Browsing by Subject "lukeminen"

Background and aims: Aphasia is commonly associated with deficits in all linguistic modalities.In mild, chronic aphasia syndromes difficulties in reading can interfere with tasks of everyday life. The rehabilitation of reading difficulties caused by a general linguistic deficit is closely related to the rehabilitation of spoken language, especially in the early stages. Partly due to the limited resources granted to speech therapy, rehabilitation seldom proceeds to reading in its own right. Research has shown that rehabilitation of reading as such can however be beneficial to more general linguistic abilities. In this study, the quality and responsiveness to treatment of a sublexical reading deficit related to mild, chronic conduction aphasia were examined. The aim was to investigate, whether a sublexical therapy method and in particular text-level reading practice were effective in enhancing the fluency of reading or more general linguistic abilities. Methods: A 37-year-old man with mild, chronic conduction aphasia and resulting phonological alexia participated in the study. The intervention consisted of 17 training sessions (total of40 hours) of speech therapy, during which independent practice of repetitive reading that lasted for 11 weeks was started. Therapy consisted of phonological and word-level repetition and naming tasks combining the auditive and written modalities. Data consisted of linguistic tasks collected before, during and after the practice period. The effects of the intervention were evaluated by examining oral reading speed and accuracy of connected text and nonwords. More general phonological and linguistic abilities were examined through auditive repetition and auditive memory tasks. Results and discussion: The reading deficit reflected a more general linguistic difficulty that seemed to originate in auditive processing. Difficulties in reading seemed to arise from weakened phonological activation of word forms. No clinically significant changes were observed after the rehabilitation period. Still, positive changes were noted that imply the rehabilitation can be efficient when carried out through a longer period. Reading speed increased in nonword reading task, but speed of reading connected text increased steadily through the whole study period. A positive change in oral reading speed was observed in first readings of practice texts that might imply a more consistent enhancement during a longer training interval. No rehabilitative effect was apparent in auditive repetition or auditive memory, even though individual tasks improved. The results of this case study imply that repetitive reading ought to be further investigated as a reading rehabilitation method for persons with mild phonological reading deficits. Considering more general phonological rehabilitation, systematic methods could enhance the effectiveness of practice.

Objectives. The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to assess the methodological quality of intervention studies examining the effect of digital learning games on the reading skills of children with or at risk of reading difficulties. Learning games can serve as a tool to motivate and engage in learning when a child needs more time and repetition to learn. Learning games are utilized in teaching, but the results for their effectiveness vary. The target groups for special needs education are small and heterogeneous in their skills, which makes it challenging to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions. Methods. The dissertation was carried out as a systematic literature review using PRISMA guidelines. The studies to be evaluated were retrieved from the databases ERIC (Proquest), PsycINFO (Ovid), SCOPUS (Elsevier), Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) and Web of Science. The studies selected for review (n = 13) were published between years 2011 and 2022, were peer-reviewed and English-language intervention studies. The target group was children with reading difficulties or at a risk of reading difficulties, and the intervention sought to influence reading skills through digital learning games. The evaluation was carried out based on the criteria of the EPHPP framework. Results and conclusions. The majority (8) of the intervention studies were rated as strong, three as moderate and two as weak. For the study design, all were assessed as strong for evaluation, while for selection bias and blinding, all studies were rated as only moderate. For confounders, all but one was rated as moderate. Weak ratings were given to only a few studies for data collection methods and withdrawals and dropouts. Based on the results of this study, there is the most room for improvement in the reporting of these two parts to ensure the reliability of the studies.

For years there has been concern for children who are reading less in their spare time and whose reading skills are worsening. Earlier research has proven that reading groups can have positive effects for classroom climate, reading motivation and pupils to become a lifelong readers. Social interaction and pupils’ own choices support children’s reading motivation. The most common definition for reading group is that small group of students reads a book, plan timetable for their reading and discuss about the book together. In this study the aim was to find out how pupils define reading group, what they think about it and how reading group can support pupils’ reading motivation. Study gives the voice for pupils and provides valuable information about reading groups that have not been studied a lot before in Finland. This thesis is part of Lukuklaani research project which is funded by Suomen kulttuurirahasto and Kopiosto. Participants of this study included 37 pupils from fifth and sixth grade. They participated Lukuklaani’s ’Narrit’ reading group for three weeks in 2019. Data of this study was collected with online survey in the beginning and in the end of the reading group. The survey provided data about pupils’ reading habits and thoughts about different parts of reading group. Also 12 students were interviewed in groups of four. Data analysis method was qualitative content analysis. Earlier research supported results while they were analysed. The pupils in this study had positive thoughts about reading group and reading already in the beginning of the study. Students liked working with the group and choosing books by themselves. Group and book choices supported reading in the reading group. Pupils wanted to have reading group also the next time when they read a book at school because in reading group pupils got to discuss with others. They also thought that it was a nice learning method. This study shows that reading group can motivate pupils to read if the book choices are succesful and working in the group goes without problems.

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli kartoittaa ja kehittää modernia opiskeluympäristöä hyödyntävää kirjallisuuspiiritoimintaa ja sitä kautta edistää oppilaiden mahdollisuuksia osallistua elämyksellistä lukemista painottavaan kirjallisuuspiiriin sekä vahvistaa heidän kiinnostustaan tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttöön. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin lukuvuonna 1997 1998 kyselyin ja haastatteluin sekä observoimalla lähiopetustilanteita ja virtuaaliryhmien sähköpostiviestintää. Lisäksi käytettiin valmiita dokumentteja ja asiakirjoja. Tutkimusjoukkona oli Matildaan osallistuneet 4.-6. luokan oppilaat kuudelta Espoon ala-asteelta sekä neljä tutoria, koordinaattori ja joitakin luokanopettajia Matilda-kouluista. Tutkimusongelmat suuntautuivat pääasiassa matildalaisten kokemuksiin opiskelusta modernissa opiskeluympäristössä, suhteesta tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan sekä siihen, mitä uutta lukemiseen ja kirjallisuuteen liittyvää he kertoivat oppineensa ja kokeneensa. Koska tutkimuskohteen kaltaisia kokeiluita, joissa yhdistyy kirjallisuuspiiritoiminta ja moderni tieto- ja viestintätekniikka, ei ainakaan Suomessa ole aikaisemmin ollut, päädyttiin tutkimusmetodologian valinnassa kvalitatiiviseen otteeseen. Tutkimusote noudatti tapaustutkimuksen ja kehittämistutkimuksen periaatteita. Vaikka tutkimus oli menetelmältään kvalitatiivinen, aineistoa käsiteltiin myös kvantifioiden, mutta yleistyksiä tehtiin ainoastaan tapauksen suuntaan. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että opiskelu oli oppilaille positiivinen kokemus. He pitivät erityisesti etäopiskelun itsenäisestä työskentelystä ja lähiopetuspäivistä. Heidän suhtautumisensa tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan muuttui positiivisemmaksi ja heidän taitonsa tieto- ja viestintätekniikan käyttäjinä kehittyivät. Oppilaat saivat positiivisia lukukokemuksia, heidän lukualueensa laajeni ja osa heistä kertoi lukutyylinsä muutoksista ja syvenemisestä. Oppilaat kokivat ongelmallisimmaksi hankkeen sekavan tutorointi-systeemin, kiireisen aikataulun sekä tietokoneisiin ja -verkkoon liittyvät ongelmat.

Object: The object of this study is to examine whether children's proficiency in different aspects of reading after first grade can be predicted by a set of basic skills assessed before first grade and background attributes independently and jointly. Reading proficiency is examined as three separate skills: reading accuracy, reading speed and reading comprehension. The goal is to find out which skills and factors predict these different aspects of reading and whether they are the same for all three. This in turn will help in recognizing the children in need of early support. It will also help in selecting the focus of these early interventions. Previously, several different and partially conflicting theories about the causes of reading difficulties have been proposed. Examining reading from different angles might help solve this controversy. Methods: The participants were 152 native Finnish speaking children of whom 70 had a familial risk for dyslexia. At pre-school age (mean age: 6 years 5 months) the children were evaluated for their verbal IQ, phonological skills, rapid naming skills, working memory and letter naming. Information about background attributes, such as the socioeconomic status of the family, was gathered with questionnaires. Reading skills were assessed after first grade. Children were categorized into two groups in accordance with their performance in different reading skills. Using logistic regression analysis, the information about background and the basic skills assessed at pre-school age were used to predict who performed worse than average at a specific reading skill. Results and conclusions: The three aspects of reading were predicted to some extent by the same set of skills and attributes. Common predictors of all three aspects in unison were verbal IQ, rapid naming, phonological skills, letter naming and working memory. Familial risk of reading difficulty was included in predicting reading speed and accuracy, but for reading comprehension the length of the parents' education was more essential. Those who were younger and had poorer phonological and verbal reasoning skills had greater odds of reading less accurately. Those at familial risk of dyslexia, slow at naming and those with poorer phonological skills had greater odds of being slow readers. Those with poorer verbal reasoning skills, phonological skills and working memory skills and boys had greater odds of being poor at reading comprehension. These results agree in part with previous findings. They also bring new insights into the various skills and factors that are connected to different aspects of reading and can be directly applied into practice.

Aims. The aim of this study was to find out what kind of discourses related to literacy and reading occur in the writings of Helsingin Sanomat newspaper in January-February of 2022 when there was an intensive discussion about literacy. The literacy of the Finnish youth is still excellent, but the national PISA reports show a rapid increase of weak readers and a decrease in reading habits, especially among boys. The publication chain was initiated by an essay by Silvia Hosseini published in Helsingin Sanomat in January 2022. The essay discussed the differentiation and deterioration of literacy and its effect on surviving everyday life. The essay also commented on measures taken to promote literacy and offered solutions to stop the decline in literacy. This study examined how literacy and reading were portrayed in the writings published after the essay. What was discussed and what was overlooked. Methods. The study was based on the framework of social constructionism and the method was discourse analysis. The data consisted of 36 publications from Helsingin Sanomat. The material was compiled from the online archive of Helsingin Sanomat using the keywords “lukutaito” (literacy) and “lukeminen” (reading). Content analysis techniques were used in the analysis of the data. Results and discussion. The constructed discourses were reading is life, reading is beneficial, civic skill, reading requires alternatives, need for measures, measures are done, competition with digitalization, new era and differentiated literacy. Through the means of discourse analysis, it was possible to structure and identify different dimensions within the diverse public opinion discussion. Literacy was given significance as a key factor in the Finnish society from both an individual and communal perspective. The data contained concern, but the perspectives varied among discourses. The trend of declining literacy was seen as a problem that needed to be solved. The approaches to solutions differed and were partly contradictory across different discourse types. Digitalization was seen as a cause of illiteracy, but also as a solution. The differentiation of literacy caused almost unanimous concern.

The importance of high reading literacy is well known: it can be seen as the basis for learning, and reading literacy affects ones life for long after primary school. Worry about the loss of Finnish peoples reading literacy and motivation to read has been a topic of much conversation in the media. Latest PISA-scores indicate that the difference in reading literacy between genders as well as good and weaker readers is growing. Previous studies have shown that reading motivation is strongly linked to how much children read during their free time. According to studies self-motivated reading correlates to better reading literacy. In this study I will investigate primary school teachers perceptions of childrens reading literacy and motivation to read. I looked at teachers perceptions of childrens reading literacy today, challenges in reading, attitudes towards reading and differences in gender in reading and reading literacy. I clarified the factors which teachers believe affect childrens development in reading literacy. Furthermore I wanted to clarify how reading motivation appears in children and what role motivation has on reading literacys development. The study was conducted as a qualitative case study. The case consisted of 3 primary school teachers of a school in Espoo. Research material was collected through theme interviews and was analyzed through theory-driven content analysis. The results showed that teachers believe childrens reading literacy today varies widely, which brings challenges to teaching. Another challenge teachers face is finding enjoyable reading material and a general lack of interest towards reading. On the other hand, teachers at this particular school in Espoo did not perceive gender differences in literacy and reading ability to be present as strongly as previous studies have shown. The teachers had however noticed that girls in general read more during their free time than boys. Teachers believe that the support of the school and family play a strong role in the development of reading literacy. Teachers also believe that reading experiences in early childhood influenced reading motivation, which in turn is related to self-motivated reading. Commitment to reading was seen as a vital factor in developing reading literacy and in turn affecting success at school. In summary, according to teachers understanding, reading literacy, reading motivation, and self- motivated reading are strongly correlated and supporting of each other.

Aims. The decline in reading skills and reading habits of Finnish children and adolescents has been a concern in Finnish society. The decline in reading skills has been noticed in PISA-surveys. It is worrying that particularly the number of adolescents with poor reading skills has been increasing. Previous research has shown that reading skills correlate with reading motivation and reading habits. The aim of this study was to investigate how a classroom teacher can promote children’s reading motivation. Also the aim was to examine the ways in which reading is displayed in learning environment and in what ways does the teacher use materials received from Lukuklaani research project. This study creates an in-depth look at one classroom teacher and examines the ways how that teacher promotes children’s reading motivation. Methods. This study was conducted as a qualitative case study as part of Lukuklaani research project. The participant was a fourth-grade teacher who is experienced, thinks reading is important, is interested in motivating children to read and tries to promote reading motivation by using different methods. The data of this study was collected by interviewing and observing the teacher and taking photographs of school environment. The data was collected during two days in spring semester of 2019. Theory-based content analysis was used to analyse the data. The theoretical framework used in this study consisted of motivation studies and self-determination theory. Results and conclusions. This study showed that the teacher in this study used diverse methods to promote children’s reading motivation. The used methods satisfied basic human needs presented in self-determination theory. There were many different reading-related things displayed in school environment. Books received from Lukuklaani-project were available for students to read and teachers had also created different tasks and assignments related to those books. A guide to reading circles that was received from Lukuklaani was little used. Based on this study teacher can promote children’s reading motivation by being a model of a reader, supporting children’s reading skill development, providing children chances to make their own choices and organizing social activities related to reading.

Aims. Finnish children and youth are succeeding in the international reading tests quite well but especially amount of weak readers has increased. In addition, the commitment of Finnish children and young people to reading and reading as a hobby have decreased. In particular, reading of entire books has declined. Some students read whole books in their mother tongue and literature classes, but it is not self-evident that it happens in every teachers’ class. In addition to reading the literature, the use of the library services is also one of the goals of the National Core Curriculum for Basic education. The National Core Curriculum does not define how often teachers should visit some kind of library with their students. The aim of this study is to find out what library services mother tongue and literature teachers in Basic education use in their teaching or preparation of it and how often they use those. Additionally, the aim is to find out why mother tongue and literature teachers can not use library services as often as they would like to. I will also find solutions to increase their use of library services. Methods. This study is based on the data on the Lukuklaani research project. I used the answers of 884 teachers from primary schools and 407 answers from mother tongue and literature teachers from secondary schools. In their answers to the survey, they described their use of library services in their teaching or preparation of it. The data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis and also described by quantitative methods. Results and conclusions. This study showed that teachers working in primary schools and secondary school mother tongue and literature teachers cannot use the library services as often as they would like to. The barriers to use library services are concrete and related to public libraries, book buses and school or classroom libraries. Those were also the most used library services by the teachers in this study. The barriers to use library services could be demolished by putting enough resources to both public and school libraries.

Aims. The earlier research indicates that young people are reading less during their spare time. Due to the fact that young people are reading less on their spare time the importance of school is highlighted as a tool to increase the amount of reading. It is important that the teachers are using as inspiring methods as possible when choosing the books to be read. The aim of this study was to find out how the literature was selected in the subject of Finnish language and literature. Furthermore, how the teachers explained their criteria of choosing the book. Methods. The research was conducted as a part of the upper comprehensive school “Lukuklaani-project”. The research material was part of a survey that was directed to upper comprehensive school teachers in spring 2019. The questionnaire comprised of 54 questions, out of two questions were examined in this research. 354 Finnish language and literature teachers had answered the questions. The research was performed by using qualitative methodology and using elements of source-based content analysis. In addition, quantitative methodology was used when presenting the findings in figures. Results and conclusions. This research shows that approx. 75 % of the teachers gave at least some freedom of choice to the students to choose the book. However, almost one quarter of the teachers didn’t let the students to be part of the selection process, instead the teacher selected the book. The selection criteria was argued in many different ways. The most common selection criteria was justified by the wish to examine the book in a specific way. This argument was used by approximately one fifth of the teachers. The most common argument, but only approximately one third, was expressing the view that took into consideration increasing the students reading motivation. Furthermore, the research shows that the teacher should more often consider more thoroughly the selection criteria of books to be read, in order to support the students reading motivation in a better way.