Student Research Guide SPQ25/ Reading Comprehension and Digital Formats

Digital Media Downfalls and its Effects on Reading Comprehension

 This is a student created research guide for English 102 & Library 201 Learning community. This guide was completed in conjunction with a research paper on the same topic for English 102..

The purpose of this guide is to explore issues regarding reading comprehension

• The shift from print to digital media has negatively impacted reading comprehension as it encourages skimming while reading, which reduces attention span and alters how information is retained.
• The research questions addresses in this guide are:

1. How does digital media affect reading comprehension?
2. What other factors in learning affects reading comprehension?
3. What are the other distractions in school and home that cause issues with reading comprehension?
4. Why is it such and issue?

Reading comprehension, the ability to remember and understand what we read, is crucial for academic success, communication, and being a successful adult. Recent national data reveal an alarming decrease in reading comprehension, especially among younger children. The aim of this paper is to understand why reading comprehension is harder for students throughout the United States. The most discussed variables are digital distractions, shallow reading, limited access to resources, ineffective reading instruction, unmotivated learners, and learning loss from COVID-19. The paper is based on national testing data, peer-reviewed education research and reports from organizations such as the National Literacy Trust and the National Council on Teacher Quality. It draws on studies about the contributions of reading habits, teaching strategies, and wider contextual factors on comprehension. Results show that students are increasingly skimming text. They are having difficulty concentrating, and reading does not feel meaningful to them. Access to books is less available for low-income students, and many schools are underfunded. Many teachers also have not had any training in evidence-based comprehension strategies. Unmotivated students, or students who are uninterested in the text, are less likely to read in a meaningful way. To stop the decline, change needs to occur on multiple levels. Solutions could be supporting teacher professional development experiences, increasing access to books for homes and schools, providing family-oriented literacy support, as well as providing culturally relevant reading materials that support student identities and interests. A balanced approach to using digital devices and providing public policy support will be essential. If nothing changes, the gap in reading will only become larger and adversely affect lifelong learning and opportunity.

I’m researching reading comprehension—how people understand and retain information from what they read. I want to explore how this is affected by digital formats, including audiobooks and eBooks, compared to traditional print reading.

Main Issues:

• Attention Switching: Students are disrupted constantly when they are on their devices, causing them to change course.  They are not engaged in a traditional book, they notifications and pop ups constantly distracting them.
• Skimming: When reading on computers or e'books, student tend to speed up the process of reading by skimming the content. They are not reading every word, so they are not comprehending the whole story. 
• Support and Resources: Students from lower income neighborhoods and school have less access to help with reading and their have a larger number of literacy issues.

Stakeholders:

Students: The students do not know any different. Many are raised with computers and hand held devices in their hands from a young age. They do not even notice the distractions it causes.

Teachers: Teachers no longer have the access to children's attention when they are on computers or hand held devices. Its much harder to get them to focus at the level that is needed.