Engaged Reading Leads To Improved Reading

I love it when the way I teach is supported by research. Below is a summary of the research done by Ivey and Johnson:

Engagement with Young Adult Literature: Outcomes and Processes

Gay Ivey and Peter Johnston

Reading Research Quarterly, 48, 355-375 (2013)

They are talking specifically about books to have the engagement in reading where I used technology to get the same results.   

• Engaged reading. Students reported (and the researchers and teachers noted) deep engagement with books and book characters not only during class, but also outside of class—students said they were getting in trouble for reading during other classes and after bedtime. Others even reported reading instead of watching television and playing video games.
• Talk through and about books. Students said they talked more about books, both in spontaneous conversations with their classmates, and with friends and family outside of school.
• Relationships. Students described changes in their personal relationships that they attributed to their engagement with reading. They often used the books they read as a way to make new friends, deepen existing friendships, and grow stronger and more complex relationships with teachers and parents.
• Identities/selves. Many students saw themselves in a new light as a result of engaging deeply with reading. For example, one student identified herself as a bookworm; another student commented that his reading had improved to the point that he no longer considered himself a “slow” reader.  Other students’ comments reflected a similar shift from a fixed performance mindset to a dynamic view of learning.
• Agency. Many students in the study reported an increase in agency—the sense that they have the power to make positive changes in their social relationships, academic and personal lives, and in their communities.