Computer-Assisted Instruction to Enhance the Reading Comprehension of Struggling Readers: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This literature review synthesizes the effects of computer-assisted instruction to enhance the reading comprehension of students with disabilities and struggling readers from 1985–2009. First, it addresses research that investigates the impact on comprehension when students are presented with computerized versus printed reading material. Second, it reviews work using computerized readers to enhance comprehension by compensating for reading difficulties. Finally, it considers research on a variety of tools used to help students gain meaning from the text with which they are engaged, often through Web-linked hypertext. Computer-based tools offer students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties interlinked support for reading. Intervention results are mixed, with many showing positive effects but not consistently so. Future research is needed to gauge the overall effectiveness of hypermedia supports on comprehension.