Research Results

 

The concept of blending MEville to WEville's additional lessons with Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters began as a cooperative research initiative supported by a U.S. Department of Education Steppingstones of Technology Innovation grant. This study was one of the largest literacy studies ever conducted with students with significant disabilities. The project was managed under the direction of Dr. Karen Erickson, from the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The outcomes are truly remarkable.

 

The study included 46 students between the ages 8 to 14, all with moderate to severe/profound intellectual impairments; Dr. Erickson's research showed that the MEville to WEville with Literacy Starters Program had a significant positive impact of the literacy outcomes of the students. And most importantly, the test results showed that students were able to generalize their skills!

Students improved generalized development in reading and writing skills by an average of 40% (Cohen's d=.44) after completing 40 instructor-delivered lessons from the MEville to WEville with Literacy Starters Program.

Results of the Project Converge Study

The research phase of MEville to WEville with Literacy Starters Program occurred during the spring of 2007 and employed a researcher-designed pre-test/post-test (r = .83-.87) administered individually to each participant by members of the research team. In addition, classroom observations and teacher interviews occurred before, during, and after the intervention. The study included 46 students ages 8-14 years from 10 classrooms in two self-contained special education schools. All student participants had moderate to profound intellectual impairments. Teachers were assigned to one of three intervention groups and given a sequence of 40 lessons to implement with accompanying materials. The three groups were:

Group 1 — MEville to WEville (n=18)
Group 2 — Extending Lessons with Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters (n=14)
Group 3 — Combination of MEville to Weville, the Extending Lessons,
                  and Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters (n=14).

Analysis of the pre- and post-tests administered to the students revealed that each of the three groups made significant gains following the intervention. Cohen's d was calculated to determine effect sizes for each of the three interventions with the following results: (a) Group 1, d=.26; (b) Group 2, d=.21; and (c) Group 3, d=.44.

Students improved significantly on generalized measures of reading and writing. Subtests on key measures of literacy showed that students improved their concepts about print by 50%, writing by 29% and phonological awareness by 32%. 

Below is a chart that outlines how MEVille to WEville Literacy Curriculum and how that works with the enhanced skill development offered in Extending MEville to WEville with Start-to-Finish Literacy Starters.

 

Literacy Curriculum/Technology	Grade Levels	Skills Addressed
MEville to WEville Curriculum:    Unit 1: All About ME    Unit 2: My Family    Unit 3: My School	K-2	Word identification Phonemic Awareness Comprehension Fluency Building Background Knowledge Writing Receptive/Expressive Language
Extending MEville to WEville Unit 1	3-5	Increased engagement in reading, writing and communicating
Extending MEville to WEville Unit 2	3-5	Increased engagement in reading, writing and communicating
Extending MEville to WEville Unit 3	3-5	Increased engagement in reading and writing

 

This research was made possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (# H377A050070) awarded to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Center for Literacy & Disability Studies. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and endorsement by the federal government should not be assumed.

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