The effects of CD-ROM storybook reading on low SES kindergarteners’ emergent literacy as a function of learning context

We investigated the effects of a highly rated commercial electronic book (e-book) for young children on kindergarteners’ emergent literacy skills within the context of paired peer versus individual use of the e-book. The sample of 110 kindergarteners had a mean age of 5.64 years and approximately eq...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and education 2008-08, Vol.51 (1), p.354-367
Main Authors: Shamir, Adina, Korat, Ofra, Barbi, Nili
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Control Groups
Emergent Literacy
Experimental Groups
Foreign Countries
Intervention
Israel
Kindergarten
Kindergarteners
Learning Disabilities
Phonological Awareness
Reading Skills
Semitic Languages
SES
Socioeconomic Status
Story Reading
Tutors
Word Recognition
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Summary:We investigated the effects of a highly rated commercial electronic book (e-book) for young children on kindergarteners’ emergent literacy skills within the context of paired peer versus individual use of the e-book. The sample of 110 kindergarteners had a mean age of 5.64 years and approximately equal numbers of boys and girls, randomly chosen from four kindergartens in a low SES Israeli township. All participants spoke Hebrew. None had been diagnosed with learning disabilities. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups: 30 tutors, 30 tutees, and 30 individual learners, all of whom used the e-book, and 20 children in a control group who were only exposed to their regular kindergarten program. Pre- and post-intervention emergent literacy measures included phonological awareness, reading of words from the e-book, word recognition, and story comprehension and production. The overall improvement in the measured emergent literacy skills from pre- to post-intervention of the children in the three experimental groups was higher than that of the children in the control group. In addition, there were significant learning context differences in several of the children’s measured emergent literacy skills, suggesting that those who work on an e-book activity in a paired peer learning context with same age peers (tutors and tutees) seem to gain an advantage in phonological awareness, emergent reading, and story comprehension over those who work with it individually. Implications for educators and e-book designers are discussed.
ISSN:0360-1315
1873-782X
DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.05.010