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Cosmic sounds: A game to support phonological awareness

Title skills for children with dyslexia

Brennan, Attracta; McDonagh, Tara; Dempsey, Mary;

Author(s) McAvoy, John;

Publication 2022
Date

Brennan, Attracta, McDonagh, Tara, Dempsey, Mary, &

McAvoy, John. (2022). Cosmic Sounds: A game to support
Publication Phonological Awareness skills for children with Dyslexia.
Information IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies,
doi:10.1109/TLT.2022.3170231

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Cosmic Sounds: A game to support

Phonological Awareness skills for children with
Dyslexia
A. Brennan, Member, IEEE, T. McDonagh, M. Dempsey, Member, IEEE and J. McAvoy

 Children with dyslexia tend to avoid reading activities, hence

Abstract—Studies show that reduced literacy skills can the inclusion of motivational components in the design of
negatively influence a child’s self-esteem and future career digital educational games are especially important [27]. Some
opportunities. Literacy is significantly affected when problems of these motivational components include; rewards (e.g.
exist understanding the phonological component or sound
money), levels (i.e. increasing difficulty), achievements (i.e.
structure of language i.e. phonological awareness. Children with
dyslexia in particular, experience difficulties in spelling and task completion), feedback and progress cues [7, 28, 29].
reading accuracy due to a deficit in this phonological component This prospective study contributes to the field of special
of language. To support children with dyslexia and reduced education by developing a suite of games to support
literacy skills, intervention programmes which focus on phonological awareness skills for children with dyslexia.
phonological awareness elements are recommended. Studies show Phonological awareness is critical to a child’s literacy
that game based learning (GBL) interventions can enhance
development, for if a child is unaware of the sound which the
learning for children with dyslexia. The purpose of this pilot study
was to partner with children with dyslexia aged between 9 to 12 component parts of a word make, then they will not be able to
years, to develop a game toolkit called Cosmic Sounds, to support pronounce that word correctly [30, 31].
the teaching of phonological awareness skills. The content for the In this pilot study, children with dyslexia aged 9-12 years and
Cosmic Sounds games was informed by a pedagogical expert in their teacher participated as co-designers in the development of
dyslexia. This pilot study addressed the following; “Can a toolkit Cosmic Sounds. Through the active participation of the children
of games, co-designed by children with dyslexia improve the
in design decisions, the authors gained an insight into their
teaching of phonological awareness skills?” Our findings showed
that by including children and their teacher as part of the design world view of game design and game mechanics.
team, they were more invested in using the games for learning.
Furthermore, when children with dyslexia played Cosmic Sounds, II. Background
there was a positive impact on their phonological awareness skills
The ability to read is critical for participation in modern life
progress whilst their engagement in learning also increased.
Index Terms— games, dyslexia, game based learning, [7]. Despite commonly held assumptions, learning to read is a
phonological awareness skills, co-design complex linguistic accomplishment and one of the most
complicated feats of the brain [32, 33].
Studies show that when a child’s reading and writing
I. INTRODUCTION difficulties ‘separate’ them from their more literate peers, their
disengagement from the learning process can result in reduced
G AME based learning (GBL) describes how gaming
principles are incorporated into educational content to
foster engagement, motivation and the learning
literacy skill [34, 35]. This can negatively impact the child’s
self-esteem and future career opportunities [4, 5, 7, 36, 37].
experience [7-10]. Studies show that game based learning However, reading and writing abilities can be improved through
(GBL) interventions can enhance learning for children with the use of compensation strategies e.g. auditory therapies,
dyslexia [13-15]. 10% of the population in literate countries language interventions and educational supports [38, 39].
are dyslexic, with 4% classified as severely dyslexic [17, 18]. Studies also show that educational games can benefit children
Children tend to have a high degree of digital and game with dyslexia by promoting engagement and enhancing the
literacy as games are an intrinsic part of their lives [6, 19-21]. learning process [4, 13-15, 34, 40, 41]. However, despite such
Game designers can leverage this digital literacy by involving interventions, completely successful dyslexia remediation has
a sample of the target audience as co-designers. Studies show not been fully achieved to date [42].
that when the target audience participates as game co- Dyslexia is one of the most presented of the learning
designers, they become even more motivated and engaged [20, disabilities [43], with approximately 70-80% of all learning
24, 25]. disabilities relating to it [4]. There is a 33-66% chance that a

A. Brennan, School of Computer Science, National University of Ireland, M. Dempsey, School of Engineering, National University of Ireland,
Galway, Ireland. Galway, Ireland.
T. McDonagh, Avaya, Galway, Ireland. J. McAvoy, School of Business, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
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child will develop dyslexia when there is a family history [4, 5,

44, 45]. Children presenting with dyslexia typically experience
difficulties in reading and spelling due to a deficit in the
phonological component of language [32, 45-48]. This
component deals with the separate sound elements and their Fig. 1. Timeline for the Cosmic Sounds Pilot Study.
respective meaning. Consequently, phonological awareness
TABLE I
was given a description of the pilot study, outlining its aims and
UNITS FOR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES research approach. This pilot study comprised 6 stages (Fig. 1).
Phonological Description
awareness skills
Identifying sounds Each individual phoneme must be identified in a
and symbols word, before one can read [4, 5]. A phoneme is A. Stage 1
the smallest distinct unit of sound in a language
[16]. As an example, bat has three distinct sounds: A semi-structured interview was held with a pedagogical
/b/ /a/ and /t/. expert from the Dyslexia Association of Ireland [48]. The goal
Syllabication The division of words into syllables e.g. un-done. of the interview was to gain a deeper insight into the
Letter blends Blending letter sounds is vital to reading [2]. phonological awareness skills that children with dyslexia aged
Letter blends refer to the joining of phonemes to
form words e.g. bat. between 9-12 years need to have mastered for their literacy
Consonant digraph Consonant digraphs prevent reading mistakes. A development. The semi-structured interview is a popular
consonant digraph refers to a pair of consonants method for data collection due to its versatility [54]. In
which make a single sound. As an example the
digraph /sh/ makes a single sound (e.g. shack). preparation for the interview, a literature review on dyslexia
Vowel digraph Vowel digraphs are essential for the correct and the design of digital games for children with dyslexia was
pronunciation and spelling of words. A vowel conducted. On the day of the interview, a pedagogocal expert
digraph refers to a pair of vowel letters is blended
to make a single sound (e.g. the /au/ digraph
certified by the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, was asked a
makes an aw sound). series of open-ended questions regarding their opinion of
Open vowels Vowels which have a long sound e.g. the /u/ in essential literacy skills and sample exercises for teaching
music. phonological awareness skills to children with dyslexia. The
Closed vowels Vowels which have a short sound e.g. the /e/ in
met. authors conducted the semi-structured interview in a manner
CVC words Consonant, vowel and a consonant (CVC) words which promoted dialogue.
are used as a starting point to learn how to
decompose words into individual sounds, before B. Stage 2
blending these sounds to make a word. As an
Twenty children (between the ages of nine and twelve
example, mat.
CVCe words The silent e rule in Consonant, vowel, consonant years) who have all been diagnosed with dyslexia participated
and a silent e (CVCe) words, states that when an e in this study. These children (19 of whom are boys) attended an
is at the end of a word, it changes the sound of the evening workshop run by the Dyslexic Association of Ireland
previous vowel. For example, in the word hat, the (DAI). This workshop helps dyslexic children improve their
/a/ is a closed vowel but when an /e/ is added to
the end of the word, it then becomes hate. reading, writing and spelling skills. The severity of the dyslexia
experienced by these children ranged greatly. All children were
skills are essential to a child’s literacy development [2, 12, 49,
informed that they could absent themselves from the pilot study
50]. The phonological awareness skills outlined in Table 1 are
at any time [55]. With teachers from the DAI in attendance, the
taught during first and second class in Irish primary schools authors discussed sample storylines and exercises. The children
[51].
Studies show that GBL is one of a number of tools which
can be used to enhance the learning process of children with
dyslexia especially within the context of; story, rewards, clear
game goals and objectives and feedback [15]. Furthermore, the
incorporation of task related activities in GBL assists in
attention control in children with Dyslexia [52]. GBL has many
advantages for children with dyslexia; from the manner in
which the content is presented (visual, text based and aural) to
the different learning situations, feedback, rewards, storyline
etc. which can motivate, and inspire them to learn [53].

III. METHODOLOGY
The research for this pilot study adopts an active research Fig. 2. Test 1: Identifying sounds [1].
instrumental case study approach. In an instrumental case were encouraged to engage through questions starting with
study, a particular case is used to attain a generalizable words such as “what, who, where, when or how” (p. 2960) [54].
understanding of a phenomenon [34]. In this pilot study, twenty
children with dyslexia and a pedagogical expert in dyslexia C. Stage 3
participated as co-designers of a toolkit of 11 games. Each child In Stage 3, the authors presented sample games. Given that
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children with dyslexia have literacy issues [56], a mixture of included in the games; consonant digraphs, identifying sounds,
participatory methods (i.e. story-telling, drawing, and audio) letter blends, CVC (Consonant, Vowel, Consonant) and CVCe
was used to present each mini-game and elicit feedback. (Consonant, Vowel, Consonant, silent e) words, syllabication,
Through participatory research, “the adult researcher is no vowel digraphs and open vowels and closed vowels. These
longer mimicking an ‘outside observer’ but aims to develop elements are suitable for children aged between 9-12 years.
rapport” (p. 7) [20]. After collecting the children’s feedback, They are also crucial to a child’s reading and spelling abilities
the authors conducted the first round of phonological awareness and cannot be avoided when learning English both orally and in
paper based tests. As these tests involved reading nonsense written form [5, 32, 57] [51].
words, each child had to be tested individually. These tests Cosmic Sounds is set in 2500. As the Earth has become over
comprised; Identifying sounds (Figure 2)(Test 1), Identifying polluted, the player lives in the Martian city of Avalon. They
symbols (Test 2), Blending sounds (Test 3), Consonant
TABLE 2
digraphs (Test 4), Vowel digraphs (Test 5), Syllabication (Test GAMES FOR PHONOLOGICAL SKILL: CONSONANT DIGRAPH
6), Open vowels (Test 7), Closed vowels (Test 8), Consonant, Teaching objective: If a child is unaware of the sound which a consonant
Vowel, Consonant (CVC) and Vowel, Consonant (VC) words digraph /sh/ makes, they will not be able to pronounce the word shark
correctly. Although the primary aim of the Building Site and Flying to the
(Test 9), Consonant, Vowel, Consonant, silent e (CVCe) words Desert games is to teach the sounds of common consonant digraphs,
(Test 10) and a combination of all elements/skills (Test 11). identifying sounds and symbols, blending and phoneme manipulation are
also taught.
D. Stage 4 Building Site game In the Building Site game, the
Stage 4 involved the development of the Cosmic Sounds player has to combine words using
building blocks. These words must
games to incorporate findings from literature and the feedback only contain the letters that are
from the children and the DAI pedagogical expert. The resultant written in the yellow blocks e.g. A,
games (Tables 2-7) also reflect the phonological awareness T, R, P, C, Sh, E and K. The player
can click the relevant block if they
elements as described by [5, 32, 57]. need to hear the phoneme made by
the associated letter/consonant
E. Stage 5 digraph. The player receives
The authors attended the weekend workshops whilst the feedback and a clue each time they
children played Cosmic Sounds. The DAI workshop was held spell the word incorrectly.
Feedback is considered to be one of
once a week for three weeks. The children were allocated thirty the factors which underpins the
minutes/workshop to play Cosmic Sounds. As they only had appeal of digital games [6].
ninety minutes of workshop time to play Cosmic Sounds, they Flying to the Desert game In the Flying to the Desert game,
the player is presented with a word
were offered a copy of the game to bring home. All twenty with a missing consonant digraph
children accepted. (e.g. –ark) and must fly through the
hoop of the correct consonant
F. Stage 6 combination e.g. sh. The use of
warm background colour such as
The children were re-tested on their phonological awareness
yellow positively affect reading
skills using the same set of paper based tests from Stage 3. 15 performance for children with
children were present. Of those, seven children had previously dyslexia [26].
played Cosmic Sounds at home outside the workshop. After the
TABLE 3
15 children had completed the phonological awareness re-tests, GAMES FOR PHONOLOGICAL SKILL: IDENTIFYING SOUNDS AND IDENTIFYING
the authors held two short focus group sessions comprising SYMBOLS
eight children in one session and seven in the other. Each focus Teaching objective: The ability to identify sounds and symbols is critical
in reading and spelling. If they lack these skills, they will not be able to
group session was approximately 15 minutes in duration [58]. identify words or comprehend reading [11, 12].
Consent had already been elicited in advance from the DAI and Whack-a-Dragon game In the Whack-a-Dragon game,
the children’s parents. This form of data collection is valid as each dragon is associated with a
“small focus groups are one of the best ways to obtain data from letter. The player has to select a
letter which makes the presented
children” (p. 150) [55]. Furthermore, the use of focus group sound, e.g. what letter makes the
sessions helps in the creation of “a safe peer environment for B sound in bush? The player has
children” (p. 2) [59]. The questions for the focus group sessions to then click the B dragon before
it returns to its hole.
were approved in advance by the DAI. Based on a Usability and Ants game In the Ants game, the ant makes
User Experience survey, these questions elicited the children’s the sound of a letter when it is
views of the Cosmic Sounds set of games. picked up. The player has to then
bring the ant to the box associated
with its letter..
IV. COSMIC SOUNDS TOOLKIT
The Cosmic Sounds toolkit is a narrative of 11 adventure
games to support the teaching of phonological awareness skills.
Under the guidance of the DAI pedagogical expert, the
following elements of phonological awareness skills were
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TABLE 4
GAME FOR PHONOLOGICAL SKILL: LETTER BLENDS TABLE 7
GAME FOR PHONOLOGICAL SKILL: OPEN AND CLOSED VOWELS
Teaching objective: To read a whole word, the child must be able to blend
individual sounds [2]. Similar to the Ants game, the player interacts with Teaching objective: Open vowels are vowels which have a long
the Mixing Potions game through movement, sight and sound. This level pronunciation i.e. the /u/ in pug is an open vowel. Closed vowels are vowels
of interactivity creates a more immersive environment leading to enhanced which have a short pronunciation e.g. the /i/ in win is a closed vowel. An
engagement and deeper learning [22, 23]. understanding of open and closed vowels aids in pronunciation [3].
Mixing Potions game In the Mixing Potions game, a word Spaceship Flying game In the Spaceship Flying game, a
having a missing letter is presented word having either open or closed
(e.g. s-reet). The player must fly the vowels is displayed (e.g. pug).
Zoomie to the capsules (each of When the player clicks a vortex,
which has a letter overhead) and different pronunciations of the word
correctly select the letter which is are played. The player must fly to
missing from the blend (e.g. t). The the vortex which correctly plays the
player can click on the incomplete word displayed. If the player flies
word to hear the full word, thereby through the correct hoop, more
allowing them to listen closely for hoops appear and the words change
the missing letter of the blend. single phonological awareness skill, additional phonological
TABLE 5 awareness skills are also taught to support the player in
GAME FOR PHONOLOGICAL SKILL: CVC/CVCE WORDS
Teaching objective: CVC and CVCe words teach dyslexic children how to generalising and transferring knowledge between activities [60-
decompose words into individual phonemes and then blend these sounds 63]. Furthermore, repetition provides the practice which a child
to make a word. CVCe words are also used to teach the silent e rule. The needs in order to master new skills, increase their confidence in
silent e rule says that when an e is at the end of a word, it changes the sound
of the previous vowel. The ability to pronounce and spell words correctly a topic and improve their speed and ability to retain information
shows the use of blending letters and the ability to identify individual [62, 63].
sounds. Cosmic Sounds has been designed so that the player is
Space Bike game In the Space Bike game, the player supported when they submit an incorrect answer/guess. Hints
is presented with two hoops. One
hoop when clicked, correctly plays encourage engagement and support deeper understanding [64].
the word presented on the screen As an example, in the Building Site game (relating to
(e.g. Cab). The other hoop when Consonant Digraphs), the first time a player spells the word
clicked, plays a very similar but ‘ash’ incorrectly, the clue they receive is the word itself
different word (e.g. Cap). The goal
of this game is for the player to sounded out. If the player spells the word incorrectly a second
drive the space bike through the time, they receive the first letter of the word (i.e. ‘a’). If they
hoop which plays the correct word. spell the word incorrectly a third time, they receive the next
Flying to Earth game In the Earth game, the player must letter of the word (i.e. ‘s’). If they spell it incorrectly a third
identify which of the vortices’
audio (when clicked) correctly time, they are presented with the word. On average there are
matches the CVC word presented five clues given for each word, this varies depending on the size
on the screen (e.g. pug). of the word. The number of words to be spelt per digraph varies
from four words to eight. All results are stored in a database.

V. CO-DESIGN OF THE COSMIC SOUNDS GAMES

“Despite a growing interest in player-centred methods for
TABLE 6 serious games, little is known on how to achieve this goal in
GAME FOR PHONOLOGICAL SKILL: LETTER BLENDS
practice when prospective users are children” (p. 1)[52]. In this
Teaching objective: To read a whole word, the child must be able to blend
individual sounds [2]. Similar to the Ants game, the player interacts with pilot study, oral feedback and visual data were collected from
the Mixing Potions game through movement, sight and sound. This level the children to facilitate co-design and to promote engagement
of interactivity creates a more immersive environment leading to enhanced in design decisions. “Although visual data may be difficult to
engagement and deeper learning [22, 23].
Mixing Potions game In the Mixing Potions game, a word analyse, if paired with spoken feedback from children (often
having a missing letter is presented recorded), such data can convey in-depth information. Visual
(e.g. s-reet). The player must fly the methods can be used with children of all ages” (p. 9) [20].
Zoomie to the capsules (each of
which has a letter overhead) and
Furthermore, studies show that many children with dyslexia
correctly select the letter which is have a tendency to be visual learners [53]. The children’s
missing from the blend (e.g. t). The feedback is categorised as follows:
player can click on the incomplete
word to hear the full word, thereby
 Genre: 70% (n=20) of the children preferred open
allowing them to listen closely for world games. Cosmic Sounds is an open world game.
the missing letter of the blend.  Background: The following storylines were presented;
live with a helper known as a Zoomie, who follows the player (1) a Cats and Dogs game where the player takes on
in a mini-spaceship. As Cosmic Sounds is an open world game, the role of a kitten/puppy and has to collect bones/cat
treats; (2) a Space game where the player lives on Mars
the player is able to roam freely throughout Avalon as they
and has to complete flying missions and an Adventure
complete their missions, each of which is associated with a
game, where the player explores a town. 60% (n=20)
mini-game (Tables 2-7). of the children voted for the Space Game, with the
While the primary purpose of each game is to focus on a
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 Graphics: “It should look realistic” [Male child, aged

12 years]. A game’s visual style can influence
whether or not the player (especially a dyslexic
player) will want to play the game [53, 70, 71].
Cosmic Sounds has realistic 3D graphics.
 Mechanics: The games which were explicitly
Fig. 3. Zoomie 1. requested by the children included; Destroying Space
Invaders (Vowel digraphs) and Collecting Gold from
Whales (Identifying sounds and symbols). Other
games were adapted and revised based on the
children’s feedback. “The whale should say the word
when you click it” [Male child, aged 9 years]. When
a game object (e.g. dragon) is clicked, the player
hears the associated/respective word/sound. The
original Whack-a-Mole game was adapted based on
Fig. 4. Zoomie 2. feedback. “Change it from a mole to something else
like a dragon” [Male child, aged 11 years]. A number
of the children recommended the inclusion of “Bad
aliens” [Male child, aged 10 years] whilst others
requested explosions. “You have to explode other
spaceships” [Male child, aged 9 years]. Include
“whales and sharks” [Male child, aged 10 years].
Whilst some games contain explosions, they were
still suitable for children over the age of 7years based
on the Pan European Game Information guidelines
Fig. 5. Zoomie 3.
[72]. One child asked for “No blood” [Female child,
aged 11 years], whilst another requested that there be
Cats and Dogs and Adventure games receiving 30% “No babyish games” [Male child, aged 12 years].
and 10% of the votes respectively. Requests which were not fulfilled included; “Can you
 Rewards: The use of currency as a reward for buy guns?” [Male child, aged 11 years]. Requests for
completing exercises was suggested by all of the celebrities and cartoon characters were also not
children. “Get money for doing the mini games” [Male included. “Can Shane Long, Neymar, Robbie Keane
child, aged 11 years]. Once the player successfully and Ronaldo be in it?” [Male child, aged 10 years],
completes each mini-game, they are awarded with “I want batman in it” [Male child, aged 9 years].
star-dust, the currency in Cosmic Sounds. Studies
show that “receiving virtual items in the game for VI. RESULTS
successful completion of a task can show children
their progress and achievement. Experiencing success Table 8 presents the summary results of Stages 3 and 6 before
this way can boost children's self-esteem and pride” and after playing Cosmic Sounds. During Stage 6, five of the
(p. 307) [21]. Rewards can also result in a children who took part in Stage 3 were absent. Note: all 15
modification of behaviours and mind-sets [66]. children played the games independently. Prior to playing
Zoomie: The children asked for a helper character Cosmic Sounds, the children’s main problem areas were
which they called a Zoomie. Studies show that helper consonant and vowel digraphs (Tests 4 and 5), open vowels
characters can positively affect engagement and (Test 7) and Consonant, Vowel, Consonant, silent e (CVCe)
comprehension [67, 68]. Collaboratively, three words (Test 10). To a lesser degree, the children struggled with
drawings were created (Fig.s 3-5). 35% (n=20) of the syllabication (Test 6) and blending sounds (Test 3). If children
children selected Zoomie 1, 35% selected Zoomie 2 with dyslexia have difficulty with consonant and vowel
and 30% choose Zoomie 3. “I think it’s cute” [Female digraphs and fail to understand that these digraphs make one
child, aged 11 years] in response to Zoomie 1. “You sound, the learning of new words becomes even more difficult
will most likely see something like that in a game” [73, 74]. According to the Primary English curriculum, at the
[Male child, aged 9 years] in response to Zoomie 2. age of eight years (this equates to second class in an Irish
“It’s funny” [Male child, aged 9 years] in response to primary school) children are expected to be able to identify
Zoomie 3. As there was no outright winner, the sounds, perform syllabication, understand letter blends and
Zoomie design incorporated a mix of features.
consonant and vowel digraphs as well as identify when a vowel
 Text: The children requested “Bigger letters and
is an open or a closed vowel [51]. Failure to be able to complete
words” [Male child, aged 9 years]. As children with
these tasks typically results in problems with reading and
dyslexia have different learning requirements, game
spelling. CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) and CVCe
design guidelines for children with dyslexia include
the use of cream or soft pastel colours [4, 69] [15]; a (consonant, vowel, consonant and silent e) words are
font size of 14pts [4] and a dark font colour. recommended in the teaching of blending and decoding
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phonemes [75]. By the age of nine years, children in primary subjects and/or enhance their knowledge of the English
school are no longer learning the basics of reading. Instead, they language.
are using their reading and writing skills in order to learn other

TABLE 8
RESULTS OF THE PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS TESTS BEFORE AND AFTER PLAYING COSMIC SOUNDS
Tests

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

#Qs 16 10 24 24 24 18 24 24 96 24 24

Mean 16 10 11.6 10.05 8.5 8.4 9.9 16.3 70.55 9.3 10.3
3:

Median 16 10 11 8 8 7.5 9 16.5 74.5 9 6.5

BEFORE
STAGE

S. Dev 0 0 7.39 6.06 5.86 4.63 6.14 5.60 22.9 7.12 6.91

Mean 16 0 11.8 11.66 9.33 9.66 11.06 16.46 73.266 10.46 10.8
:
6

Median 16 10 10 8 11 9 10 17 86 7 10
AFTER
STAGE

S. Dev 0 9 6.8 6.42 6.0 4.5 6.4 5.95 23.03 7.3 6.39

The overall change in the number of correct answers after

playing Cosmic Sounds is shown in Table 9. The final column
entitled δ, shows the change between Stages 3 and 6.

TABLE 9
DIFFERENCES IN THE RESULTS BEFORE AND AFTER PLAYING COSMIC SOUNDS (STAGE 6 RESULTS – STAGE 3 RESULTS)

Tests

δ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
#Qs 16 10 24 24 24 18 24 24 96 24 24

Child 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 9
Child 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 4 0 8

Child 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 6
Child 4 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 7
Child 5 0 0 0 2 3 0 2 3 4 2 2 18

Child 6 0 0 1 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 3 11
Child 7* 0 0 -1 0 3 -1 3 0 0 2 0 6
Child 8 0 0 2 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 7

Child 9 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2
Child 10 0 0 -1 2 0 1 -1 0 0 0 3 4
Child 11 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 5

Child 12 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 17
Child 13 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Child 14 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 4 1 2 12
Child 15 0 0 0 3 2 -1 0 0 0 0 0 4

Sum of δ 0 0 10 15 17 13 9 8 15 13 13 113
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TABLE 10
RESULTS AFTER COMPARISON OF THE Δ FOR THOSE WHO PLAYED COSMIC SOUNDS AT HOME AND THOSE WHO DID NOT
Tests - δ

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 δ

Played the Child 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 9

game at home Child 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 6

and at the DAI Child 4 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 7

workshops Child 5 0 0 0 2 3 0 2 3 4 2 2 18

Child 8 0 0 2 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 7

Child 12 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 17

Child 15 0 0 0 3 2 -1 0 0 0 0 0 4

Mean 0 0 .85 1.71 1.57 .57 .71 1.14 1.57 .86 .71 68

SD 0 0 1.07 1.49 1.27 1.13 .95 1.21 1.61 1.07 .95

Tests - δ

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 δ

Played the Child 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 4 0 8

game for 30 Child 6 0 0 1 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 3 11

mins/week for Child 7 0 0 -1 0 3 -1 3 0 0 2 0 6

3 weeks Child 9 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2

Child 10 0 0 -1 2 0 1 -1 0 0 0 3 4

Child 11 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 5

Child 13 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Child 14 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 4 1 2 12

Mean 0 0 .5 .375 .75 1.125 .5 0 .5 .875 1 45

SD 0 0 1.41 1.41 1.16 1.89 1.19 0 1.41 1.46 1.4

In Stage 3, Child 5 achieved the lowest scores (100 in total). (Test 7) also saw an improvement in the number of correct
However, they answered 18 additional correct answers in Stage answers. As can be seen in Table 8, all tests showed an increase
6. Test 5 (vowel digraphs) saw the greatest improvement after in the number of correct answers after the children had played
playing Cosmic Sounds. The predominant problem areas from Cosmic Sounds. Despite this, the children still experienced the
Stage 3 (Tests 4, 5 and 10) showed improvements after playing most difficulty with Test 4 (Consonant digraphs) and Test 10
Cosmic Sounds with vowel digraphs (Test 5) displaying the (Consonant, Vowel, Consonant, silent e (CVCe) words). In
greatest overall improvement in the number of correct answers order to prevent reading mistakes, it is important for children to
(Table 9). However, it still remains a significant problem with know consonant digraphs and CVC/CVCe words.
the children. Issues with vowel digraphs typically tend to be the
root of most reading and spelling errors [73, 74]. Open vowels
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Table 10 presents a comparison of the change in the numbers there is a greater likelihood that as players, they will form
of correct answers from those who played Cosmic Sounds at linkages with these characters [6].While the results of this pilot
home and those who did not. As expected, those who played study showed that the Cosmic Sounds toolkit of co-designed
Cosmic Sounds at home have 68 additional correct answers games resulted in increased engagement (in line with findings
(with a mean of 9.71). This compares to 45 additional correct from [52]) and a positive impact on the children’s phonological
answers (with a mean of 5.62) for those who only played awareness skills, specifically in the areas of Consonant
Cosmic Sounds during the DAI workshops. Between Stages 3- digraphs, Vowel digraphs, Syllabication, Consonant, Vowel,
6, the DAI teachers did not include workshop content on the Consonant, silent e (CVCe) words and a combination of all
phonological awareness skills covered by Cosmic Sounds. elements/skills, this study has limitations such as the sample
The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was applied to the pre and size. The findings of this study are based on a semi-structured
post results from Tests 3 – 11 (Stage 3 and Stage 6), to check interview with a DAI pedagogical expert and fifteen children
whether there was any statistical significance for Cosmic (although twenty children participated as co-designers). While
Sounds as a support for Phonological Awareness skills. As no generalizations can be derived from the accruing results,
there was no difference in the results of Tests 1 and 2, these expanding the study’s scope and the scale and duration of game
specific tests were excluded. The results of the Wilcoxon play, will improve the reliability and validity of the findings in
Signed-Rank tests are as follows; future research. Furthermore, as this is a pilot study, there is
 Test 3: p-value of 0.0543959; there was no only one level of difficulty in the games. Future refinements to
statistical significance in the results of Test 3 the suite of games in Cosmic Sounds will take into
(Blending sounds) after Cosmic Sounds. consideration the literacy skills and abilities of the individual
 Test 4: p-value of 0.0378985; there was a statistical players.
significance in the results of Test 4 (Consonant
digraphs) after playing Cosmic Sounds.
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
 Test 5: p-value of 0.0132131; there was a statistical
significance in the results of Test 5 (Vowel digraphs) As a neuro-biologically based learning disability, dyslexia is
after playing Cosmic Sounds. frequently “characterised by difficulties in literacy acquisition
 Test 6: p value of 0.0403374; there was a statistical affecting reading, writing and spelling” (p. 5) [56]. As
significance in the results of Test 6 (Syllabication) phonological awareness skills are necessary in the identification
after playing Cosmic Sounds. and manipulation of the units of oral language (i.e. words and
 Test 7: p value of 0.0578313; there was no statistical syllables), they are critical to a child’s reading development
significance in the results of Test 7 (Open vowels) [49]. Studies show that effective early intervention programmes
after playing Cosmic Sounds. which have been designed to augment literacy development
 Test 8: p value of 0.0975125; there was no statistical also help children ‘catch up’ with their peers [76]. As part of
significance in the results of Test 8 (Closed vowels) this prospective study, the children collaborated with the
after playing Cosmic Sounds. authors to develop a toolkit of games to support the teaching of
 Test 9: p value of 0.05676; there was no statistical phonological awareness skills to children with dyslexia aged
significance in the results of Test 9 (Consonant, between 9 to 12 years. By participating as co-designers, the
Vowel, Consonant (CVC) and Vowel, Consonant children expressed their world view of game design and game
(VC) words) after playing Cosmic Sounds. mechanics.
 Test 10: p value of 0.03103; there was a statistical The pedagogical underpinning of these games was informed
significance in the results of Test 10 (Consonant, by literature and a DAI pedagogical expert. As co-designers,
Vowel, Consonant, silent e (CVCe) words) after the feedback from the children with dyslexia, concerning the
playing Cosmic Sounds. character design, setting and the game mechanics was
 Test 11: p value of 0.03351; there was a statistical incorporated into Cosmic Sounds. This resulted in participant
significance in the results of Test 11 (a combination ‘buy-in’ from the outset. The resultant Cosmic Sounds games
of all elements/skills) after playing Cosmic Sounds. employed a game based learning approach and positively
impacted the players’ phonological awareness skills. After
VII. DISCUSSION
playing Cosmic Sounds, the children improved in all of the
After collating and anlaysing the children’s feedback during phonological areas being tested, excluding identifying sounds
the focus group sessions; 100% (n=15) of the children said they and symbols (as all questions were answered correctly during
liked the Cosmic Sounds games. Of those, 53% (n=15) said that both testing stages).
they really ‘loved’ the games. 87.5% (n=8) of these children The areas whose improvement was statistically significant
had played Cosmic Sounds at home. All children (n=15) agreed were; Consonant digraphs, Vowel digraphs, Syllabication,
that being involved in the game design increased their Consonant, Vowel, Consonant, silent e (CVCe) words and a
engagement. 100% of the children (n=15) said that they liked combination of all elements/skills. Through GBL, children have
that their ideas were incorporated into Cosmic Sounds. They the possibility to overcome difficulties in learning basic reading
especially liked that they had design decision control over the subskills e.g. phonological (letter-sound) decoding, recognizing
location, games and the Zoomie character design. When a word accurately and poor spelling. The .Cosmic Sounds
children have been involved in the design of game characters, games which have been developed as part of this pilot study
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could be part of a larger toolkit to enhance phonological exemptions/npcpp-submission-to-des-for-irish-exemption-

2019.pdf.
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Mary Dempsey was awarded received the

B. E. and M.Eng.Sc. degrees in engineering
from the National University of Ireland,
Galway in 1991 and 1993 respectively.
She worked as part of a start-team of 8
personnel for an American Multi-National
Enterprise. From 1994 to 2017, she was a
Lecturer at NUI Galway. Since 2017, she
has been a Senior Lecturer and Vice Dean
in the College of Science and Engineering. Her research
interests are operational excellence in health systems.
Mary was awarded the National Lecturer of the Year from the
Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in 2012 and NUI
Galway’s President’s prize for Teaching in 2020. She is also an
elected member of Academic Council (2018-2021).

John McAvoy holds a degree in

Engineering from National University
of Ireland Galway, Ireland, an MSc in
Computer Science and a PhD in
Information Systems from University
College Cork, Ireland.
He currently works as a lecturer in
Business Information Systems in the Cork University Business
School, Ireland. His research primarily focuses on software
development teams and his work has been published in the
leading Information Systems journals and conferences.
Prior to lecturing, John had a variety of roles in industry,
ranging from systems administration in the aerospace industry
to project management of software development teams in
telecommunications organisations.
Dr McAvoy has published in a variety of journals and
conferences in the Information Systems field, concentrating on
project management, Agile Software Development, and small
ISD teams.