TY - JOUR
T1 - Digital Guidance for Susceptible Readers
T2 - Effects on Fifth Graders’ Reading Motivation and Incidental Vocabulary Learning
AU - Nielen, Thijs M.J.
AU - Smith, Glenn G.
AU - Sikkema-de Jong, Maria T.
AU - Drobisz, Jack
AU - van Horne, Bill
AU - Bus, Adriana G.
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - In this digital era, a fundamental challenge is to design digital reading materials in such a way that they improve children’s reading skills. Since reading books is challenging for many fifth graders—particularly for those genetically susceptible to attention problems—the researchers hypothesized that guidance from a digital Pedagogical Agent (PA) could improve students’ reading motivation and incidental vocabulary learning. Using a sample of 147 fifth-grade students, the researchers carried out a randomized control trial with three groups of students reading: (a) hardcopy (print) books, (b) digital books, and (c) digital books with a PA. For students with a genetic predisposition to attention problems, carriers of the DRD4 seven-repeat allele, the PA supported their incidental vocabulary learning. For noncarriers, there were no effects of the digital reading materials or the PA.
AB - In this digital era, a fundamental challenge is to design digital reading materials in such a way that they improve children’s reading skills. Since reading books is challenging for many fifth graders—particularly for those genetically susceptible to attention problems—the researchers hypothesized that guidance from a digital Pedagogical Agent (PA) could improve students’ reading motivation and incidental vocabulary learning. Using a sample of 147 fifth-grade students, the researchers carried out a randomized control trial with three groups of students reading: (a) hardcopy (print) books, (b) digital books, and (c) digital books with a PA. For students with a genetic predisposition to attention problems, carriers of the DRD4 seven-repeat allele, the PA supported their incidental vocabulary learning. For noncarriers, there were no effects of the digital reading materials or the PA.
KW - attention problems
KW - differential susceptibility
KW - digital pedagogical agent
KW - digital reading
KW - guided reading
KW - in-school free reading
KW - randomized control trial
KW - reading motivation
KW - susceptibility genotypes
KW - vocabulary learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041809361&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85041809361&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0735633117708283
DO - 10.1177/0735633117708283
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85041809361
SN - 0735-6331
VL - 56
SP - 48
EP - 73
JO - JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING RESEARCH
JF - JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING RESEARCH
IS - 1
ER -