Effects of Digital and Printed Materials on Reading Comprehension Among College Students in Lipa City

The Philippine educational system deals with problems, as seen in the low performance in international assessments like PISA, emphasizing the need for good reading practices of having effective reading strategies among Filipino learners. Given the importance of reading comprehension in the academic performance of every learner, this study investigates how different reading materials, such as digital and printed reading materials, affect the reading comprehension of college students in Lipa City, addressing a gap existing in educational research. This study utilized an experimental design using two-independent-groups method and random assignment to measure the effects of digital and printed materials on reading comprehension of college students. Convenience sampling was used to select 60 participants, ten students each from six departments, and randomly assigned to guarantee that participants were evenly distributed across groups, divided into two groups: Experimental Group A (n=30) utilized digital materials, while Experimental Group B (n=30) used printed materials. For the pre-test and post-test, Filipino literature stories were selected, specifically “And I Was Carried Away” by Marcel Navarra (translated by Teresita G. Maceda) for the pre-test and “Encounter” by Zelda Soriano (translated by Lourdes H. Vidal) for the post-test, both featured in the book "Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology, English Edition (2010). In accordance with the findings of the study, both types of reading materials are beneficial for learners in enhancing their reading comprehension level; however, printed materials showed modest edge in boosting reading comprehension level. This implies that printed materials might offer a more effective and convenient reading material along with its physical quality that can provide learners comprehend and remember information better.