Direct and indirect effects of textbook modality on adolescents' reading engagement and comprehension

Abstract

This research evaluated the affordances of iPads related to adolescent comprehension and engagement. Specific research questions were guided by a framework of reading engagement in which classroom practices are theorized to have both a direct and indirect effect on comprehension through the mediating roles of motivations and strategic interaction with text (Guthrie, Wigfield, & You, 2012). Participants consisted of 281 9th grade students from two rural Midwest high schools with one-to-one iPad initiatives. Using a between-participants experimental design, students were randomly assigned to read informational text on either an iPad or paper and completed comprehension questions and motivation questionnaires. Half of the students in each modality condition were randomly assigned to receive a review lesson on strategy use and annotation to encourage strategy use while reading. The effects of text modality and strategy review on comprehension of text, observable strategy use, and motivation variables were examined. Results revealed no differences in comprehension or motivational variables among students who read on iPads and students who read on paper. However, students who read on paper were more likely to use observable strategies while reading, with this difference decreasing among students who received a strategy review lesson. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.