LARRC research findings are grouped by study and study aim. Access study-specific findings by clicking on the “study” navigation bar links to the left or link below study aims descriptions.
The aims of each study are provided below to help visitors locate the studies and findings of most interest to them.
Study 1 (Years 1 – 5) – Longitudinal Study
Examining reading comprehension development: language bases, cognitive predictors, child- and environmental-level influences.
The aims of Study 1 are:
- To identify grade-related differences in the relative contribution of lower- and higher-level language skills to children’s listening and reading comprehension in PK through G3;
- To determine the nature of the prospective relationship between children’s lower- and higher-level language skills in the early grades and reading comprehension in G3; and
- To determine the extent to which select child- and environmental-level attributes are positive, prospective predictors of reading comprehension and to determine whether these moderate the relations between language skills and reading comprehension.
[ > > > Study 1 Publications ]
Study 2 (Years 1 – 3) – Teacher Trials and Pilot Study
Development of language-based comprehension intervention.
The aims of Study 2 are:
- To define and develop multiple instantiations of language-based comprehension intervention (two instantiations x 5 grade levels) that will increase language development, background knowledge, and listening and reading comprehension in PK through G3 pupils;
- To improve the interventions through a systematic and iterative process involving feasibility trials and pilot testing to arrive at two fully manualized instantiations of language-based comprehension interventions for each grade level, ready for controlled trials in Study 3; and
- To develop valid and reliable measures of treatment fidelity for each of the instantiations that fully represents the key features of change.
[ > > > Study 2 Publications ]
Study 3 (Years 4 – 5) – Randomized Controlled Trial
Impacts of language-based comprehension instruction.
The aims for Study 3 are:
- To determine the extent to which two instantiations of language-based comprehension intervention impacts the quantity and quality of language and reading instruction;
- To determine the extent to which two instantiations of language-based comprehension instruction impacts lower- and higher-level language skills (PK-G3), listening comprehension (PK-G3), reading comprehension (K-G3), and background knowledge (PK-G3) of children relative to the business-as-usual reading curriculum.
- To determine potential teacher- and child-level moderators of intervention impacts.