Choose Your Own Adventure: Interactive E-Books to Improve Word Knowledge and Comprehension Skills
(2403.02496)Abstract
The purpose of this feasibility study was to examine the potential impact of reading digital interactive e-books on essential skills that support reading comprehension with third-fifth grade students. Students read two e-Books that taught word learning and comprehension monitoring strategies in the service of learning difficult vocabulary and targeted science concepts about hurricanes. We investigated whether specific comprehension strategies including word learning and strategies that supported general reading comprehension, summarization, and question generation, show promise of effectiveness in building vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skills in the e-Books. Students were assigned to read one of three versions of each of the e-Books, each version implemented one strategy. The books employed a choose-your-adventure format with embedded comprehension questions that provided students with immediate feedback on their responses. Paired samples t-tests were run to examine pre-to-post differences in learning the targeted vocabulary and science concepts taught in both e-Books. For both e-Books, students demonstrated significant gains in word learning and on the targeted hurricane concepts. Additionally, Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) revealed that no one strategy was more associated with larger gains than the other. Performance on the embedded questions in the books was also associated with greater posttest outcomes for both e-Books. This work discusses important considerations for implementation and future development of e-books that can enhance student engagement and improve reading comprehension.
Overview
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The study assesses the impact of Word Knowledge e-books (WKe-Books) on improving vocabulary and science concept comprehension among third to fifth graders through interactive reading experiences.
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E-books offer dynamic learning experiences compared to print books, with features like text-to-speech and built-in definitions that support literacy skills development.
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The research found significant gains in word knowledge and understanding of hurricane concepts without dependency on students' baseline literacy skills, indicating the broad applicability of WKe-Books.
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Future directions include enhancing e-books with interactive features and comprehension strategies, and integrating artificial intelligence for personalized learning experiences.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interactive E-Books on Reading Comprehension and Word Learning in Elementary Students
Introduction
The transition from traditional to digital learning environments has accelerated the integration of electronic books (e-books) into educational settings. E-books, accessible via various devices like Kindles, tablets, and laptops, have emerged as tools with potential to augment students' engagement and learning outcomes. Despite debates over the "screen inferiority" effect, recent research highlights digital book features that significantly enhance vocabulary acquisition and comprehension skills. This study, focusing on Word Knowledge e-books (WKe-Books) designed for third to fifth graders, probes the effectiveness of incorporating comprehension strategies—word learning, summarization, and question generation—into e-books to facilitate vocabulary and concept learning, particularly regarding science concepts like hurricanes.
E-Books as Instructional Tools
E-books present a dynamic alternative to static print books, offering unique features that can support literacy skills development. These affordances include improved accessibility, engaging and personalized learning experiences, and specific literacy support, such as text-to-speech and built-in definitions. Additionally, e-books can contribute to monitoring students’ reading skill development through embedded user logs and reporting features. The ongoing increase in e-book utilization in educational contexts underscores the significance of harnessing electronic resources for literacy enhancement.
Development and Implementation of WKe-Books
The study introduced two WKe-Books, employing a "choose-your-own-adventure" format to engage students in interactive reading experiences while teaching specific comprehension strategies. The first book, focusing on general comprehension strategies, laid the groundwork for the introduction of deeper text-meaning strategies—summarization and question generation—in the second book, which expanded the focus to include scientific concept learning about hurricanes. The implementation involved assigning different versions of the e-books, each emphasizing one of the designated comprehension strategies, to classroom groups in a counterbalanced manner. Pre- and post-tests assessed the effectiveness of these strategies in improving word knowledge and concept understanding among the participating students.
Study Results
The research identified significant post-test gains in both word knowledge and hurricane concept understanding across all e-book versions, with no single strategy outperforming the others. This suggests that the specific comprehension strategy employed might not be as crucial as the interactive and engaging nature of the e-book format itself in enhancing learning outcomes. The study also explored the impact of students' baseline literacy skills on their learning gains, finding no strong dependency, which implies the potential broad applicability of WKe-Books across diverse learner groups.
Teacher Perceptions and Feasibility Considerations
Feedback from teachers highlighted the WKe-Books' engagement and educational value, though they noted that small group instruction might further enhance effectiveness. The main obstacle to implementation was identified as time constraints within the existing curriculum framework, pointing to the need for integrating e-book usage more seamlessly into standard educational programming.
Conclusion and Future Directions
The study demonstrated that interactive e-books could support significant learning gains in vocabulary and reading comprehension among elementary students. The findings suggest directions for future digital book development, emphasizing interactive features and comprehension strategy integration. Moreover, leveraging artificial intelligence and natural language processing could offer more personalized feedback and support within e-books, potentially amplifying their educational impact. The positive teacher feedback and identified implementation challenges underscore the importance of aligning digital learning tools with existing educational structures to maximize their utility and effectiveness in enhancing student literacy outcomes.
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