Digital Literature for Young Children: A Study on Student Engagement Bryce L. Walker Curriculum & Instruction

Introduction My subjectivity K-8 Art Teacher & Instructional Designer Work with DC’s Early Reading First Initiative –Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-4) –Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)

Theoretical Grounding In the 1920’s, Jean Piaget claimed that children are born with complex cognitive capabilities as infants. In the 1970’s, Lev Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development emphasizes the role that the social environment on the young child. In 1998, Kearsley & Schneiderman developed engagement theory, which brings to light the meaningfully engagement in learning activities through interaction.

Concurrent Research Young children in our current digital age are immersed into technology (Lee et al., 2009) Proponents (Levy, 2009; Johnson, 2010) feel that early exposure leads to positive cognitive development (21st century learning skills, etc…) Opponents (Rideout et al., 2003; Blanchard & Moore, 2010) feel that early exposure may lead to negative implications (TV, video games, etc…)

Literature Review The literature presented the following six themes: 1.Defining digital literature 2.Recent transition from paper to digital-based literature 3.Emergence of computer literacy in young children 4.Clinical testing of digital literature 5.Engagement with digital literature 6.Aided/ unaided use of digital literature

Research Question How might a young child’s engagement differ when interacting static digital literature with a human reading aide versus dynamic digital literature with a digital reading aide?

How is engagement measured? Pre-Assessment- –Early Reading First Initiative (DOE) –Pre-Test Formative Assessment- –Digital Literature (Footsteps2Brilliance) –Measurement Software (SmartTech) –Observations Summative Assessment- –Informal Interview –Post-Test

Methodology Mixed Methods approach Quantitative- Early Reading data, pre, formative, and post-assessment scores, and software to measure engagement. Qualitative- Interviews, observations Sample Selection Children selected from 3 DC charter/private schools with unique demographics. Selection is based on performance on previous assessments, parental approval, and willingness to participate IRB approval from charter schools and university. Methodology and Sample Selection

Digital Literature

Conceptual Framework

Conclusion The predicted hypothesis is there will no statistically significant difference between aided and unaided groups. This means that children can be equally engaged with digital literature without any human support. (generalizable) This study will benefit the field of digital literature aimed at underserved urban children.

Limitations and Future Research Limitations IRB approval, school administration, teacher, parent, and student permissions. Low amount of children (n=30) Only selecting urban children Future Research Correlation between engagement and learning among individual children to see how the two variables relate.