A METAANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF SIGHT WORD RESEARCH AND ITS IMPLICATIONSFOR TEACHING FUNCTIONAL READING TO INDIVIDUALS WITH MODERATE AND SEVERE DISABILITIES
Dm. Browder et Yp. Xin, A METAANALYSIS AND REVIEW OF SIGHT WORD RESEARCH AND ITS IMPLICATIONSFOR TEACHING FUNCTIONAL READING TO INDIVIDUALS WITH MODERATE AND SEVERE DISABILITIES, The Journal of special education, 32(3), 1998, pp. 130-153
We conducted a comprehensive review of sight word research with indivi
duals with disabilities since 1980 with the aim of determining the ove
rall effectiveness of sight word research and its specific impact on i
ndividuals with moderate and severe disabilities. The review also iden
tified innovations in instructional strategies developed since prior r
eviews. A total of 48 studies was reviewed. Most studies were conducte
d with individuals with moderate mental retardation, and the overall m
ean IQ for research participants was 55; however, other disability gro
ups and levels were represented. Most studies were conducted with elem
entary school students, but a wide age range was represented, includin
g adults. A meta-analysis using the percentage of nonoverlapping data
points (PND) revealed that sight word instruction has been highly effe
ctive across individuals for people with moderate and severe disabilit
ies. New strategies have included giving instructive feedback for addi
tional learning, applying constant time delay in group formats, and us
ing more elaborate feedback procedures in a postresponse prompting for
mat. These innovations also included teaching sight words in the conte
xt of the community and in general education classes using either hete
rogeneous groups or peer tutoring. A persistent limitation of sight wo
rd research is the failure to measure functional use, which requires b
oth stimulus and response generalization. In the absence of this compr
ehension measure, sight word research may provide strong demonstration
s of teaching students to name words, but falls short of demonstrating
that students understand these words or apply them to their daily rou
tines.