Using Notational Resources to Support Reading Comprehension in Science: A Comparison of Digital Voice Notes and Digital Text Notes
Researchers in Collier County School District are conducting a study to compare two types of notational resources in the WYNN electronic reading environment within a randomized controlled trial: digital voice notes and digital text notes. The study will be conducted in two phases. The first phase is a pilot study in one 5th grade classroom in Naples Florida. It was completed in December of 2007. The second phase, scheduled to begin March 2008, will be a randomzied control trial using students from eight 5th grade classrooms in this county-wide district.
This study will compare two types of notational resources in the WYNN electronic reading environment within a randomized controlled trial: digital voice notes and digital text notes. The study will be conducted in two phases. The first phase of this research was a pilot study conducted in one 5th grade classroom in Naples, Florida during November and Decemebr of 2007. In this study, 20 students were taught to use two types of notational resources in the WYNN reading software and then randomly assigned to either the treatment condition (voice notes) or the comparison condition (text notes). Students each read two supplementary 5th grade science texts within the WYNN reading environment with text-to-speech enabled, one in each condition, counterbalanced for order. The supplementary texts, entitled Forces at Work and All about Motion, were each about 15 pages in length and included questions embedded in the text. Students were asked to summarize each paragraph in their notes, and answer the embedded questions. Students were pre and post tested on the content in the science materials. Results showed that although students varied in their preference for notational system, more students with disabilities performed better on the post tests after using voice noices than using text notes.
The second phase will involve 8-10 5th grade teachers from 5-6 elementary schools in the same district. Students from each participating class will be randomly assigned to one of the two conditions, with all other software features and teacher supports kept the same across conditions. Students will read two supplementary texts that accompany the Harcourt 5th-grade science curriculum within the WYNN environment, using their assigned notational resource to paraphrase each paragraph and answer any questions embedded in the text. Pre and post-tests administered before and after reading each supplementary text will be used to investigate (a) whether students using either of the two notational resources comprehend the material in the text, and (b) whether the two notational resources have a differential impact on reading comprehension. If time permits, the study will be repeated using new supplementary texts and students assigned to use the opposite notational resource.
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