The Effect of a Tablet-Mediated Flashcard Intervention on the Acquisition and Maintenance of Sight-Word Phrases

Although many studies have shown the efficacy of using flashcard interventions to increase sight-word reading, very few have investigated ways to increase sight-phrase reading. In the current study, a concurrent multiple-baseline across students design was used to examine the effects of a tablet-based flashcard intervention on the acquisition of sight phrases for three second-grade students. Students completed a series of stimulus-response-stimulus-response learning trials of previously unknown phrases using an iPad flashcard program. Results demonstrated that all three students quickly increased the percentage of acquired phrases to 100% and were able to maintain the acquired phrase knowledge a month later. Discussion focuses on the implications of using tablet-based interventions and future directions for validating the sight-phrase fluency intervention.