The Effect of the Vocabulary Spelling City App on Student Performance in Spelling, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in Grades 5-8 at Glenview Adventist Academy
Authors:   , Lista Fernando 
Published: May 2021

Problem and Purpose Students in fifth through eighth grades at Glenview Adventist Academy (GAA) presented difficulties in the subjects of spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The school had not followed the previous 10-year trend of technology implementation in the classroom, in spite of conclusive research on its advantages. This study was conducted to determine to what extent teaching methodology and the use of technology could affect academic performance in the areas of spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Research on the implementation of software and the use of tablets (iPad Minis) in the classroom has been scarce and contradictory in the past decade (Heinrich, 2012; Roser, 2017). Hence, the need to conduct a study which would provide input in this area to guide future curriculum and technology implementation decisions for GAA and the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Department of Education. Method A quantitative quasi-experimental design was utilized. Elementary students from Grades 5 through 8, enrolled at GAA during school years 2013–2016 (the experimental or technology group), were exposed to the use of the software Vocabulary Spelling City (VSC) through a technology medium named iPad minis. Students from the same grades from the other schools of the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventist were chosen to be the control group. All students from the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists were tested academically in the areas of spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension using ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) during September and again in April for three consecutive years. SPSS software was used to enter the test results, and to conduct a sample paired t test, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and a repeated measures of covariance. Findings A significant difference between groups was found among the students who experienced the technology intervention when compared to their performance during the previous year when they were taught using the traditional methods of teaching spelling (p = 0.038). No group difference was found in both groups of students (experimental and control) between pretest and posttest in spelling (p = 0.652; η2 = 0.002) during the first year of technology and software implementation (iPad mini and VSC). After conducting a repeated measures ANCOVA to track the experimental group of students at GAA over a period of two years, there was no significant difference in spelling performance when compared to their counterparts from the other Seventh-day Adventist schools in Arizona (p = 0.702; η2 = 0.003). Furthermore, after conducting a repeated measures ANCOVA to track the experimental group of students at GAA over a period of three years, there was no significant difference in spelling performance when compared with the control group (p = 0.369; η2 = 0.027). No significant difference in growth was found among the GAA students who experienced the technology intervention when compared to their performance during the prior year when they were taught by using the traditional methods of teaching vocabulary (p = 0.331). No difference was found for the GAA students in vocabulary when compared to their peers in other Seventh-day Adventist schools in Arizona after the end of the first year of the technology implementation (p = 0.203; η2 = 0.014). After conducting a repeated measures ANCOVA to track the experimental group of students at GAA over a period of two years, there was no significant difference in vocabulary performance when compared to their counterparts from the other Seventh-day Adventist schools in Arizona (p = 0.572; η2 = 0.006). Furthermore, after conducting a repeated measures ANCOVA to track the experimental group of students at GAA over a period of three years, there was no significant difference in vocabulary performance when compared with the control group (p = 0.134; η2 = 0.073). No significant group differences was found among the students who experienced the technology intervention when compared to their performance during the prior year, when they were taught using the traditional methods of teaching reading comprehension (p = 0.735). No difference was found for the GAA students in reading comprehension when compared to their peers in other Seventh-day Adventist schools in Arizona after the end of the first year of the technology implementation (p = 0.362; η2 = 0.007 ). After conducting a repeated measures ANCOVA to track the experimental group of students at GAA over a period of two years, there was no significant difference in reading comprehension performance when compared to their counterparts from the other Seventh-day Adventist schools in Arizona (p = 0.181; η2 = 0.032). Furthermore, after conducting a repeated measures ANCOVA to track the experimental group of students at GAA over a period of three years, there was no significant difference in reading comprehension performance when compared with the control group (p = 0.073; η2 = 0.103). Conclusions and Recommendations Based on the results from this study, the use of tablets and educational software did not provide statistical significant academic benefits to GAA students in the areas of spelling and reading comprehension. Although, when looking to the unadjusted means between the technology group in comparison with the control group, an increase in academic performance can be observed. Hence, the recommendation for future research to use a more sensitive instrument for measuring intervention effects than the standardized academic test used in this study (ITBS). That students at GAA, who were part of the technology group for three years, were not at a disadvantage academically in the areas of spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension when compared to the fifth- through eighth-grade students from the other Seventh-day Adventist schools in Arizona provided valuable information regarding students’ academic performance when using tablets and educational software. These findings were consistent with several studies (ASCD & OverDrive, 2016; Moon et al., 2017; Schoology, 2017; Wang, 2017). Furthermore, the implementation of immersive technology in the classroom concurs with educational and curricular trend of equipping students with 21st-Century skills (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2016; Federal Communications Commission, 2012; Gross, 2013; US Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, 2010). In summary, further research could investigate the degree of student involvement, engagement, self-motivation, teachers’ perception toward technology, impact of technology instruction and the workforce, and satisfaction in classrooms when tablets and educational apps are implemented. (Singleton & Simmons, 2001).