Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course
This project investigated the impact of incorporating e-reader texts and annotation tools in an upper level philosophy course. This project adds to the body of literature that assesses gains/losses in conventional measures of performance (e.g., scores on graded assignments) and changes in student at...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Indiana University Office of Scholarly Publishing
2019-01-01
|
Series: | Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals-playground/index.php/josotl/article/view/23978 |
id |
doaj-e8abe877db2b469a89cbeb61bedc8cd2 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-e8abe877db2b469a89cbeb61bedc8cd22020-11-25T00:25:37ZengIndiana University Office of Scholarly PublishingJournal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning1527-93162019-01-0119310.14434/josotl.v19i2.23978Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy CourseMark Jensen0Lauren Scharff1United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force AcademyThis project investigated the impact of incorporating e-reader texts and annotation tools in an upper level philosophy course. This project adds to the body of literature that assesses gains/losses in conventional measures of performance (e.g., scores on graded assignments) and changes in student attitudes as reported in questionnaires. However, this project was unique in that it focused on training students to use e-reader tools for critical reading practices and it included assessment of student annotations and their relationship with the performance measures. We tested the hypothesis that, with intentional training and a course-design that provided multiple opportunities for practice and feedback, students using e-readers for critical engagement with their reading assignments would demonstrate (a) deeper understanding of the content of the texts, (b) improvement in their use of critical reading practices, and (c) improvement in their attitudes toward the use of e-readers for academic work. While we did not observe significant gains in graded assignments compared with control groups using printed texts, we found no evidence of losses for students using e-readers. At the same time, we found evidence of improvement in students’ critical reading practices, especially when paired with modeling and practice throughout the term. We also observed significant positive changes in student attitudes toward the use of e-readers for academic work, compared with controls. Our findings suggest that achieving the benefits of e-readers for the development of critical reading skills requires a course with design elements that are specifically tailored to this purpose.https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals-playground/index.php/josotl/article/view/23978critical readinge-texte-booke-readerannotationcourse design |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Mark Jensen Lauren Scharff |
spellingShingle |
Mark Jensen Lauren Scharff Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning critical reading e-text e-book e-reader annotation course design |
author_facet |
Mark Jensen Lauren Scharff |
author_sort |
Mark Jensen |
title |
Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course |
title_short |
Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course |
title_full |
Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course |
title_fullStr |
Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course |
title_full_unstemmed |
Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course |
title_sort |
improving critical reading with e-texts: a controlled study in a collegiate philosophy course |
publisher |
Indiana University Office of Scholarly Publishing |
series |
Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning |
issn |
1527-9316 |
publishDate |
2019-01-01 |
description |
This project investigated the impact of incorporating e-reader texts and annotation tools in an upper level philosophy course. This project adds to the body of literature that assesses gains/losses in conventional measures of performance (e.g., scores on graded assignments) and changes in student attitudes as reported in questionnaires. However, this project was unique in that it focused on training students to use e-reader tools for critical reading practices and it included assessment of student annotations and their relationship with the performance measures. We tested the hypothesis that, with intentional training and a course-design that provided multiple opportunities for practice and feedback, students using e-readers for critical engagement with their reading assignments would demonstrate (a) deeper understanding of the content of the texts, (b) improvement in their use of critical reading practices, and (c) improvement in their attitudes toward the use of e-readers for academic work. While we did not observe significant gains in graded assignments compared with control groups using printed texts, we found no evidence of losses for students using e-readers. At the same time, we found evidence of improvement in students’ critical reading practices, especially when paired with modeling and practice throughout the term. We also observed significant positive changes in student attitudes toward the use of e-readers for academic work, compared with controls. Our findings suggest that achieving the benefits of e-readers for the development of critical reading skills requires a course with design elements that are specifically tailored to this purpose. |
topic |
critical reading e-text e-book e-reader annotation course design |
url |
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals-playground/index.php/josotl/article/view/23978 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT markjensen improvingcriticalreadingwithetextsacontrolledstudyinacollegiatephilosophycourse AT laurenscharff improvingcriticalreadingwithetextsacontrolledstudyinacollegiatephilosophycourse |
_version_ |
1725347851374952448 |