TDNet Discover

The purpose of this quantitative, comparative study was to examine differences between pre-test and post-test early literacy scores among preschool-aged students who participated in application-based instruction in private early childhood classrooms. This study focused on a problem many early childhood educators face when choosing literacy applications because they may not always know whether these tools are connected to measurable learning growth. The study used a de-identified secondary dataset and included 263 preschool students from private early childhood classrooms with complete pre- and post-test reading scores. The original study measured students’ early reading performance before and after application-based instruction. The data were analyzed with a paired-samples t-test, and a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was also used because the difference scores did not meet the assumption of normality. The results showed a statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test reading scores. Students scored higher after participating in application-based instruction. These findings suggest that application-based instruction was associated with growth in early literacy scores for this sample. However, because the study did not include a control group, the results do not show that the application alone caused the improvement. This study contributes to the discussion of early childhood literacy, educational technology, and instructional design by drawing on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning to examine how digital literacy tools may support young learners. Future research should include comparison groups, examine specific application features, include more early childhood settings, and use qualitative or mixed methods to better understand how teachers and students use literacy applications.