First Steps: Training on the Computer and in the Classroom for Phonological Awareness

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Instructional Technology SIG Roundtable Session: Computer Training in the Classrooms

Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify the status of phonological awareness (PA) skills of beginning readers in Turkish, and to test the effectiveness of an experimental PA program in kindergarten and Grade 1. Given the orthographic transparency of Turkish, some processes involved in PA development might differ from those in orthographically opaque languages. Two experimental groups (software and face-to-face training) and a control group consisted of 204 kindergarteners and first graders. Pre-, post-, and follow up tests were administered for PA. Letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming, and short term memory were also measured. Preliminary findings showed significant results for PA in Grade 1, implying that the training provided would yield more effective results after formal instruction began.

Authors

• Gunizi Kartal, Bogazici University

• Nalan Babur, Bogazici University

• Gulcan Ercetin, The University of Arizona