The impact of adaptive computer assisted instruction on reading comprehension: Identifying the main idea.

Research has demonstrated that computer assisted instruction (CAI) can have positive impacts on various literacy skills, however its impact on specific comprehension skills is currently unclear. This study employed a small‐scale randomized control trial to examine the impact of a researcher‐developed adaptive computer assisted instructional program, Digital Comprehension, on 47 upper elementary struggling readers' comprehension skills, specifically main idea identification. Students were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, with students in the treatment group engaging in the Digital Comprehension program and students in the control group receiving only business‐as‐usual classroom instruction. Students completed measures assessing main idea and general reading comprehension skills at pre‐ and post‐intervention. Students in the treatment group demonstrated statistically significant greater growth in main idea skills than students in the control group. No main effect for the intervention was found for general reading comprehension skills, although there was a significant interaction between condition and student's pretest scores. Results indicate that adaptive CAI may be an effective means for remediating struggling readers' main idea skills. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic:Research suggests that adaptive instructional software has a positive impact on a wide variety of reading skills, particularly for younger children.The research is less clear about the impact such technology has on students specific comprehension skills.What this paper adds:This study sought to close the literature gap by examining the impact of an adaptive instructional program on comprehension skills.Results showed that students who used the adaptive instructional program demonstrated significantly higher gains in main idea skills than students in the control group, but failed to demonstrate significantly higher growth on general comprehension measures. Implications:This study demonstrates that computer adaptive instructional programs may be a valuable supplemental tool to increase upper‐elementary students' specific comprehension skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]