ABSTRACT Norris Darell Parker. UTILIZING SCRIBBLENAUTS TO INCREASE READING COMPREHENSION AND IMPROVE LITERACY SKILLS OF THIRD GRADE STUDENTS (Under the direction of Dr. Robert M. Reardon) Department of Educational Leadership, March, 2015. The LEA’s problem of practice upon which this research was focused on improving academic achievement in the areas of reading comprehension, fluency and other literacy skills. In particular, the LEA is very concerned about third grade reading scores in the light of North Carolina legislation that implements a reading proficiency test to be taken by all third grade students. The focus of this research was to use "Scribblenauts Unlimited," a commercial-off-the- shelf video game to bolster the reading skills of third grade students in an elementary school located in a rural school district in eastern North Carolina. The research design of this action research study utilized pre - and post- assessment to measure the effectiveness of students’ involvement with “Scribblenauts Unlimited.” The intervention time-line consisted of sixteen weeks of intervention during which two sections of students alternated the roles of intervention and control groups at the eight-week mark. The intervention was implemented for one hour per week during student computer laboratory times. The one-hour per week exposure was divided into two thirty-minute sessions, one on each of two days each week. The quantitative data consisted of participant’s scores on the Reading 3D assessment. The qualitative data was gathered by means of video observations of selected small groups of students and, snapshot insights into individual participants’ learning experiences by means of experience sampling methodology. During each intervention time, a video camera was set up in the computer laboratory and focused on a small group of four or five participants. One or two of the members of the group on which the video camera was focused were invited to “think aloud” through excerpts of the edited videos. The aim was to capture the participants’ learning experience in their own words at what they seem to be key points of their learning trajectory. At the end of each eight-week intervention session, a survey designed to measure the extent to which participants experienced flow was administered to the participants in the intervention. UTILIZING SCRIBBLENAUTS TO INCREASE READING COMPREHENSION AND IMPROVE LITERACY SKILLS OF THIRD GRADE STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership by Norris Darell Parker March, 2015 ©Copyright 2015 Norris Darell Parker UTILIZING SCRIBBLENAUTS TO INCREASE READING COMPREHENSION AND IMPROVE LITERACY SKILLS OF THIRD GRADE STUDENTS by Norris Darell Parker APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF DISSERTATION:_________________________________________________ Robert M. Reardon, PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER:________________________________________________________ William A. Rouse, Jr., EdD COMMITTEE MEMBER:________________________________________________________ James McDowelle, EdD COMMITTEE MEMBER:________________________________________________________ John C. Mansfield, EdD CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: _____________________________________________________ William A. Rouse, Jr., EdD DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL: ______________________________________________________ Paul Gemperline, PhD DEDICATION My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As I reflect on this experience, I choose to glorify the One whose love, grace, and mercy have guided and sustained me through tremendous challenges and rewarding experiences. My life’s journey has not been a linear one. I pray that You will continue to walk with me no matter the path You have chosen. All things are possible through You, who gives me strength. This dream fulfilled is proof of that. Next, I would like to thank my family for their love and patience. My mother, Carolyn Richardson, has been a perpetual source of unconditional love. Simply put, I would not be here or anywhere without you. Thank you for your words of encouragement, your supportive silence, and your unwavering support. My father, John L. Parker, taught me a long list of life lessons. You taught me the importance of honoring my blessings, but your greatest gift to me was being a shining example of loving all children, including me. My wife of nineteen years, Regina, is my best friend and partner in life. You have walked with me through both good and bad times and yet, Christ has enabled us to laugh, share, serve, and persevere together. You are beautiful. I love you. And I’m not going anywhere. My daughters, Maya and Morgan, are my inspiration. My love for you creates perpetual joy in my heart. As I often say while waking you in the morning, “You are beautiful, wonderful, precious, special and super-duper smart!” I thank my church family at Believer’s Fellowship Center for their love, patience, and continual prayer covering. Pastors Bea, Rick, and Diane Carson have been instrumental in my spiritual growth. I thank the Rose family for their love and support. My aunts and uncles have been mothers and fathers to me. My cousins, namely, Terence Pope, have been my brothers and sisters. I thank the Rodgers family for loving me like one of their own, especially Deford and Ruth Rodgers who showed me love, kindness, humor, and a wonderful example of sustaining a marriage based in Jesus Christ. I thank the Parker family for their love and kindness. I hope that our relationship will continue to grow. I thank the hard working professionals at Martin County Schools for their kindness, patience, and support. Specifically, I would like to thank Ron Melchiorre, Dr. J. Chris Mansfield, and Doug Bullock for their guidance, advice, and support. I would also like to thank the teachers and staff members of East End Elementary School in Robersonville, North Carolina. Specifically, I would like to thank Michelle James, Latonya Williams, and Michelle Mobley for their support. I would also like to thank the parents and caregivers of the study’s participants for trusting me to work with your most valuable resource, your beautiful children. It has been an honor, pleasure, and privilege to serve you. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A sincere debt of gratitude and appreciation goes to my advisor and committee chair Dr. R. Martin Reardon for his continuous support and guidance throughout my doctoral process. A special thank you goes out to Dr. James O. McDowelle for being a role model and supporter in the most authentic sense, and also as the instructor of several of my classes during my doctoral experience. A special thank you for Dr. William Art Rouse, Jr. for taking a risk and giving me the opportunity to participate in the most rewarding educational experience of my life. I am truly grateful for my experiences as a graduate student at East Carolina University and I have and will continue to do everything possible to make you proud for allowing me to grow in so many ways. I also want to thank Dr. William Grobe and Dr. Kermit Buckner for their guidance and expertise. I want to thank Dr. Leon Hollemon for inspiring me to apply to East Carolina University’s doctoral program and to begin this journey. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE……………………………………………………………………………………. i SIGNATURE…………………………………………………………………………….. ii COPYRIGHT……………………………………………………………………………. iii DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………….. xii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………… xiv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………... 1 Videogames as Opportunities for Educational Programming…………………….. 1 Problem of Practice……………………………………………………………….. 2 The Potential Role of Videogames……………………………………………….. 10 Learning Theory and Classroom Implementation………………………………… 11 How Videogames Can Increase Student Engagement……………………………. 13 Motivation and Flow……………………………………………………………… 15 Method of Intervention…………………………………………………………… 17 Action Research Approach………………………………………………………... 18 Research Plan……………………………………………………………………... 20 Evidence of Effectiveness………………………………………………….. 21 How the Research will be Conducted………………………………………. 22 Choosing the Videogame for the Intervention……………………………... 22 Research Questions……………………………………………………………….. 24 Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………….. 24 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………… 28 Teaching a Generation of Digital Natives………………………………………… 28 How Videogames Can Improve Student Learning………………………………... 31 Creating an Effective Classroom Environment with Videogames………………... 33 Choosing a COTS Videogame to Accomplish Educational Goals……………….. 34 How Videogames Can Promote Social Understanding and Cultural Awareness… 35 Strategies for Videogame Classroom Implementation…………………………… 38 How Videogames Can Motivate Our Students……………………………………. 40 Limitations of Digital Game-Based Learning…………………………………….. 42 Inherent Limitations………………………………………………………... 42 Cost and Accessibility……………………………………………………… 48 Experience Sampling Method…………………………………………………….. 49 Intensity of Treatment…………………………………………………………….. 52 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………….. 59 Participants………………………………………………………………………... 59 Intervention………………………………………………………………………... 60 Implementation……………………………………………………………………. 63 Game Description…………………………………………………………………. 65 Data Collection……………………………………………………………………. 68 Quantitative Data…………………………………………………………….