Exploring Student Motivation to Exceed in the Online Reading Enrichment Program, MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach (MVRC)

Abstract

By Stephanie Sliemers, Psychology; Jordan Popp, Psychology

Advisor: Heidi Kloos

Presentation ID: PM_C03

Abstract: Many students struggle to attain proficiency in reading comprehension. To fix this deficit, an online intervention was implemented in 2nd - 9th grade classrooms to track their improvement. The reading enrichment program, MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach (MVRC), was applied as a remediation to support the improvement in reading. MVRC believes that students will improve one grade level in reading after 20 hours utilizing the program. It was found that students either plateau or improve in their reading scores, despite the amount of time spent on the program. Due to this observation, additional research was done to learn why some students perform better than others. A Midwestern school district provided data for the 2nd - 9th grade students who used the MVRC program (N = 6629). Multifaceted outcomes were found that can potentially effect student learning. The relevance of this study can provide educators with the knowledge and ability to correctly motivate struggling students to perform better. Further results and implications will be discussed.