e-readers and the effects on students’ reading motivation, attitude and comprehension during guided reading

This quasi-experimental mixed methods study examined the use of e-readers during guided reading instruction and its impact on 5th grade students’ reading motivation, attitude toward reading, and reading comprehension. For 10 weeks, 19 students received guided reading instruction by means of the traditional paper/text format, while 16 students received guided reading instruction by means of e-readers using the same stories but in digital text format. The Motivation to Read Profile was used to measure student motivation, the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey was administered to measure student attitude and the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Fourth Edition, were administered to measure student comprehension. A MANOVA showed no significant difference between the students who used e-reader digital text format and those that used paper/text format in regard to reading motivation, attitude toward reading or reading comprehension. However, the qualitative data gave several insights into why e-readers did not make a difference.