This blog post is part of our Research Article of the Month series. For this month, we highlight “Using Conceptual Change Theory to Help Preservice Teachers Understand Dyslexia,” an article written by Tiffany Peltier—a featured speaker at the Iowa Science of Reading Summit. Important words related to research are bolded, and definitions of these terms are included at the end of the article in the “Terms to Know” section. To learn more about Peltier and the summit, visit the summit webpage.

Key Takeaways

• Reading an informative text about dyslexia can help preservice teachers correct their misconceptions about the disability.
• A text grounded in conceptual change theory may be more effective at promoting conceptual change than a traditional informative text. 

What Did the Researchers Examine?

Despite agreement about the nature of dyslexia among experts across various fields, misconceptions persist among preservice teachers, in-service teachers, faculty in teacher training colleges, and the general public. These misconceptions may lead teachers to use instructional approaches that are not aligned with science. Correcting these misconceptions is an important step in improving teachers’ instructional approaches and, in turn, student outcomes. 

Conceptual change refers to the process of changing misconceptions to better align with the knowledge of experts in a given field. Conceptual change theory provides a framework for understanding this process. 

This theory underpins several interventions designed to change misconceptions. One such intervention is refutation texts. These texts are designed to facilitate conceptual change through the following elements:

• Explicitly describing misconceptions
• Stating why they are considered inaccurate
• Providing an alternative concept that is accepted by experts in the discipline
• Providing evidence and reasoning as to why experts accept the alternative concept 

Refutation texts explicitly target misconceptions—a unique feature which distinguishes them from traditional informative texts that are not grounded in conceptual change theory.

The researchers of this study aimed to determine whether a refutation text grounded in conceptual change theory could help change preservice teachers’ understanding of dyslexia by addressing the following questions:

• Does a researcher-designed refutation text facilitate greater conceptual change among preservice teachers than a traditional informative text about dyslexia?
• Are these effects maintained over time?

What Did the Researchers Find? 

The refutation text facilitated more conceptual change than the traditional informative text about dyslexia, and these effects were maintained over time.

What Are the Implications of These Findings?

Refutation texts grounded in conceptual change theory are believed to be effective because they cause a reader to become dissatisfied with their current conception while offering an alternative conception to replace the misconception. They are designed to promote message consideration by being credible, coherent, and plausible. Additionally, they support engagement and motivation by demonstrating the utility of the new conception.

Various stakeholders can use the elements of conceptual change theory to challenge misconceptions around dyslexia. For example, school administrators and higher education faculty can consider these elements when designing instructional materials and professional development for teachers. Similarly, teachers can use these elements when discussing dyslexia with students’ caregivers. 

How Did the Researchers Find This?

The researchers used an experimental design. Participants included 97 preservice teachers enrolled in education coursework. 

First, participants completed a pretest (i.e., the Dyslexia Knowledge Questionnaire) that assessed their knowledge of dyslexia. Participants were then randomly assigned to the control group which read a traditional informative text about dyslexia (i.e., the Dyslexia Basics text written by the International Dyslexia Association) or the experimental group which read a research-designed refutation text. After reading the text, participants completed the Dyslexia Knowledge Questionnaire again as a posttest to assess how their conception of dyslexia changed after reading the text. Participants took the delayed posttest four weeks later in order to determine whether they had maintained their changed conceptions over time. 

The researchers conducted a t-test for each group independently to determine whether each text produced conceptual change. 

The researchers used an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine which text facilitated more conceptual change and whether the effects were maintained over time. 

What Are the Limitations of This Paper?

The Dyslexia Knowledge Questionnaire used in the pretest and posttest was developed by the researcher, and it has not yet been tested for validity and reliability. Thus, more testing with this questionnaire is needed in order to determine whether it is an accurate and reliable measure of one’s understanding of dyslexia. Additionally, participants from this study included preservice teachers enrolled at the same university. Future studies could repeat the study with other groups, such as in-service teachers or higher education faculty, to determine whether this refutation text is effective with a broader range of stakeholders.

Terms to Know

• Experimental design: Experimental research aims to determine whether a certain treatment influences a measurable outcome—for example, whether a certain instructional method influences students’ reading comprehension scores. To do this, participants are divided into two groups: an experimental group, which receives the treatment, and a control group, which does not receive the treatment. In an experimental study, these groups are randomly assigned, meaning each participant has equal probability of being in either the treatment or the control group. Both groups are tested before (pretest) and after (posttest) the treatment, and their results are compared.
• Delayed posttest: In an experimental study, participants take a posttest to determine how they respond to a certain treatment. Posttests can be administered immediately after exposure to a treatment, or they can be administered after a determined period of time (several days, weeks, or months). The latter case is known as a delayed posttest, and it demonstrates whether the effects of a treatment are maintained over time.
• t-test: A t-test is a statistical test used to determine whether the difference between the responses of two groups is statistically significant. For example, in an experimental study, a researcher may use a t-test to determine whether participants’ responses to a posttest are significantly different from their responses to the pretest. 
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA): Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a statistical test that compares the means of two or more groups by looking at variance. Specifically, ANOVA compares the amount of variation between the groups to the amount of variation within each group. If the variation between groups is substantially larger than the variation within groups, it suggests that the group means are likely different. For example, if two groups of students receive different reading interventions and then take the same assessment, an ANOVA could be used to determine whether both groups performed differently as a result of the intervention. 
• Validity: In research, validity refers to the extent to which a test or measurement tool measures what it intends to measure.
• Reliability: Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A measure has high reliability if it produces similar results each time it is administered. 

References

Peltier, T.K., Heddy, B.C. & Peltier, C. (2020). Using conceptual change theory to help preservice teachers understand dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 70, 62–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-020-00192-z