Oral Language Strategy Instruction for At-Risk Youth

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this project is to design and pilot test a prototype interactive multimedia (IM) program for teaching oral language strategies to students in grades 6 through 9. The instructional program will be designed for use in a variety of settings, including general education classrooms, special education classes, tutoring centers, homes, and specialized school settings (e.g., detention centers, alternative schools). An associated goal of the project is that these programs will enable general education teachers to facilitate the academic success of diverse populations in their classrooms, particularly students in Title I, high-poverty schools. This IM prototype will be used as a model for an expanded version of the original program plus two additional instructional programs to be developed in Phase II of this project. The three IM programs to be developed and tested will serve as an adjunct to traditional curricula and instructional methodologies and will target different uses of spoken language. The programs will provide self-paced instruction in communication strategies that can be used to enhance expressive language, to provide additional practice to ensure that students achieve mastery in oral communication skills at a developmentally appropriate time, or they might be used as a remediation tool. To determine the feasibility of the IM format and content in Phase I, a computer-based instructional program will be designed for teaching students a strategy for presenting information (after hearing a story) clearly and concisely. The program will be tested with adolescents living in high-poverty areas. The efficacy of using an IM format for teaching an oral communication strategy will be evaluated relative to: (a) youth use of the IM program, (b) youth knowledge of the strategy, (c) youth use of the strategy, (d) social validity of the medium and the program content, and (e) required instructional time.