Word-Level Evidence of the Role of Phonological Decoding During Orthographic Learning: A Direct Test of the Item-Based Assumption

• In Event: Critical Issues in Literacy Research 2

Abstract

The goal of this study was to test the item-based assumption of the self-teaching hypothesis by examining the relation between accuracy of phonological decoding and orthographic learning at the word level. A two-level logistic regression model was used to analyze the relation between accuracy of phonological decoding of a target word and the accuracy of spelling of that target word. The findings showed that the probability of spelling a target word correctly increased as the decoding accuracy of the target word increased. These findings specify that accurate decoding is a powerful determinant of orthographic learning and further supports the notion that orthographic learning represents item-based development, rather than stage-based development.

Authors

• Yi-Jui Iva Chen, University of California - Berkeley

• Robin Irey, University of California at Berkeley