Kindle II Impact on Reading Achievement and Attitude. Beverly J. Hearn and Tiffany McCaslin. University of Tennessee at Martin.

Transcription

1 Kindle II Impact on Reading Achievement and Attitude Beverly J. Hearn and Tiffany McCaslin University of Tennessee at Martin Author Note Beverly J. Hearn is the Director of the Reading Center at the University of Tennessee at Martin. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies. Tiffany McCaslin obtained her Masters in Education at the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2009 and was a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Reading Center.

2 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine if implementing Kindle II electronic reading devices for self selected in-class reading would significantly improve the reading achievement and attitudes of college students at the UTM Reading Center as measured by a standardized test and attitudinal survey. No statistically significant academic results were determined. Small but statistically significant positive attitudinal changes towards reading were found.

3 The Research Problem The purpose of this study is to determine if implementing Kindle electronic reading devices would significantly improve the reading achievement and attitudes of college students at the UTM Reading Center as measured by a standardized test and attitudinal survey. The Project Significance The issue of improving struggling readers achievement in reading and their attitudes toward reading is an ongoing process. Such issues have been studied and documented by many researchers throughout the years. According to a prior report, More than a third of students at two-year and four-year colleges spent an average of a year in remedial courses, and those that did spent more time in those courses in 2000 than they did in 1995 (Hammer, 2003, p. 8). Almost all public colleges offer at least one remedial reading, writing, or math course. University of Tennessee at Martin offers READ 100 and approximately 200 students register for the class each year. Thus, the need for remedial reading is increasing, and the need for students to acquire necessary skills for future college classes is vital. Remediation is necessary in today s college world. Many adolescent students who are struggling in reading are unmotivated in remedial reading classes. This continues throughout the years. These students often have negative attitudes and emotions about reading. Engagement in reading is directly related to reader motivation (Donalson & Halsey, 2007, p. 222). To deter the consequences for struggling readers low achievement and learned helplessness we must motivate these students to

4 become effective readers. Struggling readers will give up on tasks that they feel they cannot succeed in doing (Donalson & Halsey, 2007). For poor, struggling, and unmotivated readers to become more motivated and persistent, recorded books have been shown to help such students improve a great deal in reading skills and confidence within themselves related to reading (Wallace, 1995). Using a nontraditional means of promoting students reading levels reaches out to more students in terms of learning, as well as motivation (Christodoulou & Kunkel, 2009). Audio books are one format which has helped struggling readers to have more positive attitudes towards the reading experience (Wolfson, 2008, p.111). However, the advent of the electronic book platform is a more recent phenomenon than audiobooks and their players. This study investigated whether the e-book format will improve attitudes towards reading as did the audiobook. There are two or more electronic book platforms currently on the market. The Amazon Kindle II is the e-book reader that was purchased for implementation in this study. In contrast to the audiobooks, where every word of the book is read by a narrator and the printed text is not normally seen, with the Kindle e-book the student reads the text silently on the e-book screen and can choose to have troublesome words pronounced by using the dictionary pronunciation feature. To the knowledge of the researcher, there has been no reported study of either the academic or motivational impact of the e-book reader devices outside of a study in Finland which is not available in translation. Prior to the study, the researcher completed an Application to the University of Tennessee at Martin Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research. The study was thoroughly explained to all participants and Consent forms were signed.

5 Academic Results The first goal of the research was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference on the grade-level gains on a standardized reading test on college students enrolled in reading courses who have used the Kindles as compared to the scores of students who have not used the Kindles. The reading students were scheduled to take READ 100 to improve their reading skills because they made below 19 on the reading portion of the ACT test. The Nelson Denny (Brown, Fishco, & Hanna, 1993) pre (form G) and posttest (form H) are used every semester for all READ 100 students. This widely used standardized and timed group test measures reading comprehension on four texts from different disciplines; it measures vocabulary with 80 terms for which students are asked to find the synonyms. Results are given in grade level equivalents. Students should read at 12.9 grade level and above to successfully learn from college texts. The course consists of reading skill and vocabulary instruction, plus outside and inside class time for reading. During the in-class time for self selected reading, the students received Kindle II e-books instead of selecting their titles from the classroom library or from the university library. They selected their titles from those available on the Kindles and read during class time for 30 minutes to 1 hour weekly. Students read one or more complete books using the e-book readers. The Kindle project originally proposed to use an experimental and control group drawn from the spring 2010 enrollment, but due to low enrollment and the desire of all the students to use the Kindles, instead the achievement results for the spring, 2010, READ 100 class (n=21)

6 were compared to the archived data from spring, 2009, READ100 class (n=26). The 2009 group had used paperbacks from the classroom library for in-class reading. A 2x2 contingency Chi Square was used to compare the means of the Nelson Denny pre and post tests for the 2009 and the 2010 groups. Both classes had spent approximately the same amount of time on in-class reading. The difference in the average academic gain of the two classes was not found to be statistically significant. Attitudinal Results The second goal of the study was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference on the reading attitudes on the reading attitudinal survey for students in the reading class who have used the Kindles as opposed to the attitudinal survey scores of those students who have not. The Reader Self Perception Survey (Henk, 1995) pre and posttest, is used each semester to measure each student s attitude toward reading. This survey was originally designed for children, so it was modified in two ways: the word kid was replaced with the word people and the Likert scale was modified from a 5 point scale to a forced choice 4 point scale. The results of the surveys were compared as described above to determine attitudinal and reading level differences in those who used e-books versus those who did not. The pretest and posttest question means were compared to determine which questions showed a statistically significant difference in results between the two groups, one which used the Kindle IIs and one which used paperback books. Again a 2x2 contingency Chi Square was used to compare the pre and post test means for each question. A significant difference was found on two questions on the Reader Self Perception Survey:

7 1. 1. When I read I don t have to try as hard as I used to My teacher thinks that I am a good reader. It can be inferred that the use of the e-book caused the students to believe that reading was easier when using the Kindle II. Indeed, its pages were turned by pushing a button. On the second question, it is possible that the new technology for reading had a halo effect on the students self-perceptions as a reader. Anecdotal reports by students were mostly positive; however some students still preferred using the traditional book format. The following comments were found on the open ended responses from the students: I enjoy using the Kindle. It s easy to use I like holding it. You can book mark progress. It s easy to turn the pages. It saves trees. It s less boring. You have many books in one. I can see better on the Kindle. I have mixed feelings/prefer books.

8 Further Investigation The results were presented at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education in SanDiego in April, It will also be presented at the fall 2010 meeting of the Northwest Tennessee Reading Council. The powerpoint presentation may be located at the organization s website. ( ) There are several refinements that would enhance a replication and extension of the investigation. The survey should be further modified to be more specific to the use of the Kindle and questions should be phrased for adult users. Additionally, with a larger enrollment, strict experimental and control groups would enhance the comparison of the academic results of the use of the Kindle II.

9 References Brown, J. I., Fishco, V.V., & Hanna, G.S. (1993). Nelson Denny Reading Test. Rolling Hills, IL: Riverside. Christodulous, J. A., & Kunkel, C. D. (2009). Applying multiple intelligences. School Administrator, 66, Davis, M., & Lyons, S. (2001). Improving reading by reading: Ideas from two teachers. Voices From the Middle, 8(4), Donalson, K., & Halsey, P. (2007). Adolescents readers perceptions of remedial reading classes: A case study. Reading Improvement, 44(4), Engstrom, E. U. (2005). Reading, writing, and assistive technology: An integrated developmental curriculum for college students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(1), Hammer, B. (2003). College students spending more time in remedial courses, report says. Black Issues in Higher Education, 20(22), 8. Wallace, J. (1995). Improving the reading skills of poor achieving students. Reading Improvement, 32(2), Wolfson, G. (2008). Using audiobooks to meet the needs of adolescent readers. American Secondary Education. 36(2),

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