Date of Award

Fall 2021

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Fatih Ari

Abstract

The purpose of this action research was to address the issue of first-grade students being unengaged and unmotivated to read independently for the recommended 20-minute block of time in class. Students were also not electing to read independently during any free time they had in class. This research was designed to investigate how implementing a personalized e-book reading plan (PRP) affected students’ reading motivation and engagement during independent reading. The research questions that guided this study were: (a) How and to what extent do the personalized e-book reading plans impact students’ motivation to read? (b) How and to what extent do the personalized e-book reading plans impact students’ reading engagement? (c) How might students’ attitudes toward reading change after the personalized e-book reading plan intervention? and (d) How and to what extent do the personalized e-book reading plans impact performance on reading comprehension quizzes?

PRPs were created for first-grade participants within the e-book library myON during teacher and student conferences. During these conferences, students were guided in creating PRPs that contained a specific number of books based on their interests and reading abilities. Teacher notes documented conferences and when students completed their PRPs. Observations prompted by the Reading Engagement Index (REI) provided information regarding student engagement while reading and revealed an increase in student engagement and less time engaging in off-task behaviors after the intervention was put in place. Student interviews were also used to gather qualitative data regarding students’ reading motivation and attitudes toward reading. The Me and My Reading Profile (MMRP) and the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) were used to gather data on students’ reading motivation and attitudes toward reading both before and after the intervention. These sources revealed students’ opinions of reading were impacted, however the overall value students found in reading was not. Finally, system logs provided data regarding the amount of time students spent reading before and during the intervention, the number of comprehension quizzes they took, and their quiz performance. These system logs revealed a significant increase in the amount of time students spent reading on myON, but there was a significant decrease in the number of quizzes taken and student quiz performance during the intervention.

These sources point to the PRP interventions having an impact students’ reading engagement and some impact on their reading motivation.

Rights

© 2021, Hannah Brunson Miles

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