Predicting Student Engagement in Technology-Based Interactive Reading

• In Event: Learning in Interactive and Gamified Environments

Abstract

In this study, upper-elementary-age students used an interactive reading app to read from a classic children’s novel during the literacy enrichment component of a summer program. Students took turns reading with an adult virtual narrator (audiobook). Prior work in a similar context showed that (a) students varied substantially in the proportion of their turns where they actually read; and (b) that the proportion correlated strongly with story comprehension. We used process and contextual data to explore factors that could predict whether a reader will read their next turn or skip it. We found that skipping quickly becomes self-perpetuating; this result indicates the importance of supporting the teacher in providing just-in-time personalized intervention to help the student avoid the disengagement trap.

Authors

• Beata Beigman Kelbanov, Educational Testing Service

• Jonathan P. Weeks, American Institutes for Research

• Sandip Sinharay, Educational Testing Service