Abstract

This paper is part of a work-in-progress that reports on the design, development, and evaluation of a Digital Collaborative Strategic Reading (DCSR) application with regard to its effectiveness in improving English as a second language (ESL) reading comprehension. The DCSR application allows users to read collaboratively on multi-touch and multi-user digital tabletop displays that support both face-to-face and computer-based interaction. The application is designed to provide systematic instruction on tabletop computers using four main comprehension strategies that form the Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) instructional approach. The paper addresses one main research question: ‘How does the use of the tabletop-based reading application (DCSR) affect learners’ reading processes and outcomes?”, and the following sub-questions: (1) What is the impact of the tabletop-based reading system on learners’ reading scores with regard to the reading assessments? (2) How do learners collaboratively construct meaning on the tabletop? To answer these research questions, the subjects used the DCSR application on tabletop computers in groups of four, once a week for 5 weeks. Data were collected and analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Each reading session was preceded by a cloze test and followed by two types of assessment: a written recall test and a cloze test; both tests were designed to reflect the students' comprehension of the reading passages. The paper will report on the design of the software and the administration of the study, but will focus on the analysis of the data from the different sources, and present insights into the nature of collaborative reading using the DCSR application on a tabletop computer.