Where Do We Go From Here? An Interactive Narrative for Adult Literacy Learners

• In Event: 18.073 - Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: 18.073-9 - Adult Literacy Learners

Abstract

This paper reports a project to develop an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) for adult learners who read below functional literacy levels. Lost in Springdale is an interactive narrative integrated within Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking-2 (iSTART-2), an ITS that provides reading strategy instruction and practice. The narrative provides varied practice opportunities supporting lower- and higher-order reading skills and uses life-relevant texts that hold personal significance for adult readers. An attitudinal study indicates that adult education learners find the narrative enjoyable, purposeful, motivating, and easy to control; this provides encouraging evidence that adult learners will be motivated to engage with Lost in Springdale within iSTART-2. Future studies will examine the effectiveness of iSTART-2 in enhancing adults’ comprehension skills.

Authors

• Amy Marcelle Johnson, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Elizabeth Tighe, Georgia State University

• Matthew Jacovina, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Danielle S. McNamara, Arizona State University