RD that integrates the psychosocial component of mindset with the academic
      component of reading. Specifically, the investigators will examine the extent to which
      integrating mindset intervention improves student response to reading intervention. The
      investigators will use previous research in intensive reading intervention for students with
      RD in the upper elementary grades to examine an intervention that addresses reading skill
      deficits, while providing mindset training along with (Study 1) or embedded in (Study 2) the
      reading intervention.

      Specific Aim 1. To determine the effects of intensive reading intervention with mindset
      training (Reading Intervention Plus Mindset) relative to reading intervention alone and
      business as usual comparison on the academic outcomes of fourth grade students with or
      at-risk for reading disabilities. The proposed study will target students with or at-risk for
      reading disabilities in fourth grade to examine the effects of reading intervention with
      mindset training relative to reading intervention alone and business as usual comparison on
      students' mindset, general academic achievement, phonological awareness, word reading,
      fluency, and reading comprehension outcomes. Students will be randomly assigned to condition
      with students in the Reading Intervention Plus Mindset condition receiving the mindset
      training along with their reading intervention. Students assigned to the Reading Intervention
      will receive the same reading intervention but without the mindset training. Students in the
      Business as Usual condition will continue to receive their typical school services which will
      be carefully documented. It is hypothesized that students in the Reading Intervention Plus
      Mindset condition will improve their reading outcomes more than students in the Reading
      Intervention only and Business as Usual groups by continuing to develop a growth mindset to
      work through the challenges in their reading development and, thus, being able to progress
      more efficiently in the reading intervention.

      Specific Aim 2. To determine the effects of embedding mindset training in an intensive
      reading intervention on the mindset and academic outcomes of fourth grade students with or
      at-risk for reading disabilities. The proposed study will use the results from Specific Aim 1
      to further examine the effects of an intensive reading intervention with mindset embedded in
      the content with a new cohort of fourth grade students with or at-risk for reading
      disabilities. Embedding mindset practices directly in the content area of difficulty for
      students with learning difficulties could be more powerful than separate mindset training.
      Students will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions (Embedded or Business as Usual).
      The investigators will examine the effects of intervention on students' mindset, word
      reading, fluency, and reading comprehension measures. It is hypothesized that embedding
      mindset training directly in the reading content will further improve student reading
      outcomes by allowing students to directly apply a growth mindset to their work in the area of
      difficulty, reading.

      Specific Aim 3. To link student characteristics to response to intervention. The proposed
      study will link students' initial reading achievement, initial mindset, vocabulary ability,
      behavior/attention as well as race, sex, socioeconomic status, and parents' educational
      background to student response to intervention. It is hypothesized that students with lower
      initial reading achievement, higher initial levels of fixed mindset, higher vocabulary, lower
      parent educational background or socioeconomic status, and/or higher levels of problem
      behavior/attention initially will benefit more from the mindset intervention, particularly
      the embedded mindset intervention. It is hypothesized that no differences based on gender or
      race.
    

Intervention name(s): Reading; Mindset; Reading Embedded with Mindset; Business as Usual
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Students are taught the processes involved in hearing, seeing, and feeling sounds as well as differences between sounds in words. New knowledge is built on previous knowledge in a step-by-step manner. Sounds build to letter-sound relationships to reading of words and syllables. Students learn the connection between reading of words (decoding) and writing/spelling words (encoding) building from simple words to multisyllabic words to text reading with fluency and understanding.; Blended learning program with online and teacher-directed activities related to how the brain functions, learns, and remembers, and how it changes in a physical way when we exercise it. Instruction in how students are in control of their brain and its development, and how to apply this to their schoolwork with practical strategies for tackling academic challenges.; Mindset training explicitly linked to the reading content through lesson openers, feedback prompts, and self-monitoring of mindset during reading work.; Reading interventions already provided to students with reading difficulties as per typical procedures at the participating school
Other intervention name(s): Typical Instruction
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Random assignment through stratification on the screening score to one of three groups: Study 1: (a) Reading Intervention Plus Mindset, (b) Reading Intervention, or (c) Business as Usual comparison.
Study 2: (a) Reading Intervention Embedded with Mindset or (b) Business as Usual comparison.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment