| The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if a significant difference existed in reading achievement between third grade students in Oklahoma who used iPads in the classroom on an individual basis versus students who did not. The theoretical foundation was Piaget's constructivist theory. The sample consisted of 312 students; 43.6% (n = 136) in a school that used iPads, and 56.4% ( n = 176) in a school that did not. The researcher used student scores from beginning and end-of-year STAR Reading assessments to determine changes in achievement. The first research question addressed the differences in reading scores of students who used interactive handheld devices in reading on a daily basis compared to third graders who did not. There was a within-subjects interaction between school and reading scores, F(1.87, 580.52) = 4.25, p = .017. There was also a significant between-subjects effect for school, F(1, 310) = 6.40, p = .012. The second research question addressed the difference between male and female student scores between the two groups. Scores improved for both males and females combined, F(1.86, 249.53) = 215.94, p < .001. There was no within and between subjects interaction between gender, school, and reading scores, F(1.86, 249.53) = 1.97, p = .144, indicating that the mean reading scores changed at the same rate for both genders. The practical implication of this study is that teachers should leverage devices to enhance the lessons for all students no matter the gender. Descriptive statistics showed the iPad group mean score was 19.73 points greater than the non-iPad group, indicating a need for further research since this differed from the overall statistically significant results. |
