The Effect of a Tablet-Mediated Flashcard Intervention on the Acquisition and Maintenance of Sight-Word Phrases

Although many studies have shown the efficacy of using flashcard interventions to increase sight-word reading, very few have investigated ways to increase sight-phrase reading. In the current study, a concurrent multiple-baseline across students design was used to examine the effects of a tablet-based flashcard intervention on the acquisition of sight phrases for three second-grade students. Students completed a series of stimulus-response-stimulus-response learning trials of previously unknown phrases using an iPad flashcard program. Results demonstrated that all three students quickly increased the percentage of acquired phrases to 100% and were able to maintain the acquired phrase knowledge a month later. Discussion focuses on the implications of using tablet-based interventions and future directions for validating the sight-phrase fluency intervention. Impact Statement This article provides an example of a novel, easy-to-use, mobile intervention to increase sight phrase acquisition for elementary students. Acquisition of sight phrases may help students make gains in automatic word recognition, leading to increased reading fluency. Results can be useful for teachers in developing independent interventions for struggling readers.