Implementing a Scripted Phonics Intervention Program Using Paraprofessionals

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Teaching and Learning Environments and Factors

Abstract

This study examined the implementation of a scripted phonics program taught by paraprofessionals in kindergarten classrooms in a local school district. Two research questions were investigated: a) Can paraprofessionals with no prior training in phonics effectively implement a scripted phonics program for struggling kindergartners? and b) Did fidelity to the script predict higher student test scores at the end of the teaching cycle? After 96 observations, researchers found that paraprofessionals did not demonstrate fidelity to the script, often supplying students with erroneous phonetic examples, and that overall, students’ phonemic knowledge scores did not correlate with fidelity to the scripted program.

Authors

• Renarta H. Tompkins, University of South Carolina - Beaufort

• Nancy Ratcliff, Coastal Carolina University

• Cathy R. Jones, Coastal Carolina University

• Russell Vaden, Coastal Carolina University

• Gilbert Hunt, Coastal Carolina University

• Heather Chase Sheehan