Supporting struggling readers with digital game-based learning

Miia Ronimus,Laura Pesu,Heikki Lyytinen,Kenneth Eklund

doi:10.1007/s11423-019-09658-3

Miia Ronimus, Laura Pesu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-019-09658-3

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Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of a digital game—GraphoLearn (GL)—in supporting second-grade students who have persistent difficulties with acquiring accurate and fluent reading skills. The participants (N = 37) were randomly assigned either to a 6-week intervention including sessions with GL, in addition to school-provided support, or a control group receiving only school-provided support. The intervention took place at the students’ homes and schools under the supervision of their parents and teachers. The results showed that the children who received the GL intervention developed significantly faster in word reading than the control group. Moreover, their reading development was significantly faster during the GL intervention compared with that of the follow-up period, which included only typical school-provided support. No transfer effects on reading fluency, reading comprehension, or spelling were found. Furthermore, the children who, according to the observations of their parents and teachers, showed higher cognitive engagement during the intervention had higher gains in word reading and sentence reading fluency than the children who appeared less cognitively engaged. Higher emotional engagement was related to increased playing time but not to larger gains in reading. The study indicates that a short digital game-based intervention training of letter–sound correspondences and word-level reading can give a boost to the reading development of struggling readers. Inspecting the engagement and in-game performance during gameplay provides important information that can be used for further development of the game to respond to the needs of the learners with severe difficulties.

Highlights

As learning tools, digital games are thought to have enormous potential because they can captivate children’s engagement for long periods of time (e.g., Gee 2007; Prensky 2001; Shute et al 2009)
The review of Girard et al (2012) indicated that serious games are promising learning tools, but the researchers stressed that firm conclusions about the effects of serious games cannot be made until more experimental studies comparing games with other forms of training are conducted
We focus on GraphoLearn (GL), the design of which is based on the results of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD)

Summary

Introduction

Digital games are thought to have enormous potential because they can captivate children’s engagement for long periods of time (e.g., Gee 2007; Prensky 2001; Shute et al 2009). Studies have not found consistent evidence that serious games would fulfill their potential as engaging learning tools. The review of Girard et al (2012) indicated that serious games are promising learning tools, but the researchers stressed that firm conclusions about the effects of serious games cannot be made until more experimental studies comparing games with other forms of training (or no training) are conducted. Students with learning difficulties often have motivational problems (Chapman et al 2000; Morgan and Fuchs 2007), and serious games could engage these students in learning more effectively than classroom instruction (Ke and Abras 2013; Rosas et al 2003)

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