Improving Comprehension With Digital Text: A Meta-Analysis of Interventions

• In Event: 29.085 - Academic Interventions for Individuals With Disabilities

Abstract

Much is known about how to improve the comprehension of students when reading printed text; however, less is known about outcomes with digital text. The purpose of the current investigation was to conduct a meta-analysis of existing research on the impact of digital text interventions on reading comprehension for typical learners, struggling readers, and/or students with learning/cognitive disabilities. A comprehensive literature search resulted in 25 group intervention studies with over 16,500 participants. The overall effect size for instructional enhancement interventions (ES = .60, range -.35 to 1.57) was larger than the effect size for interventions that investigated effects of basic access technologies on comprehension (ES = .22, range -.49 to 1.18). Implications for research and practice will be discussed.

Authors

• Sheri Berkeley, George Mason University

• Andrea Boykin, George Mason University

• Leigh Ann Kurz, George Mason University

• Anya S. Evmenova, George Mason University