Date

Spring 2018

Document Type

Master's Thesis (Open Access)

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Teacher Education

Abstract

Small-group interventions involving multisensory techniques when teaching letter knowledge to Kindergarten students in the English language have not been researched. It is important to research the use of multisensory techniques in small-group instructional efforts when teaching letter knowledge because letter knowledge contributes to students’ gaining reading abilities; and, reading abilities, in turn, contribute to students’ academic success (Gellert & Elbro, 2017; Huang & Konold, 2014; Musti-Rao & Cartledge, 2007). The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine whether small group instruction involving multisensory techniques had an impact on Kindergarten students’ letter knowledge. The study divided 30 Kindergarten students into two groups: a treatment group, who received the small-group intervention using multimodal methods when teaching letter names, and a control group who received standard of care. Data were analyzed by conducting both independent and paired samples t-tests. The results indicated that the treatment group made a small gain in their mean score (i.e., an increase in the treatment group’s mean score from 30.07 to 31.47), showing that the intervention had a positive impact; however, this impact was not statistically significant. Based on the results, teachers can see the potential impact that the small-group instruction involving multisensory techniques can have on their students’ letter knowledge. Therefore, the small-group instruction can supplement the regular literacy instruction. Additionally, the intervention could lead to research into interventions using multisensory techniques for the other early reading skills (i.e., phonological awareness and phonemic awareness).

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