Multisensory Vocabulary Apps for Children With and Without Reading Difficulties

• In Event: Design and Technology: Thinking About the Design and Learning

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effects of a multisensory vocabulary instruction app on vocabulary learning of first-grade students, as well as the “listening to the recorded word explanation.” Results from 69 first grade students with various reading abilities indicated that, as a whole group, the additional activity of listening to the recorded word explanation resulted in greater word learning than when students practiced the new words solely on the vocabulary app. When the subgroups of students were compared, unlike the less-skilled readers who mimicked the learning pattern of the whole group, skilled readers learned significantly more word meanings only when students listen to the word meanings and practiced these words on the vocabulary app.

Authors

• Sung Hee Lee, California State University - Fullerton

• Kathleen Aspiranti, The University of Tennessee