Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement
Background. Research has suggested that exposure to reading can act positively on vocabulary development and other cognitive skills required in the early-school years. This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study that analyses the relationship between exposure to reading aloud to ch...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hindawi Limited
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Education Research International |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/8868497 |
| _version_ | 1797357966236581888 |
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| author | Federico Batini Benedetta D’Autilia Giulia Barbisoni Giulia Toti |
| author_facet | Federico Batini Benedetta D’Autilia Giulia Barbisoni Giulia Toti |
| author_sort | Federico Batini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Research has suggested that exposure to reading can act positively on vocabulary development and other cognitive skills required in the early-school years. This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study that analyses the relationship between exposure to reading aloud to children and the development of basic cognitive skills, which are essential from the first days of school for the acquisition of all subsequent learning. This research has two objectives: first, to highlight the benefits of reading aloud in the first years of schooling, with particular reference to cognitive skills; second, to propose the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition (CAS-2) as an instrument able to monitor and quantify the cognitive effects of this practice. Methods. This research involved a sample of 152 children from primary schools in Italy. After thorough teacher training on the proposed method of reading aloud, the teachers undertook daily reading training for approximately 3 months. The children in the experimental and control groups underwent ex ante and ex post individual administration of the CAS-2 test. A mixed model with a 2 × 2 design was used to verify the effect of the training. Results. With regard to the first aim, this study confirmed the hypotheses by highlighting the benefits of reading aloud training. The results on the Full CAS-2 Scale show significant increases in the experimental group compared to the control group. Furthermore, the improvement of the experimental group is evident in all the sub-dimensions investigated (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive). Conclusions. These results confirm the effect of reading aloud on cognitive skills development and the sensitivity of the CAS-2 as an instrument to detect its effects. Future research could explore the use of the CAS-2 battery in student populations of higher school grades, as well as observe the stability of the benefits over time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:53:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-419b8a98fa7c409588180c968449edd1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2090-4010 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:53:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Hindawi Limited |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Research International |
| spelling | doaj.art-419b8a98fa7c409588180c968449edd12024-01-11T00:00:27ZengHindawi LimitedEducation Research International2090-40102024-01-01202410.1155/2024/8868497Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills ImprovementFederico Batini0Benedetta D’Autilia1Giulia Barbisoni2Giulia Toti3Department of Philosophy, Social ScienceDepartment of Philosophy, Social ScienceDepartment of Philosophy, Social ScienceDepartment of Philosophy, Social ScienceBackground. Research has suggested that exposure to reading can act positively on vocabulary development and other cognitive skills required in the early-school years. This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study that analyses the relationship between exposure to reading aloud to children and the development of basic cognitive skills, which are essential from the first days of school for the acquisition of all subsequent learning. This research has two objectives: first, to highlight the benefits of reading aloud in the first years of schooling, with particular reference to cognitive skills; second, to propose the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition (CAS-2) as an instrument able to monitor and quantify the cognitive effects of this practice. Methods. This research involved a sample of 152 children from primary schools in Italy. After thorough teacher training on the proposed method of reading aloud, the teachers undertook daily reading training for approximately 3 months. The children in the experimental and control groups underwent ex ante and ex post individual administration of the CAS-2 test. A mixed model with a 2 × 2 design was used to verify the effect of the training. Results. With regard to the first aim, this study confirmed the hypotheses by highlighting the benefits of reading aloud training. The results on the Full CAS-2 Scale show significant increases in the experimental group compared to the control group. Furthermore, the improvement of the experimental group is evident in all the sub-dimensions investigated (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive). Conclusions. These results confirm the effect of reading aloud on cognitive skills development and the sensitivity of the CAS-2 as an instrument to detect its effects. Future research could explore the use of the CAS-2 battery in student populations of higher school grades, as well as observe the stability of the benefits over time.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/8868497 |
| spellingShingle | Federico Batini Benedetta D’Autilia Giulia Barbisoni Giulia Toti Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement Education Research International |
| title | Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement |
| title_full | Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement |
| title_fullStr | Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement |
| title_short | Reading Aloud and the Use of CAS-2 Battery to Assess Cognitive Skills Improvement |
| title_sort | reading aloud and the use of cas 2 battery to assess cognitive skills improvement |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/8868497 |
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