Poster #4 - Effects of Book Design on 1st and 2nd Grade Children’s Attention and Learning

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

This study employed eye-tracking technology to examine whether extraneous illustration details (entertaining, but nonessential additions to educational materials)–a design common in storybooks–promote attentional competition and hinder learning. Entertaining visuals in reading materials have enormous potential to engage children, but if they are unrelated to the story text, these additional visuals might be counterproductive if they distract children from the primary task of comprehending the narrative. Attention regulation skills are still developing when children begin formal schooling so it is important to evaluate the possibility that adding embellishments to materials might do so at the cost of reducing learning. The study used a within-subject design with 55 first- and second-grade children. Participants read from a commercially available “Standard” book condition for beginning readers from the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read series, and in a “Streamlined” book condition in which extraneous details in illustrations were removed. Comprehension questions were recorded after children read in each condition and were scored by condition-blind research assistants (Cohen’s kappa=.86) as the percentage of correct responses. Condition order was counterbalanced across participants. An SMI RED250 eye-tracker calculated children’s average gaze shifts away from the text, fixations to extraneous details, and fixations to relevant details. Comprehension scores were significantly higher in the Streamlined Condition (M=80.95%) than in the Standard Condition (M=53.22%) paired-sample t(54)=7.93, p<.001; Cohen’s d=1.49. There were no order effects (all ts<1.05, all ps>.49), indicating that the Streamlined Condition resulted in higher comprehension compared to the Standard Condition, regardless of the order in which the condition was presented. Results also indicated that children’s comprehension was associated with attention: as children’s gaze shifts away from the text towards extraneous details increased, comprehension decreased; r=0.67, p<.001. To ensure that the findings were not entirely due to variance shared with reading proficiency, children were administered the Word Recognition in Isolation Test (Morris, 2013) prior to the reading session. Importantly, fixations towards extraneous details accounted for the unique variance in comprehension independent of reading ability, age, grade, sex, and attending to relevant illustration details while reading. Furthermore, a control experiment with a separate group of children (n = 40) was conducted to investigate whether children’s comprehension benefited from the removal of extraneous details, or enhancing the visual segregation of the text from the background. The first experiment was replicated with a “White Box” Condition of inputting the text in a white box. Children’s comprehension scores did not significantly differ in the Standard Condition (M=53.84%) compared to the White Box Condition (M=52.50%), suggesting it was unlikely the effects from the first experiment were due to enhancing the segregation of the text from the background. The results of this study provide a systematic analysis of whether excluding extraneous details from reading materials for beginning readers could improve reading comprehension. Attention—a foundational component linked to academic achievement—should be taken into account when designing educational materials. This research aims to provide theoretical insights about design principles that can be employed to optimize reading materials and promote literacy development in children.

Authors

• Cassondra Eng, Carnegie Mellon University
  Presenting Author

• Karrie E Godwin, Kent State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kristen A Boyle, Carnegie Mellon University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anna Fisher, Carnegie Mellon University
  Non-Presenting Author