Measuring Student Apprehension, Comprehension, and Engagement in the E-book Era
Join Dr. Lisa Shin, Tufts University, and Dr. Sam Sommers, Tufts University, as they highlight the results from two research studies that were conducted to assess psychology students’ reactions to using an e-text and the effects of textbook medium on engagement and comprehension.
Dr. Lisa Shin, Tufts University
Dr. Sam Sommers, Tufts University
In this session, we’ll highlight the results from two research studies that were conducted to assess psychology students’ reactions to using an e-text and the effects of textbook medium on engagement and comprehension. We’ll share our experience with Study 1, where we capitalized on a naturally occurring quasi-experiment: the same course was taught in consecutive semesters, but once with a traditional hardcopy book and once with an electronic version of the same text. Then, we’ll dive into Study 2, where we conducted an experiment in which participants read the same section of a text, but were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) print textbook; 2) non-interactive pdf; 3) interactive e-text. The results may surprise you.
About the speakers
Dr. Lisa Shin, Tufts University
Dr. Lisa Shin earned her AB from Dartmouth College, her PhD in psychology from Harvard University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatric neuroimaging in the Department of Psychiatry at The Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She has been on the faculty at Tufts since 1998, where she’s currently professor and chair in the Department of Psychology.
The principal theme of Dr. Shin’s research involves examining brain function and cognitive processing in patients with anxiety disorders, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder. She received the Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the Young Investigator’s Research Award from the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. She is co-author of Invitation to Psychology, 7th Edition.
Dr. Sam Sommers, Tufts University
Dr. Sam Sommers earned his BA from Williams College and his PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan. Since 2003, he’s been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Tufts University, where he has won multiple teaching awards, including being named Professor of the Year in 2009.
Dr. Sommers' research examines issues related to stereotyping, intergroup relations, and group diversity, with a particular interest in how these processes play out in the legal domain. He's author of Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World and co-author of Social Psychology, 9th Edition, Invitation to Psychology, 7th Edition, and This is Your Brain on Sports.
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