The effectiveness of a method for the reduction of b, d, p and q reversals.

Abstract

Although many approaches have been contrived to reduce the incidence of letter reversals in printing, the proof of their effectiveness has often been compromised by lapses in the careful consideration of several vital factors. These are: excessive application of unimodal treatment, inadequate measurement of effectiveness, and improper statistical procedures in experimental analyses. This study attempts to rectify these deficiencies. A trial is given to an augmentative treatment consisting of the use of verbal concepts for the orientation of letters and their parts with base and margin lines on the page. A "Proneness for the Reversal b, d, p and q Measure" is devised as a criterion assessment. A pretest-posttest design is used, with the random assignment of classrooms to conditions, and ANCOVA the main method of appraisal. The first semester, first grade students in the ten classrooms involved in this study received a uniform backdrop of D'Nealian instruction in printing. Layered over this was no more than single application of verbal concept-based training. Classrooms were assigned to control, treatment applied to the b and d only, and treatment additionally of p and q. All instruction was done by experienced first grade teachers within their regular classroom. Additionally, the attitudes, practices and beliefs of the teachers pertinent to letter reversals were surveyed. The results revealed that treatment of all four letters proved to be superior to treatment of only one pair, and control was superior to any treatment, with the appraisal of the entirety of the data. Thereafter, a separate consideration of three a posteriori segmentations of the aggregate of data was made. Individuals were grouped on the basis of scoring within, below, and above ${1\over2}$ standard deviation of the pretest mean. Treatment of both letter pairs influenced a slight, but insignificant benefit for the lowest scoring students on the pretest. D'Nealian instruction alone was otherwise generally superior. The use of consistent augmentation applied to a select target population is advocated.