Student engagement with evidence-based supports for literacy on a digital platform

Abstract

There is a persistent gap between education research and practice, including in the design of educational technology. This study bridges this gap and examines our partnership with a literacy platform to implement evidence-based digital features that support different learner needs. We examined students’ (N = 1857; Grades 1-6) use of these new optional features (e.g., audio supports, text magnification, annotation) when completing assignments online and found that 92% of students tried at least one. Importantly, we also found that students showed greater engagement with harder assignments when they used the features. Use of the support features did not differ by student characteristics such as reading proficiency, special education, or socioeconomic status, suggesting that developing research-informed features could potentially benefit all students when they need extra scaffolding.