DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1461-0.ch007
ABSTRACT
This study builds on previous research regarding digital texts and learner engagement to provide in- sights on the impact of digital and paper texts on first-grade student learning. Three formats of the same STEM children’s book included (1) a paper version read by the teacher; (2) a digital version read as a class and facilitated by the teacher; and (3) a digital version read independently by individual students, without the teacher. Mixed methods analysis involved a pre- and post-reading worksheet assessing stu- dent comprehension and concept retention, followed by teacher interviews. Quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrated the value of paper texts read with teacher guidance to highlight key concepts and sustain student focus. Teacher interviews also noted the value of digital texts to engage student interest, suggesting there is a pedagogical place for paper and digital texts in the classroom. Findings highlight the complexity of learner engagement and need for thoughtful pedagogies.
How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support
Student Understanding
Laura B. Liu
Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Kayla Pride
Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Payten Ewing
Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA Maycie Benedict
Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, USA
125 How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding
INTRODUCTION
Many schools are introducing electronic devices into elementary classrooms as early as kindergarten. An emerging goal of for teachers is to ensure students are comprehending and retaining concepts gleaned through digital text. Yet, recent media and research publications suggest this to be a complex question. For instance, a 2012 study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, which conducts children’s digital media research, found 3- to 6-year-olds who read interactive e-books with their parents recalled
“significantly fewer narrative details than children who read the print version of the same story” (Heitin, 2019). This is one of many studies highlighting the significance of examining the impact of our digital evolution, specifically regarding student comprehension and retention of key concepts gleaned through digital texts. Our research responds to this pressing societal question by exploring the learning impact of using paper and digital formats of the same text teaching students about composting. This research also adds to Heitin’s (2019) work by examining the critical role of the teacher in reading, facilitating, or granting students complete independence in navigating the paper and digital texts to increase student comprehension of STEM content. This study is particularly beneficial to inform teacher selection of lesson materials to teach STEM content.
BACKGROUND ON DIGITAL LITERACY Digital vs. Paper Texts
This study is initiated in the context of recent research on the significance of and trends within the digital literacy movement. For instance, recent development of a conceptual framework for emergent digital literacy (Neumann, Finger, & Neumann, 2017) highlights progress made in the 21st century in child literacy for both digital and non-digital texts. The author discusses the importance of sociocul- tural interaction in emergent literacy development, and describes a debate regarding whether emergent literacy should or should not include electronic texts. In explaining the framework for emergent digital literacy, the authors describe similarities and differences between digital and non-digital texts. Another recent study on digital literacy by Sezgin and Ulus (2017) also highlights distinctions in using paper and digital books, specifically with preschool students. The authors focus on preschool as a critical stage for emergent literacy and discuss the benefit of using digital books in this stage, to mirror the prevalence of digital technology in society today. The authors explain the benefits and drawbacks of paper and e-books, and discuss the interactive value of e-books for preschool children of diverse learning styles (Sezgin
& Ulus, 2017). Similarly, Yokota and Teale (2014) discuss the variety and quality of features in paper and e-books and ideal curricular moments for teachers to incorporate each format into their classrooms.
Yokota and Teale (2014) provide teachers with a guide for selecting the format of book most appropriate for a given class and lesson, based on a selected list of attributes.
This study also considers research asserting the common belief that digital literacy results in greater student comprehension, engagement, and literacy results than that produced by paper literacy. Knobel and Lankshear (2006) describe common misunderstandings regarding digital literacy, and explain that digital literacy should not be considered something “unitary, and certainly not as some finite «com- petency» or «skill»,” but as “shorthand for the myriad social practices and conceptions of engaging in meaning making mediated by texts that are produced, received, distributed, exchanged etc., via digital
How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding
codification” (para. 24). The authors contend that digital literacy may be more accurately termed, digital literacies. The authors further explain that digital literacy does not foster better comprehension simply by being online. Rather, digital literacy enhances literacy development by delivering text to readers in new, more advanced and relevant ways (Knobel & Lankshear, 2006). These digital texts explored in this study present the same texts, pictures, and story as the paper copy, to enable a controlled study examin- ing the impact of digital and paper formats to support student comprehension and concept retention.
Student Interest
Research demonstrates that student interest impacts attention, goal setting, and learning strategies, thus making learner engagement a key factor to consider in improving teaching practices (Avard, 2006).
Learner engagement is both “critical and complicated” in the education process, and needs greater un- derstanding, particularly in regards to how “students behave, feel, and think” (Fredricks, Blumenfeld,
& Paris, 2004, p. 59). Student interest is shaped by the different impact paper and digital texts have on student learning. Many studies demonstrate that digital texts benefit literacy development by engag- ing reader interest. For instance, Levinson and Barron (2018) found that digital texts provide a bridge across cultures and generations, including in the homes of English Language Learners. However, other studies have highlighted challenges presented by digital texts in the development of emergent literacy.
In particular, Holum and Gahala (2001) found that digital texts reduce capacity for reflection, and that
“children are better served when adults read aloud to them, thus providing opportunities for spontaneous questions and verbal interaction” (p. 15). Due to the divergence of findings presented in recent studies, more research is needed to explore how paper and digital texts impact student interest, as well as student comprehension and concept retention, particularly for early readers.
When students are interested in what they are learning, this interest impacts the way they value and retain that information. Not only does student interest shape how students learn, but student interest also improves academic performance. Students are able to make connections with information after establish- ing background knowledge from prior experiences (Renninger & Hidi, 2016). Additional research on student interest and prior knowledge includes Fenichel and Schweingruber’s (2010) work demonstrat- ing that students who already have an interest in science may be more motivated learners in science, compared to those who have no prior interest established. Once a student is interested in what they are learning, they then engage more effectively with the material. Digital texts may have a key role to play in activating prior knowledge, as students may spend more time outside of school contexts reading on digital devices than on paper. Perry, a museum evaluator, developed a framework intended to enhance museum exhibits, and found this framework could also be used in promoting student interest and its role in student learning. The six steps in this framework are: curiosity, confidence, challenge, control, play, and communication (Fenichel & Schweingruber, 2010). The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana uses this framework to enhance the learning process for visiting students. After engaging student interest, effective pedagogies must sustain this interest to be beneficial, long-term. This study examines how use of digital and paper texts promote interest and learning. The role of teacher guidance in this process is critical.
127 How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding
Teacher Guidance
This study also is informed by research on the role of teacher guidance in cultivating student digital literacy development. A recent study on teacher guidance in digital literacy development highlights appropriate uses for digital texts in educational settings, including pivotal moments for incorporat- ing technology, and selection of digital texts based on students’ developmental and educational levels (INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force, 2017). The authors stress the importance of teacher guidance and support for students engaging with digital texts, and further suggest that teachers use digital texts as a tool, not as a replacement for paper texts (INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force 2017). A key role for the teacher or other adult engaging early readers with digital texts is to teach moderate and proper use of technology, particularly in educational settings where conceptual learning is being shaped (INFOhio Early Literacy Task Force, 2017).
Summary
The above studies provide beneficial information and research perspectives in shaping the theoretical foundation for our study, examining the impact of digital and paper texts on first-grade student compre- hension of a STEM children’s book focused on composting. The findings in these studies demonstrate the value of both paper and digital texts in early reader literacy development, while also raising important questions about the different role paper and digital texts may play in supporting student interest and comprehension. As highlighted above, Renninger and Hidi (2016) provide useful information on how to spark student interest, while Fenichel & Schweingruber (2010) explores strategies for engaging student interest in science classrooms. Our study builds on this work by exploring how digital and paper texts engage interest to support comprehension and concept retention of STEM content.
METHODS
Research Purpose and Question
Our study builds on the above research by examining the impact of paper and digital texts on early reader STEM literacy development, as well as the teacher’s role as a reader of a paper text to the class, facilita- tor of a class-directed reading of a digital text, or a nearly absent figure, as students navigate their own digital texts, independently. This research is critical and timely to inform elementary teacher approaches to integrating paper and digital texts in curricula.
The research questions shaping this study are:
(1) How do paper and digital versions of the same text impact early reader comprehension and concept retention of STEM content?
(2) How do differing degrees of teacher guidance impact early reader comprehension and concept retention of STEM content?
(3) What implications can be drawn from this study for teacher practice and future research related to the integration of digital and paper texts in elementary school curricula?
How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding
Mixed Methods Approach
This study employs a mixed methods approach to research, described as combining quantitative and qualitative research “techniques, methods, approaches, concepts, or language in a single study or set of related studies” (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2005, p. 19). Collins, Onwuegbuzie, and Sutton (2006) highlight that mixed methods researchers must determine if qualitative and quantitative designs are to be “implemented concurrently or sequentially, whether they are combined partially or fully, and whether they receive equal or unequal status” (p. 72). Moreover, Hanson et al.’s (2005) basic steps in designing a mixed methods study (p. 227) prescribe deciding: (1) if/how to employ a theoretical lens, (2) how to collect data, and (3) when/how the data analysis will occur, particularly if the quantitative [QUAN] and the qualitative [QUAL] implementations of the study are concurrent or sequential.
This study employs a sequential [QUAN → QUAL] mixed methods approach in first analyzing quantitative data, then analyzing qualitative data to add insight to quantitative findings (Hanson et al., 2005), as part of a data triangulation process (Creswell, 2014). In this study, both the quantitative and qualitative findings were viewed as valuable in adding complementary insight to the study, though the quantitative analyses were conducted first and shaped the initial results.
COURSE SITE AND PARTICIPANTS Research Site
School 1. School 1 is an elementary school located in South Central, Indiana, with just over 450 stu- dents enrolled in 2018-2019, and only four English Language Learners in the entire school. There are 22 teachers in the school, and almost half of the teachers are relatively new teachers, with less than five years of experience. Just under 10% of the student population receives reduced price meals, while 35%
of students receive free meals, daily.
School 2. School 2 also is an elementary school located in South Central, Indiana, with just over 350 students enrolled in 2018-2019, and only 18 English Language Learners in the entire school. There are 14 teachers in the school, and around half of the teachers are relatively new teachers with less than five years of experience. Nearly 9% of students receive reduced price meals, while about 19% percent of the student population receive free meals, daily.
School 3. School 3 also is an elementary school located in South Central, Indiana, with just over 500 students enrolled in 2018-2019, and have less than 2 English Language Learners in the entire school.
There are 36 teachers in the school, and around half of the teachers are relatively experienced with more than ten years of experience. Nearly 45% of the students receive reduced price meals, while about 45%
percent of student population receive free meals, daily.
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Study Participants
School 1. The 1st grade teacher in school 1 is a white female who has been teaching for more than five years. Out of 20 student participants in our study, 95% of participants are white, 5% are African-American and 5% of participants are Hispanic. Of all 20 students, 5% of participants are English Language Learn- ers (ELLs), whose native language is Spanish, and 20% of student participants have IEPs. Of all IEPs in the class, 15% involve speech disabilities, 5% involve cognitive disabilities, and 5% hearing disabilities.
This 5% used hearing aids during this study.
School 2. The first grade teacher in school 2 is a white female who has been teaching for more than 10 years. Out of the 25 students who participated in our study, around 85% of the students are white, approximately 5% of the students are African American, and 3% of participants are Hispanic. Of all the participants, roughly 25% of the class receive additional support through IEPs.
School 3. The first grade teacher in school 3 is a white female who has been teaching for more than 10 years. Out of the 18 students who participated in our study, 100% of the participants are white and speak English. Approximately 25% of the participants receive assistance through IEPs.
Pedagogical Activities
Prior to this study, three of the researchers authored three versions of a children’s book on composting, as part of a teacher education course assignment to create a civic science children’s book on soil and water conservation to share with early elementary students. The three versions of this children’s book became a central tool in this study on early reader engagement and comprehension. The course instructor is the fourth author for this study.
The researchers invited three 1st grade classrooms across three schools to complete a pre-test work- sheet on composting by reading five questions aloud and asking students to circle the correct picture, in response. The class was evenly distributed into three randomly selected groups of students. Each of these groups was given a different version of the composting book to read: a paper version, a digital animated version, or a digitally recorded author reading of the book.
Group 1: In-person author reading of the paper version of book, and the author-teacher provides students with full guidance throughout the entire book.
Group 2: Animated digital version of book created through Storyjumper.com, displayed using an lcd projector on a screen in front of class. The author-teacher provides students with minimal guidance, and gives students freedom to tell her how to navigate the digital book.
Group 3: Digitally recorded author reading of the book using Screencastify.com, displayed on indi- vidual iPads with headphones. The author-teacher provides no guidance and students are free to navigate the story as desired, or even leave the story to view different apps.
All students returned as a whole group to complete a post-reading activity, identical to the pre- reading worksheet used. The researchers read the five worksheet questions aloud, and students selected their responses by circling the correct picture. After each student completed the worksheet, the author- researchers provided the correct answers.
How Paper and Digital Children’s Books Support Student Understanding
Data Collection and Analysis
The worksheets were collected after students completed the pre- and post-reading test to compare results before and after reading the story, and across school sites. These findings served as the quantitative data for this mixed methods study. After the worksheets were gathered and results were noted, the researchers interviewed the classroom teacher with five predetermined questions related to the learning activities.
The interview was recorded and transcribed to prepare for analysis. This transcription served as the qualitative data for this mixed methods study.
First, the quantitative data was analyzed by calculating average pre- and post-reading scores for each reading group (paper, author-teacher read; digital, author-teacher facilitated; digital-student independent reading) across each of the three schools. Average pre- and post-reading scores were compared across groups within and across schools, using same group comparisons, to consider if student comprehension and retention was impacted by book format and teacher guidance. These quantitative findings were then examined in light of the qualitative findings: teacher interviews.
After quantitative findings were analyzed, the interview data was analyzed using constant compara- tive methods of analysis (Glaser, 1965). First, each researcher examined the interviews in search for thematic findings responding to the research questions. Thematic findings were categorized by research question, and any other unanticipated emergent findings were noted. The researchers came together to share their findings, discuss any convergence and divergence in the responses, and then select the most salient themes to guide the presentation of the findings. This study took a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), in that the researchers did not enter data collection and analysis with a set hypothesis based on a theoretical framework shaping “preconceived theory” before collecting the data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 12). Rather we implemented the study, allowing “theory to emerge from the data” (p. 12) to shape findings.
Validity & Reliability
To enhance the validity of our findings, we implemented this study in three elementary schools across three different SES contexts in South central Indiana, including one low-SES school, one middle-to-low SES school, and one middle-SES school. SES distinctions across the schools intend to strengthen the study’s validity and reliability by examining findings across contexts and examining findings across groups within the same context. All three elementary schools include students of similar ethnic and linguistic background (white, English-speaking). Thus, future research might explore similar research questions across contexts including students of more diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Finally, inter-rater reliability was established as the researchers individually examined the interview data for emergent themes, and then shared findings with one another to establish shared group findings, based on selected key themes.
FINDINGS
Quantitative Results