Flipping the Page: Analyzing Student Preferences Toward Differing Reading Modalities
Open Access
Author:
Cascioli, Diane M
Graduate Program:
Curriculum and Instruction
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
July 09, 2017
Committee Members:
Jamie Myers, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Anne Whitney, Committee Member
Keywords:
audiobook e-book paper reading engagement willingness access comprehension student preference interest online book read
Abstract:
There has been a plethora of research in the past about high school students and their interaction with reading materials in different formats (including paper, audio, and online texts). However, the majority of this research has been focused on the effectiveness of these forms on overall comprehension for these students. But what happens when our students do not read outside of class? How do we assess their comprehension in any format when they have not done the reading? In this study, I aim to target student preferences toward these different reading formats (paper, audio, online, or any combination of these) to see if students were more willing to read on their own time if provided alternative and favorable methods. Through anonymous surveys and student interviews, I was able to gather a multitude of responses as well as resources for each of these alternative formats to common texts. Although this study did not conclusively find one method far more enjoyable to 11th grade suburban students than the others, it did reveal the rationale behind these preferences and choices so that educators can incorporate and integrate these into our core text lessons.
