Adopting a traditional reading syllabus as digital, map-oriented lessons featuring audio recording capabilities has made it captivating for learners at all reading capabilities

Elementary students advance their reading abilities more swiftly through an engaging, digital learning system compared to traditional, pen-and-paper instruction, as per a study conducted by the University of Michigan, Saginaw Valley State University, and Ypsilanti Community Schools.

The research revealed that when elementary pupils in Ypsilanti Community Schools utilized the reading syllabus via the Roadmap Learning Platform on school laptops a minimum of twice weekly, their scores averaged at the 48th percentile in an online assessment measuring their reading progress throughout the academic year. In contrast, students engaging exclusively with the traditional paper version recorded an average of 39th percentile, ranking below 61% of the surveyed cohort. The findings have been published in the Journal of Interactive Learning Research.

“It’s truly thrilling to witness the tangible impact aligning with the anecdotal evidence we consistently observe. It reinforces the significance of our efforts,” stated Elliot Soloway, a professor specializing in computer science and engineering, education, and information, and co-director at the U-M Center for Digital Curricula, where the Roadmap Platform was created.

Soloway and his colleagues at the Center for Digital Curricula engineered the Roadmap Platform to elevate student involvement, a concern that nearly half of all educators report is declining. Soloway’s approach focuses on delivering the interactive, digital content anticipated by Generation Alpha learners. According to the Pew Research Center, over half of the current elementary school students began utilizing smartphones before turning five years old.

“Smartphones have become their preferred interactive device,” mentioned Carlos Lopez, assistant superintendent of Ypsilanti Community Schools and co-author of the research. “Our challenge was to develop a platform equally engaging.”

There is hope that re-engaging learners will restore their literacy skills, which are still in decline. Only 31% of fourth-grade students in the United States were considered proficient readers in 2024, based on the findings from The Nation’s Report Card. Compared to 2019, fourth-grade literacy witnessed a decline of four percentage points.

The study findings imply that the U-M Center for Digital Curricula’s solution is effective. In similar districts like Ypsilanti Community Schools, where half of the students benefited from free and reduced lunch in 2022, improvements in reading can significantly impact students.

“For many students, the nine-point gain we observe can determine whether they meet grade-level expectations for reading standards or fall short,” stated Anne Tapp Jaksa, an education professor at Saginaw Valley State University and the primary author of the research. “By using the Roadmap Platform, we have converted the static curricula into dynamic, cooperative lessons, enhancing student involvement and learning.”

The Roadmap Platform captivates students using lessons structured as graphical networks, referred to as Roadmaps, allowing learners to navigate through them instead of merely converting paper assignments into digital formats. This map-oriented structure facilitates interactive activities to be integrated effortlessly into existing syllabuses and empowers students with autonomy over their education by permitting them to explore lessons at their own pace, either independently or collaboratively.

Independent tasks can pose challenges for learners not reading at grade level, yet the Roadmap Platform enables instructors to record auditory instructions and vocabulary, also allowing students to document their responses. These functionalities render independent work more manageable for those facing difficulties.

“There exists a substantial disparity between our highest and lowest-performing students, but thanks to Roadmaps, they receive all the necessary accommodations,” remarked Melanie Eccles, a fifth-grade teacher at Ypsilanti International Elementary School who has utilized the Roadmap Platform for three years. “If students who read below grade level can listen to the text read aloud, they’re gaining exposure to advanced vocabulary and cognitive skills, even as I attend to other learners.”

The level of support that the Roadmap Platform offers is what renders it highly appealing to the school district.

“The groundbreaking work we’ve witnessed through this initiative excites me because it adapts to students’ needs and introduces them to the realm of literature,” Lopez expressed.

The Roadmap Platform will be showcased at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning’s conference in Detroit from March 19-21.

The Roadmap Platform was licensed to Roadmap Learning Inc. through the support of U-M’s Innovation Partnerships. Soloway and the University of Michigan maintain financial stakes in the company.