Graduation Date
Summer 2017
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Education
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Eric Vanduzer
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
David Ellerd
Abstract
Can E-books contribute to increased vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension in third grade students? Teachers face difficult decisions when determining whether or not to use interactive e-Books in the classroom. Studies (De Jong and Bus 2004; Jones and Brown 2011; Larson, 2009; Verhallen, Bus, and De Jong, 2006), have determined that the multimedia features of e-books have the potential of being beneficial to young children over traditional printed texts; however, studies have failed to prove that these additional text features increase reading achievement over traditional printed text. There has not been enough evidence to show that students reading achievement increases in the general education classroom when they read from interactive e-books rather than traditional printed texts. This study was conducted to determine the differences in third graders' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension according to the medium of presentation. Two different story book formats were used, printed copies and electronic versions of the books. Twelve third graders participated in the study. All participants alternated between reading print versions of books and electronic versions using a balanced quasi-experimental design. When students read the electronic versions of the books, they had access to the multimedia features that the e-books provide, whereas the printed versions of the books had the support of the teacher when the students asked for help. After each participant read a book independently they answered ten multiple choice questions and one short answer. All test questions and short answer responses were completed on paper. The results of this study did not provide significant evidence that the additional text features of interactive eBooks increase reading achievement over traditional printed text.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Bickel, Jenney M., "Electronic books or print books for increased reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition in third grade students" (2017). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 53.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/53