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THE EFFECTS OF AN INTERACTIVE STORYBOOK ON READING OUTCOMES WITH STRUGGLING YOUNG ADULT READERS

Abstract

Digital technologies play an important role in our everyday lives and have become widely used in classrooms and standardized assessments. However, these platforms lack scaffolded digital tools and content to support struggling young adult readers. This study evaluated whether a digital library, ReadEezy, can assist struggling young adults with their reading skills and increase their interest and engagement in reading. Specifically, the study investigated whether using the ReadEezy platform improves struggling young adult readers’ comprehension, engagement, and retention relative to a control condition (Plain-Text). Participants included 202 struggling high schoolers in Intensive Reading classes; each received one interactive E-Book from the ReadEezy platform and one digital Plain-Text ReadEezy story. Following each digital condition, participants completed a self-reported survey rating their reading experience and digital features, and a post-reading summary to demonstrate comprehension and retention. Participants self-rated the E-Book higher for engagement and retention than the Plain-Text, [(EB)M=14.92, SD=6.07; (EB)M=12.50, SD=5.02; (PT)M=14.29, SD=7.15; (PTM=11.29, SD=5.93] but slightly higher comprehension confidence for the Plain-Text [(PT)17.27, SD=8.69; (EB)M=16.91, SD=7.38]. Post- reading summaries revealed stronger comprehension performance in the E-Book condition. [F(1, 201)=21.86, p<.001, R2=.10]. Self- reported comprehension, [(EB)3.14, p<.001; (PT)B=3.14, p<.001] engagement, [(EB)B=.304, p<.001; (PT)B=.344, p<.001] and retention ratings [(EB=.303, p<.001);(PT)B=.335, p=.001] were all significant predictors of comprehension performance for both versions, though effects were small. Finally, images, [B=.472, p<.001] embedded questions [B=.213, p<.001], and gamification features [B=.142, p<.001] were all predictive of higher comprehension performance in the E-book. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating interactive features to engage and support struggling readers during digital reading activities. As digital resources expand in classrooms, it is important to focus on how struggling young adult readers engage with these resources, and how particular platform features can offer support.

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