filename     : Bas11a.pdf
entry        : article
conference   :
pages        : 1-24
year         : 2011
month        :
title        : Computer-based learning of spelling skills in children with and without dyslexia 
subtitle     :
author       : M. Kast, G.M. Baschera, M. Gross, L. Jäncke and M. Meyer
booktitle    : Annals of Dyslexia
ISSN/ISBN    :
editor       : 
publisher    : Springer
publ.place   :
volume       :
issue        :
language     : English
keywords     : Acquiring spelling skills, Associative learning, Developmental dyslexia, Learning curves, Multisensory learning
abstract     : Our spelling training software recodes words into multisensory representations
comprising visual and auditory codes. These codes represent information about letters and
syllables of a word. An enhanced version, developed for this study, contains an additional
phonological code and an improved word selection controller relying on a phoneme-based
student model. We investigated the spelling behavior of children by means of learning
curves based on log-file data of the previous and the enhanced software version. First, we
compared the learning progress of children with dyslexia working either with the previous
software (n=28) or the adapted version (n=37). Second, we investigated the spelling
behavior of children with dyslexia (n=37) and matched children without dyslexia (n=25).
To gain deeper insight into which factors are relevant for acquiring spelling skills, we
analyzed the influence of cognitive abilities, such as attention functions and verbal memory
skills, on the learning behavior. All investigations of the learning process are based on
learning curve analyses of the collected log-file data. The results evidenced that those
children with dyslexia benefit significantly from the additional phonological cue and the
corresponding phoneme-based student model. Actually, children with dyslexia improve
their spelling skills to the same extent as children without dyslexia and were able to
memorize phoneme to grapheme correspondence when given the correct support and
adequate training. In addition, children with low attention functions benefit from the
structured learning environment. Generally, our data showed that memory sources are
supportive cognitive functions for acquiring spelling skills and for using the information
cues of a multi-modal learning environment.