Average, Below Average, And Above Average First Grade Students' Beliefs about Using E-Books to Activate Interest and Motivation in Reading
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Engaging all students in selecting books that are personally meaningful and interesting are key components to helping students become motivated readers.In the past, teachers used methods and resources such as teacher read aloud and narrated audio recordings to gain student interest, motivation, and teach reading skills.With the advancements of educational technologies such as SMART Boards, computers, and the Internet, e-books are a tool that can be incorporated through the use of all of the above technologies.Schools may not be taking full advantage of these available tools.Since e-books may not be used as often as they could be, student interest and motivation may be suffering.Therefore, students are not choosing to read on a regular basis and their interests, feelings and perceptions may not be as positive as one may like.A total of nine students were recruited to participate in this study.Students were selected and categorized by reading ability level of average, below average, and above average based upon their Developmental Reading Assessment score.Each student was sent home with a consent form and signed an assent form the day of the study.During the study, students sat down for a 30 minute, one-on-one instructional session where they were introduced to e-books.They then listened to a paperback book read and answered survey and interview questions determining their individual interests, feelings, and perceptions toward the e-books.Using the category "great" from the survey as a benchmark, average students had the least interest in e-books.Below average students had the highest interest in e-books.Above average students had more interest in e-books than average students, but not has much interest as below average students.Above average students had most positive feelings toward e-books and iv the most positive perceptions toward e-books.Overall, the consensus among first grade students' beliefs about e-books is that they all would choose to read more often if e-books were included in their classroom.v DEDICATION The ideas, effort, research, findings, and conclusions of this thesis are dedicated to preservice teachers and current educators who work twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and three hundred and sixty five days a year, to positively impact and enhance the reading education of young children.I hope this study will be of use to you in both your current and future endeavors.vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to the chair of my committee, Dr. Cindy Hendricks, as well as the other members of the committee, Dr. Nancy Fordham and Dr. Cynthia Bertelsen, for guiding me alongthroughout this entire study.Your knowledge and suggestions have helped to make this study complete and beneficial.I would also like to thank the participants, principal, and classroom teacher of the participants who supported this study and permitted it to be implemented within their educational atmosphere.
Author: Kody L. Strout
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2244841390