| dc.description.abstract | Previous work has investigated the effects of intervention intensity and teacher knowledge on reading outcomes for upper elementary struggling readers. Throughout these investigations, the measurement of dosage has rarely considered the amount of reading students accomplish during intervention, which can vary widely even when minutes of intervention are similar. Many studies have established the importance of teacher knowledge for reading instruction at the elementary level and have investigated changes in teacher knowledge after receiving professional development (PD). Less is known about changes in teacher knowledge after PD ends or if teacher knowledge predicts the amount of reading instruction teachers provide. In light of previous work, I sought to determine if intervention dosage, interventionists’ code-related knowledge, or an interaction of these two factors predicted reading outcomes for upper elementary struggling readers and their reading interventionists. I also sought to determine if interventionists’ knowledge changed while implementing a reading intervention and if interventionists’ knowledge predicted the dosage of reading instruction they provided. An adverse event left me unable to collect student reading outcomes and answer research questions focused on the effects of interventionists’ knowledge and dosage on these outcomes. Through descriptive examinations, I found intervention dosage, as measured by number of words read, varied widely across interventionists despite use of the same reading intervention program. I did not find evidence that interventionist knowledge predicted the dosage of word reading and spelling or text reading instruction they provided. In addition, although I did not find broadly, across interventionists, that knowledge changed during the course of the reading intervention, I did find preliminary evidence that changes in knowledge may differ according to interventionists’ level of knowledge immediately after training. | |
