Shared Book-Reading in the Digital Age: Examining Differences in Traditional and Tablet Books

• In Event: Young Children's Literacy Practices With Digital Books at Home and at School: International Evidence

Abstract

Purpose
The percentage of children 0–8 who have read an eBook increased by 26% in the last two years (Common Sense Media, 2013). Yet, research is just beginning to unpack how digital platforms affect adult/child dialogic reading (DR) and story comprehension. Some research suggests that the introduction of eBooks has negative consequences for DR and child story comprehension (Krcmar & Cingel, 2014; Authors, 2013). Other findings show that book-reading remains similar across platforms (Lauricella et al., 2014). Our research empirically asks which features of traditional and eBooks (e.g., the voice reading or the presence of animations and sound effects) might drive such differences.
Perspectives
A DR framework provided the motivation for this study. During DR, children are asked to explain the story in their own words, answer probing questions, and engage with illustrations all while receiving ongoing adult scaffolding (Whitehurst et al., 1988). Numerous studies have found that DR supports literacy development (e.g., Wasik & Bond, 2001).
Method
Eighty-six 3- and 5-year-old children (52.1% female) were randomly assigned to four conditions in which a caregiver read or listened with the child: Paper-Book; Activities-eBook—featuring interactive activities; Unembellished-eBook—without interactive activities; and Audio-eBook—read itself to dyad. Dyads selected one of three unfamiliar stories to read. The experimenter told the dyads to “read the book as you normally would.”
Caregiver speech and children’s story comprehension were assessed. Videotaped sessions were transcribed and extra-textual language coded. The form of caregiver utterances was coded (question or comment) as well as content: Factual (“See the sword?”), Behavioral (“Sit still”), Other (“Good job!”), or Distancing (“Remember the knight we saw?”). The Distancing code was used for talk about events outside of the story. After reading, children’s story comprehension was assessed for story content and chronological ordering.
Results
Preliminary results for caregiver speech suggest that proportions of Factual and Other talk did not differ by condition in either age group. Post-hoc tests revealed that Distancing talk was more prevalent in the Audio-eBook than the Activities-eBook condition (p<.05). Behavioral talk was greater for the Unembellished-eBook (p<.01) and Activities eBook (p<.05) than Paper-Book conditions. There was a trend for children whose caregivers used the most Distancing speech to demonstrate the most story content knowledge, regardless of condition or age (see Figure 1).
Older children outperformed younger children on both story content (F(1,85)=30.84, p<.001) and story chronology (F(1,85)=14.81, p<.001). A significant AgeXCondition interaction on the chronology task hints that 5-year-olds performed better in Paper-Book (p<.01) and Unembellished-eBook (p<.05) over Audio-eBook conditions.
Significance
Findings suggest that for 5-year-olds, Audio-eBooks are associated with worse recall of story chronology; thus, voice-reading features may hinder children’s understanding of story event order. To some degree, caregiver speech was also influenced by platform; however, the most important element of book-reading may be the type of caregiver speech used, regardless of platform. Distancing talk in particular helps children relate the story to their own lives and make inferences (Van Kleeck, 2008). Incorporating distancing prompts into eBook formats may increase the potency of caregiver/child dialogic reading.

Authors

• Brenna Hassinger-Das, Temple University

• Neha Mahajan, Temple University

• Rachael Metz, Temple University

• Kizzann Ramsook

• Katherine Margulis, Temple University

• Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University

• Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, University of Delaware

• Julia Parish-Morris, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia