Early Research of The Fernald Method
The 1921 Journal of Educational Research contains Fernald’s foundational study of four boys who learn to spell and read by her kinesthetic method. This method influenced other researchers working at the same time in the field of reading difficulties. Notable examples include Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham. The article in the Journal of Educational Research, “The Effect of Kinaesthetic Factors in the Development of Word Recognition in the Case of Non-Readers” (Fernald & Keller, p. 355), outlines five phases of the kinesthetic method. With an emphasis on student choice, focal words are generated by the students during the first stage. Each word is introduced by the teacher who writes it on the chalkboard. The student repeats the word while tracing it on the board. When the student is confident that he knows the word, he attempts to write it while saying each syllable. Successful word study is followed by phase two where sentences are created in a similar fashion. The third step incorporates a student-selected book where words from specific paragraphs are isolated for reading. In the fourth phase, the student is asked to read whole phrases from the paragraphs. Finally, the student is encouraged to do silent reading on his own for the fifth phase. After some time all four boys successfully learned to read well enough to perform at grade level. Follow-ups with the participants reflected the maintenance of reading levels and for some avid readers, additional leaps in reading proficiency. Though not asserting widespread generalizability, Fernald and Keller enumerate several findings. One conclusion of interest today describes each student learning by analogy, demonstrating the “ability to pronounce new words if they resemble words he has already learned” (p. 375). This is a compensatory strategy currently used. Warren's 1977 dissertation study with children exhibiting mild forms of reading problems demonstrated 147% and 77% superior word recognition and comprehension respectively by Fernald tracing compared to Orton-Gillingham phonics, although O-G was 10% more effective in word decoding. (See: Warren, Linda M. 1977. Efficacy of the Fernald and Gillingham Multisensory Reading Approaches: A Comparative Study and Investigation of Related Variables. Unpublished doctoral dissertation in special education, University of Alabama. Education Library no. D378 W253e 1977, 1 003 138 816).
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