Meeting the Diverse Needs of Community College Students: Using Computer Assisted Instruction to Improve Reading Skills

Abstract

Approximately two-thirds of community college students nationwide are considered academically underprepared and required to enroll in at least one developmental education course (Anderson & Horn, 2012; Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010; Levin & Colcagno, 2008). Unfortunately, researchers have found that enrollment in developmental classes often has adverse effects on community college students (Bailey et al., 2010; Grubb, 2001). Bailey et al. (2010) and Grubb (2001) explained that enrolling in developmental courses is time consuming and often results in delay or prevents the completion of a degree. With a significant number of underprepared community college students, it is important to develop effective methodologies to help students gain the skills required to be successful in college and future employment. It is equally important to determine how the student experience impacts academic progress and motivation to succeed in developmental programs and continue in college credit courses. Developmental reading courses provide the gateway to college-level courses, therefore it is important to investigate effective, time efficient reading interventions that provide students with the basic reading skills in a private and self-directed environment. Peterson, Burke, and Segura (1999) suggested that struggling readers have a desire for privacy, and ability for self-pacing. They want to be motivated, and receive immediate feedback. All of these are components of computer-based instruction. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of research on the use of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) to teach developmental reading at the community college level (Bueno-Alastuey & Perez, 2014; Nguyen, Fichten, King, Barile, Mimouni, Havel, & Asuncion, 2013; Vassiliou, 2011). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the computer-based reading intervention, MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach (MVRC), on the reading and spelling achievement of community college students, and to explore whether or not students' perceptions and attitudes changed after participation in this program. Findings demonstrated statistically significant results in both reading and spelling and an increase in the enjoyment of reading.