Designing and measuring the impact of using a digital learning material for scaffoldings students independent decoding and comprehension of unfamiliar text

Using design based research as methodological base, I designed a prototype of a digital learning material, evaluated and refined it iteratively to find out if it is possible to digitally scaffold second grade students’ independent reading of unfamiliar text without controlled vocabulary while at the same time strengthening decoding and comprehension skills. The learning material is theoretically based on connectionist models of reading and reading acquisition (Seidenberg, 2007) and theory of scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976). The learning material scaffolds the students’ independent reading of unfamiliar text using text-to-speech, graded support in the form of syllabification and rhyme analogy and various other scaffolding functions. The word material in the learning material is divided into different categories based on the frequency and regularity of the word or its constituent parts. Students are supported in mapping between orthography and phonology, in identify-ing the relevant spelling patterns and generalizing. In the formative evaluations, students’ interaction with the learning material was recorded using screen recording software. The next step was to determine the effect of students using the learning material in a randomized experimental design. In the RCT the control group used the most widely used analogue learning system in Denmark, which has a systematic, phonological approach to reading instruction. Results showed, that using the digital material showed no statistically significant difference on decoding measures between the control and treatment group. However, a substantial, statistically significant advantage was found in the treatment group on measures of reading comprehension. Keywords: digital learning material, reading instruction, connectionism, text-to-speech, scaffolding Seidenberg, M. S. (2007). Connectionist models of reading. In G. Gaskell (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics (pp. 235–250). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 89–100.