Comparison The Effectiveness of Executive Function Training and Cognitive Games Intervention on Reading Performance in Elementary Students

One of the most common problems among students is reading problems, which has received considerable research attention. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of executive function training and intervention based on cognitive games on the reading performance in elementary students. The research method is quasi-experimental using a pre-test - post-test design with a control group. Accordingly, among the students studying in the primary school of Bandar Abbas, Iran in 2021, 45 elementary students with learning disabilities were selected and randomly assigned to 3 groups of 15 people (two experimental groups and one control group). The reading performance questionnaire was used to collect data in two stages of pre-test and post-test. Cognitive game-based and executive function interventions was implemented in the first and second experimental groups during seven 90-minutes sessions and ten 50-minutes sessions, one session per week. Control group participants did not receive any intervention during this period. The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed that both executive function intervention and cognitive game-based intervention had a significant effect on students' reading performance with reading learning disability (p <.05). In addition, according to the findings, the executive functions training had a greater effect on reading performance compared to the intervention based on cognitive games (p <.05). Considering that the intervention of executive functions is more effective than cognitive games, it can be concluded that the components of executive functions such as working memory, planning, and mental organization are very closely related to reading skills and thus can affect reading performance.