Engl. transl.: Teachers' experiences of participating in a computer-based intervention study aimed at increasing students' reading ability

Several studies have focused on methods for developing the literacy skills of pupils with reading and writing difficulties. Hardly any of these studies, however, have looked at how participating teachers have experienced their participation in these efforts and what experiences of theirs have been affected by their participation in these studies. In one previous study (Fälth, Gustafson, Tjus, Heimann, & Svensson, 2013; Gustafson, Fälth, Svensson, Tjus & Heimann, 2011) the results showed that the students who during an intervention period received a combination of computer-based phonological and orthographic training made greater progress on tests that measure word decoding, phonological ability, and reading comprehension, compared to the other groups. The purpose of the present study is to explore teachers' experiences from participating in that intervention study from a teacher's perspective and to shed light on the quantitative results reported from it. Eighteen teachers were interviewed for this study. The results show that the fixed external structure that the intervention offered as well as the flexibility that existed within each intervention was perceived as positive and as a contributing factor for these students' reading successes. The results also show that the combination training benefited both the students' and teachers' motivation for the intervention. The conclusion is that a computer-based reading instruction intervention with a fixed framework but with a certain individualized content can be both effective and motivating and therefore can positively affect the interventions.

"The results show that the fixed external structure that the intervention offered as well as the flexibility that existed within each intervention was perceived as positive and as a contributing factor for these students' reading successes. The results also show that the combination training benefited both the students' and teachers' motivation for the intervention. The conclusion is that a computer-based reading instruction intervention with a fixed framework but with a certain individualized content can be both effective and motivating and therefore can positively affect the interventions." (Authors, in Abstract)