Facility with written linguistic and mathematical symbols is essential for success at all levels of education in a Western culture. At the same time, it is clear that developing skill with symbols is difficult for children, and for some that difficulty continues throughout the life span. This research examines why many children find symbol manipulation arduous (difficulties in symbol grounding) and tests a theory-based intervention (grounding-in-action) for overcoming this difficulty. For symbols such as words to be meaningful, they need to be connected to experiences, that is, grounded. For example, an infant's mother says the word "bottle" while presenting her infant with a real bottle to hold and manipulate. When learning to read, however, the connection between written words and the experience is broken for two reasons: Children must focus on the difficult task of translating the written words into sounds, and the objects and actions to which the words refer are not in the reading environment. Grounding-in-action is a two-part procedure for teaching children how to ground written words in their perceptions and actions. In the physical manipulation (PM) stage, children manipulate toys to correspond to the sentences they are reading. For example, when reading about activities on a farm, the child has before her a toy barn, tractor, animals, etc. As she reads a sentence such as "The farmer drives the tractor to the barn" the child uses the toys to simulate the sentence. This activity forces the child to consider the relation between the toys (the ground) and the words and syntax. After several iterations of PM, the child is introduced to imagined manipulation (IM). In this stage, children are taught to imagine manipulating the toys while reading. Previous work has demonstrated very large positive effects of grounding-in-action when working with individuals, small groups, and in the classroom. The current project will investigate the theoretical basis for the success of grounding-in-action, its extension to reading on computers (children manipulate pictures on the computer screen), and implementation in the classroom. Approximately 25 first- to third-grade teachers will be randomly assigned to classes that implement grounding-in-action or a control condition. Grounding-in-action is expected to produce considerable benefits as measured by weekly comprehension tests given to the children. In addition, the children who receive grounding-in-action should show greater gains on a standardized reading test compared to children in the control condition.

The scientific importance of the work derives from investigating the basis of language and reading comprehension. A widely accepted view is that comprehension results from the manipulation of symbols using abstract rules (syntax). This project investigates the alternative hypothesis that communication requires that linguistic symbols contact relevant experiences, and it is the fitting together of those experiences that produces comprehension. To the extent that grounding-in-action is successful in the classroom, it may have an impact on society by introducing effective procedures for teaching reading comprehension, thereby producing a tremendous boost in children's ability to learn from and enjoy reading.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS)
Application #
0744105
Program Officer
Peter M. Vishton
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2008-05-01
Budget End
2011-04-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$344,987
Indirect Cost
Name
Arizona State University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Tempe
State
AZ
Country
United States
Zip Code
85281