Reinventing the picture storybook for a new generation of readers: Results of Individual Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis

• In Event: Learning about Literacy through Multimedia

Abstract

Purpose. Multimedia learning, by which we mean the combination of pictures and words, is an important explanation for the effects of picture storybooks (Takacs & Bus, 2018). This meta-analysis focuses on the ingredients of new prototypes that were designed for new digital devices with multimedia learning theory in mind. Do the new ingredients realize the promise in digital storybooks that they immerse children in stories to their benefit for making meaning of narratives and sheer enjoyment? The analyses particularly focus on multimedia additions in digital books that are studied during the last decennium. Pictures are animated with various techniques to highlight elements in the illustrations in sync with the story telling to support children’s meaning-making. To achieve synchronization, the designer parses the visual information into smaller chunks to more closely eye-track the narration. Mayer (2009) introduced temporal contiguity as a multimedia learning principle, predicting that students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively. For similar reasons digital books may also include music (representing the mood of the main characters) and environmental sounds (running herd, birds chirping). Due to other multimedia learning principles such as the modality principle or the redundancy principle, extra auditory information sources may be more interfering than supportive in learning from storybooks.
Method. To pinpoint the efficacy of the new prototype, experiments in this domain followed the logic of a value-added experiment contrasting a version without the new ingredients (static version) with versions that include the new ingredients (Mayer, 2014). We combined the data of the studies carried out thus far to enable Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis. By combining this set of small-scale studies, we may solve lack of power due to small samples and brief interventions and explore effects of variation in design. The data set includes 869 participants.
The sample involves 10 studies carried out in five different countries: Israel (2X), Hungary (1X), Turkey (1X), US (2X), Netherlands (4X). The studies include five types of additional multimedia contrasted with static books: animated illustration, music, environmental sounds, music +sounds, animated illustration + music/ sounds. Outcome measures are story comprehension, book-based receptive vocabulary, and book-based expressive vocabulary.
Thus far we targeted the following contrasts: multimedia enhancements vs. static, single vs. combined multimedia enhancements, and additional visual enhancements vs. additional auditory enhancements.
Results (from analyses based on an incomplete data set). Additional multimedia enhancements in digital books stimulate learning from book reading. Effect sizes range from .21 for story comprehension to .28 for expressive vocabulary. Visual multimedia additions have a significant effect while music/sounds do not significantly differ from zero.
Tentative conclusions. Digital books can offer additional tools that are more helpful than the static pictures in paper books. Particularly pictures that are animated by adding camera movements and motion support learning through book reading. Music and environmental sounds should be added parsimoniously.

Author

• Adriana Bus, University of Stavanger
  Presenting Author