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Interventions for students with reading difficulties in Grades 4-12: A systematic review and meta-analysis is a new study that’s open access.

Like much education research, it’s written in dense academic language which makes it challenging for a layperson to take away practice advice.

What I’ve started doing with these kinds of studies that a pretty useless to teachers because of how it’s written is ask ChatGPT to summarize it.  Then, after I read its summary, I use it as a guide to review the study again to make sure the summary is correct.

Here’s what I asked ChatGPT to do:

Here’s the full study. Please review this study and summarize VERY SUCCINCTLY what it found in terms of which reading interventions were most and least effective in helping students with reading challenges. In addition, provide specific examples of what the most effective strategies look like in the classroom.

Here’s its response (it also created a one-page PDF summary), and the study’s results seem to echo previous research you can find at The Best Posts On Reading Strategies & Comprehension – Help Me Find More!):

What the study found (bottom line)

MOST effective interventions

1. Vocabulary instruction
   – Largest effects of any reading outcome (g ≈ 0.42)
   – Especially strong when teacher-delivered and classroom-based

2. Comprehension strategy instruction
   – Consistently positive, meaningful effects (g ≈ 0.18–0.19)

3. Multicomponent interventions
   – Effective when they intentionally integrate comprehension, vocabulary, and word study

LEAST effective interventions

• Fluency-only interventions (especially repeated reading)
  – Very small effects (g ≈ 0.08)
  – Sometimes no benefit at all for older struggling readers

• Spelling-only and phonological processing-only interventions
  – Non-significant effects

Key conclusion:
For Grades 4–12, meaning-focused instruction (vocabulary + comprehension) works better than isolated skill drills.

What the MOST effective instruction looked like in classrooms

High-impact vocabulary instruction

(from the highest-quality studies)

• Explicit teaching of academic words

  • Teacher models meanings with clear definitions

  • Words embedded in curriculum texts

• Multiple, deep encounters with words

  • Use in discussion, writing, partner talk

  • Review across days and weeks

• Morphological instruction

  • Teaching roots, prefixes, suffixes to unlock new words

• Teacher-led, whole-class routines

  • Not worksheets or word lists

Classroom example

Teacher introduces 6 academic words before reading a science text, models meanings, discusses examples/non-examples, revisits words during reading, and requires students to use them in discussion and short writing tasks.

High-impact comprehension strategy instruction

(from the strongest comprehension studies)

• Explicit strategy instruction, not “read and answer questions”

• Common strategies included:

  • Identifying main ideas

  • Inference instruction

  • Text structure awareness

  • Paraphrasing

  • Self-monitoring comprehension

• Often delivered through:

  • Small-group discussion

  • Collaborative Strategic Reading

  • Graphic organizers

  • Student-led dialogue

Classroom example

Students read an informational text in small groups, preview headings, discuss predictions, identify text structure, paraphrase sections using a graphic organizer, and monitor understanding through guided discussion.

What did not work well

• Repeated oral reading without meaning work

• Fluency drills disconnected from comprehension

• Isolated subskills taught outside real reading tasks

One-sentence takeaway for educators

For older students with reading difficulties, teaching vocabulary deeply and teaching students how to think while reading is far more effective than practicing speed, spelling, or isolated skills alone.

     

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One of the high points of recent years for me has been when a group of former students take me out to lunch annually.  They don’t see each other much in the interim, so it’s like a mini-reunion each year.

I love it!

It’s a diverse group, and they go to a variety of different colleges.

I asked them about Artificial Intelligence – their use of it and how their classmates use it.

All of them said that nobody ever reads instructor’s materials anymore – “they’re too long and too boring.”

They said that they, and all but about ten percent of their classmates – just feed the materials into AI to get summaries.

I was a little surprised by that but, after thinking about it, probably shouldn’t have been.  I mean, it’s not like textbook authors put much effort into making their books very engaging.    The only textbooks I’ve ever seen that try to make themselves engaging are ones specifically geared towards English Language Learners, and they have to bend over backwards to make their texts accessible.  It’s sort of why I always say that “Good ELL teaching is better teaching for everybody.”

Textbook publishers should take note – no one is going to read the same old stuff anymore.  It’s a new day.

Until they get that message, I guess that’s where some AI tools could come in handy (see Google’s New “Learn Your Way” Could Be Very Useful In Making Boring Textbooks More Accessible).

Just as this could be a wake-up call for textbook publishers, it should probably also be one for college instructors (as it is for high school teachers – see A REALLY BAD THING ABOUT AI IS THAT IT FORCES US TEACHERS TO SPEND A TON OF TIME RETHINKING OUR LESSONS. I GUESS THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD THING ABOUT IT, TOO).

Interestingly, my former students told me that they don’t use AI much for their writing.  However, they graduated three years ago just as AI began to go mainstream.  So, they developed good writing skills during their K-12 career.

I think it’s very realistic for K-12 educators to teach with AI guardrails (see The “Best” Strategies For Creating AI-Resistant Assignments and A Beginning List Of Different Types Of Guidance Educators Are Giving Students About AI Use In Their Classes), but I suspect a fair number are not receiving the support and training they need to do just that.

I’ve got to say that if I was a high school student, and I was in a class that I could get away with having AI do a lot of my writing, I suspect I would do it so I could spend more time with my friends.

     

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7 ways to learn faster and improve your memory, backed by neuroscience is a very short and accessible from Fast Company.

It talks about interleaving, retrieval practice and much more.

If I was still teaching, I’d have students read it and respond to this prompt:

From the article, choose one way of learning highlighted by the author that you might be interested in implementing on your own. Why does the author say that way can help people learn? To what extent do you agree with what the author is saying about that way of learning? To support your opinion, be sure to include specific examples drawn from your own experience, your observations of others, or any of your reading. End your response by sharing one action you can take to implement the way of learning that you chose.

     

I’ve begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists.

Also, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources.

Here are this week’s picks:

Dan Quinn’s unusual exercise brought the Commanders closer — and helped them surprise the NFL is from The Athletic. I’m adding it to SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES ON SUPPORTING & VALUING STUDENTS’ IDENTITIES.

 

Caitlin Clark said the most important part of leadership is relationships. We asked an expert is from The Athletic. I’m adding it to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES ON LEARNING ABOUT LEADERSHIP – SHARE YOUR OWN.

Orion Kerkering’s error in the MLB playoffs was brutal, but his response was admirable is from The Athletic. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Students (& The Rest Of Us) Learn The Concept Of Not Blaming Others.

I’m adding this video to Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control:

 

     

This infographic is from Visual Capitalist.