Promoting Basal Reading Skills of Adult Illiterates with Principles of Direct Instruction

There is a need to develop effective interventions for adult illiterates that will promote acquisition of critical reading and writing skills. Direct instruction is one approach that has been found to be an effective intervention for younger learners with learning disabilities. However, research is lacking on the approach with adult illiterates. This pilot study examined the effects of an adapted direct instruction program using a single case design. The program was originally designed for young German children (IntraActPlus, Jansen, Streit, & Fuchs, 2007) and was adapted in this study for use with functional adult illiterates. Seven adult illiterates were trained in reading single letter-sound correspondences and single syllables from the curriculum over a 12 week period. Individual learning development in reading syllables was measured weekly using curriculum-based measurement probes while transfer effects on word reading was evaluated using a standardized reading test. Results of a regression analysis indicated differential responses depending on the measure with a range of small to large effects depending on the participant. Limitations of the study as well as directions for future research are discussed.