Developing a Multimodal Interactive Learning Environment to Enhance the Reading Comprehension of Grade 4 Students in the UAE Public Schools

Abstract

The research aimed to develop and validate a Multimodality Interactive Learning Environment (MILE), in order to enhance the reading comprehension skills of Grade 4 students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public schools. The reading comprehension skills and strategies were drawn from Davis’s (2013) model Building Comprehension Strategies, which include: making the connection, visualization, prediction and pre-prediction, asking and answering questions, inferencing, retelling and paraphrasing, and summarization. Since the international exam for Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) targets Grade 4 students, the MILE was developed pedagogically and technologically to address specific and well-selected activities for Grade 4 students to practise cognitive skills and strategies related to the intended curriculum and syllabus. The study was guided by a developmental and design-based research approach. The MILE was designed on the basis of the Four Components of the Instructional Design model (4C/ID); and it was validated in a public school in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The participants were 27 students from Grade 4. The research findings showed that the proper design of MILE to enhance Arabic reading comprehension is a combination of constructive learning, based on self-generated activities and cognitive strategies. In addition, the proposed MILE was designed for a progression of 200% among low-level committed students. The ‘retelling and paraphrasing’ skills were the easiest, whereas ‘summarisation’ was the hardest. Based on these findings, the research suggested some recommendations, in order to ensure the quality of the learning, and the assessment of the Arabic language in the UAE public schools.