“Plugging

 In?”  
Does Audio Learning Enhance
Skills and Attitudes in Students
who find Reading Challenging?
An action research project
By Kat Freeman and Faye Elliot
2009
Background and Rationale

“Experts agree that reading aloud is the single most important activity for developing proficient
reading skills. Reading aloud to young and older readers alike introduces new vocabulary and
concepts, provides demonstrations of proficient reading, and allows young children access to stories
that they are unable to read on their own or that they might not choose for themselves. Research
has also shown that reading aloud with children provides the foundation for their development as
readers.”1

Some children, for whatever reason, have missed out on the benefits and motivation
provided by being read to. As a result their strategies to become independent readers are
limited. Equally important these students also lack the motivation to want to read. We
wanted to investigate what tools could be effective in enhancing reading attitudes and
ability in students identified as finding reading challenging.

The aim of this action research was to investigate whether reading could be enhanced
through the use of audio books, DVDs and CDs. We surveyed students on the main
components of a typical reading programme. Students were asked to rate these
components as to their impact on their enjoyment of reading and on their perception of the
improvement these made to their reading skills.

Although explicit and targeted teaching of reading skills must remain the cornerstone of
any classroom reading programme, intuition and experience have led us to believe that
programmes that include the use of audio supports improve students’ reading proficiency
and motivation. With this action research we were seeking feedback to confirm our belief
in the importance of including these technologies in a well balanced reading programme.

1.
Audio Books and Literacy – An Educators Guide to Utilising Audio books in the Classroom by
Dr Frank Serafini 2004

Research Method
Students used for this research were those who had been identified by teachers as needing
extra reading support because they had achieved stanine four or less in the STAR reading
assessment completed in classes at the beginning of the year. We also included students
who rated their own attitude to reading and performance at reading as poor in the reading
attitude survey as part of the AsTTle reading assessment completed at the beginning of
the year.

There were fourteen students from eight classes included in the research. These students
fell into two groups, those identified as needing literacy support and those identified as
having a “poor attitude” to reading whose reading needs were catered for in a typical
classroom reading programme.

We were already convinced of the benefits of including audio supports in our classroom
reading programmes and have been doing so for some time. There was difficulty in
collecting “before and after” data as the students involved in this research had already
been exposed to audio support tools alongside components of a typical reading
programme when this action research project was started. We decided therefore to gather
data from the student voice via a survey (appendix 1). Students were surveyed on their
perceptions of their improvement in reading and on which components of their reading
programme they believed had led to this improvement. They were also asked to rate the
components of their reading programme as to how much they enhanced their enjoyment
of reading.

Research Findings
 The students were asked to rate how much they thought they had improved in their
reading skills this year. The table below shows the student responses.

1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at   Not   A  bit   Quite   Lots  
all   much   a  lot  
0% 0% 7% 57% 36%
 
 
The students were asked to rate each of the following components of a typical reading
programme as to how each had helped them to improve their reading skills this year.

1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at  all   Not   A  bit   Quite  a   Lots  
much   lot  
Using School Library 7% 7% 50% 29% 7%
BOB reading in class 7% 14% 36% 7% 36%
Reading at Home 7% 43% 36% 0% 14%
Reading along with iPod 8% 8% 8% 38% 38%
Interactive Reading DVDs 0% 18% 18% 28% 36%
Reading with a buddy 28.5% 28.5% 28.5% 14.5% 0%
“Plugging In” School Journal CDs 0% 0% 25% 42% 33%
Guided Group Reading sessions with teacher 0% 0% 23% 54% 23%
Discussing books read with group/teacher 0% 21% 29% 43% 7%
 
 
The students were asked to rate how much they had enjoyed their reading this year. The
table below shows the student responses.
 
 
1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at   Not   A  bit   Quite   Lots  
all   much   a  lot  
0% 7% 29% 43% 21%

The students were asked to rate each of the following components of a typical reading
programme as to how each had helped them to enjoy their reading this year.

1   2   3   4   5  
 Not  at  all   Not   A  bit   Quite  a   Lots  
much   lot  
Using School Library 7% 0% 57% 22% 14%
BOB reading in class 7% 7% 44% 21% 21%
Reading at Home 7% 50% 21% 15% 7%
Reading along with iPod 0% 16.5% 16.5% 25% 42%
Interactive Reading DVDs 0% 9% 27% 27% 37%
Reading with a buddy 22% 22% 44% 12% 0%
“Plugging In” School Journal CDs 0% 0% 42% 33% 25%
Guided Group Reading sessions with teacher 0% 0% 23% 62% 15%
Discussing books read with group/teacher 0% 14% 36% 36% 14%

Six students in one classroom reading programme used iPods to read audio books during
BOB reading sessions. In order to find out if these students rated “BOB reading in class”
differently we have separated that component into those who had iPod support during
this time and those who didn’t. This is shown in the table below.

Effect on Improvement of Reading Skills: 1   2   3   4   5  

Not  at  all   Not   A  bit   Quite  a   Lots  
much   lot  
BOB reading in class (those with iPod support) 0% 0% 0% 33% 67%

BOB reading in class (those without iPod 12.5% 12.5% 62.5% 0% 12.5%
support)

Effect on Enjoyment in Reading: 1   2   3   4   5  

Not  at  all   Not   A  bit   Quite  a   Lots  
much   lot  
BOB reading in class (those with iPod support) 0% 0% 17% 17% 66%

BOB reading in class (those without iPod 12.5% 12.5% 62.5% 12.5% 0%
support)

Discussion
All students had a positive perception of their progress in reading this year. 93% rated
their achievement as “quite a lot” or “lots”.
The components of the reading programme rated most highly by students as to their
effectiveness in improving reading skills were:
1. Guided Group Reading Sessions with teacher (77% rated as “quite a lot” or “lots”)
2. Reading along with iPod (76%)
3. “Plugging In” School Journal CDs (75%)
4. Interactive Reading DVDs (64%)
5. Discussing books read with group/teacher (50%)
6. BOB reading in class (43%)

BOB reading in class is included in this list, but it is necessary to look at the break down of
this data into those who had iPod support during this time and those who didn’t.
All students with iPod support during BOB reading times rated it as “quite a lot” or “lots”.
Only 12.5% of those without iPod support during BOB reading times rated it as “quite a
lot” or “lots”.

Most students enjoyed their reading this year. 64% rated their enjoyment as “quite a lot”
or “lots”.
The components of the reading programme rated most highly by students as to their
enjoyment were:
1. Guided Group Reading Sessions with teacher (77% rated as “quite a lot” or “lots”)
2. Reading along with Ipod (67%)
3. Interactive Reading DVDs (64%)
4. “Plugging In” School Journal CDs (58%)
5. Discussing books read with group/teacher (50%)
6. BOB reading in class (42%)

BOB reading in class is included in this list, but it is again necessary to look at the break
down of this data into those who had iPod support during this time and those who didn’t.
83% of those with iPod support during BOB reading times rated it as “quite a lot” or “lots”
while only 12.5% of those without iPod support during BOB reading times rated it as
“quite a lot” or “lots”.

During this research we generalised about a typical classroom reading programme, but it
is important to note that the participants in our study came from eight classes and there
were differences between programmes delivered. Also students in all classes were not
given access to iPods to support their reading.

The data collected in this survey is of student perception of their improvement in reading
skills and motivation. It would be useful to back this up with actual achievement data, but
unfortunately time constraints meant that was not feasible. We intend to compare the
February STAR assessment data to the November data to confirm our results.
Conclusion
This research has confirmed for us that explicit and targeted teaching of reading skills
must remain the cornerstone of any classroom reading programme. It is encouraging that
students rated this as the most effective component of their reading programme and the
most enjoyable.

The research also confirmed our belief that audio supports are important tools in
improving proficiency and motivation in reading. Students who had access to audio
supports as part of their reading programme reinforced that these components were
highly effective and motivating.

We hope that teachers will now be encouraged to think outside of the traditional
approaches to the teaching of reading. Incorporating audio technology into the classroom
reading programme is successful in providing a way for students to improve proficiency
in reading, access quality literature and enjoy books.

References

Serafin, F. (2004). Audio Books and Literacy. An Educators Guide to Utilising Audio books in the
Classroom. Random House
Varley, P. (2002). Ad good as reading? Kids and the audiobook revolution. The Horn
Book Magazine, 251 – 262
 Appendix  1:  
What  has  helped  you  to  be  a  better  reader  this  
year?  
 
  1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at   Not   A  bit   Quite   Lots  
all   much   a  lot  
How  much  do  you  think  you  have  improved  in  your            
reading  skills  this  year?  
 
Rate  the  following  as  to  how  each  has  helped  you  to  improve  your  reading  skills  this  
year.    
  1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at   Not   A  bit   Quite   Lots  
all   much   a  lot  
Using  School  Library            
BOB  reading  in  class            
Reading  at  Home            
Reading  along  with  iPod            
Interactive  Reading  DVDs            
Reading  with  a  buddy            
“Plugging  In”  School  Journal  CDs            
Guided  Group  Reading  sessions  with  teacher            
Discussing  books  read  with  group/teacher            
Other  (please  name)            
 
  1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at   Not   A  bit   Quite   Lots  
all   much   a  lot  
How  much  have  you  have  enjoyed  your  reading  this            
year?  
 
Rate  the  following  as  to  how  each  has  helped  you  to  enjoy  your  reading  this  year.  
  1   2   3   4   5  
Not  at   Not   A  bit   Quite   Lots  
all   much   a  lot  
Using  School  Library            
BOB  reading  in  class            
Reading  at  Home            
Reading  along  with  iPod            
Interactive  Reading  DVDs            
Reading  with  a  buddy            
“Plugging  In”  School  Journal  CDs            
Guided  Group  Reading  sessions  with  teacher            
Discussing  books  read  with  group/teacher            
Other  (please  name)