Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study
The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an increase in the reading fluency and accuracy of three lower performing third-graders after participating in a canine-assisted read-aloud program, as well as an increase in the relaxation level during and after the program. This study employe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/8/474 |
| _version_ | 1819168901379915776 |
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| author | Suk-Chun Fung |
| author_facet | Suk-Chun Fung |
| author_sort | Suk-Chun Fung |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an increase in the reading fluency and accuracy of three lower performing third-graders after participating in a canine-assisted read-aloud program, as well as an increase in the relaxation level during and after the program. This study employed a pre-test-post-test design to test the hypotheses that gains would be made in both reading fluency and reading accuracy upon completion of the program. The three grade 3 students were assessed by the Chinese Character Reading Test and the Reading Fluency Test. During the intervention, they read to a trained canine in the presence of a handler. Three days after the completion of the seven 20-min interventions, the participants were assessed by the two standardized reading tests a second time. Heart rate variability (HRV) responses to the pre-test, the intervention and the post-test were recorded. The three grade 3 students attained a higher level of relaxation while reading to the dog and increased their reading fluency after the reading sessions. These results provided preliminary evidence that the canine-assisted read-aloud program can increase the reading performance of children with lower performance. Implications for future research and reading programs will be discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T19:10:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8099eb4c0dd5478a90b589ab50c7c02e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T19:10:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-8099eb4c0dd5478a90b589ab50c7c02e2022-12-21T18:15:40ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152019-07-019847410.3390/ani9080474ani9080474Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot StudySuk-Chun Fung0Department of Special Education and Counselling, Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong KongThe aim of this study was to determine whether there is an increase in the reading fluency and accuracy of three lower performing third-graders after participating in a canine-assisted read-aloud program, as well as an increase in the relaxation level during and after the program. This study employed a pre-test-post-test design to test the hypotheses that gains would be made in both reading fluency and reading accuracy upon completion of the program. The three grade 3 students were assessed by the Chinese Character Reading Test and the Reading Fluency Test. During the intervention, they read to a trained canine in the presence of a handler. Three days after the completion of the seven 20-min interventions, the participants were assessed by the two standardized reading tests a second time. Heart rate variability (HRV) responses to the pre-test, the intervention and the post-test were recorded. The three grade 3 students attained a higher level of relaxation while reading to the dog and increased their reading fluency after the reading sessions. These results provided preliminary evidence that the canine-assisted read-aloud program can increase the reading performance of children with lower performance. Implications for future research and reading programs will be discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/8/474animal-assisted educationcanine-assisted read-aloudheart rate variabilityreading accuracyreading fluency |
| spellingShingle | Suk-Chun Fung Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study Animals animal-assisted education canine-assisted read-aloud heart rate variability reading accuracy reading fluency |
| title | Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study |
| title_full | Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study |
| title_short | Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study |
| title_sort | effect of a canine assisted read aloud intervention on reading ability and physiological response a pilot study |
| topic | animal-assisted education canine-assisted read-aloud heart rate variability reading accuracy reading fluency |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/8/474 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sukchunfung effectofacanineassistedreadaloudinterventiononreadingabilityandphysiologicalresponseapilotstudy |