Effectiveness of computer-assisted virtual cognitive retraining in improving reading, dictation, and copying skills among school-going children

Abstract

A randomized control trial with repeated measures was used with 60 bilingual learners aged 8-10 years from English medium schools to evaluate the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted virtual Cognitive Retraining (CACR) on school-going children with average or above-average IQ and no identified learning impairment. Data collection was done virtually. The experimental group received CACR for five weeks, with 15 sessions of an hour’s duration. Learners in the control group did not receive any training. The dependent variables were evaluated by 15 minutes of reading, copying, and dictation test from their grade level English textbook and using the Language subtests of Diagnostic Test for Learning Disability (DTLD), a test for diagnosing learning disability validated in the Indian population. Results showed improvements in the learners’ academic skills, such as reading fluency, copying, and dictation. The outcome of this study has implications for using virtual computer-based interventions to enhance the academic skills of school-going children.