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Preschoolers’ Visual Attention during Electronic Storybook Reading as Related to Different Types of Textual Supports

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Abstract

Preschoolers’ (n = 32) attention to print and pictures was documented during an electronic storybook reading session. Children (M = 51.06 months; SD = 7.34 months) looked at a 12-page book that contained three types of pages, each of which was presented four times over the course of the book: (1) silent presentation of print, (2) print that was read aloud, and (3) print that was both read aloud and highlighted. Our research objectives were to analyze whether the way in which print was presented related to the ways in which children attended to print and pictures during the reading session. Gaze fixation duration to print and pictures was assessed using a Tobii X2-60 portable eye tracking unit, which captured corneal reflection data for each child. Children’s total fixation duration to print was greatest when print was read aloud and highlighted as compared to when it was presented silently or read aloud. In addition, children looked at print more when it was displayed silently than when the computer read the story to children, although this difference was much smaller in magnitude. Children attended to pictures more than print across pages, but this difference was most notable when the story was read aloud. Results demonstrate the potential utility of nonverbal print referencing strategies during book reading.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Michigan State University, 552 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Lori E. Skibbe

  2. Educational Psychology, Texas A & M University, 652 Harrington Office Building, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Julie L. Thompson

  3. Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, Michigan State University, 341 Erickson, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Joshua B. Plavnick

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  1. Lori E. Skibbe
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  2. Julie L. Thompson
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  3. Joshua B. Plavnick
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Correspondence to Lori E. Skibbe.

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Skibbe, L.E., Thompson, J.L. & Plavnick, J.B. Preschoolers’ Visual Attention during Electronic Storybook Reading as Related to Different Types of Textual Supports. Early Childhood Educ J 46, 419–426 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0876-4

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