Exploring the use of digital technology in helping Zambian sixth graders to acquire reading comprehension

Achieving full literacy, which is essential for efficient knowledge acquisition through reading, involves mastering basic reading skills and further developing comprehension abilities, which includes accurate and fluent decoding of text, is the first step. The second step towards FL can be attained either through extensive leisure reading, which enhances comprehension by following engaging narratives, or through targeted training that teaches effective reading strategies to manage working memory limitations. However, many children, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, lack access to engaging reading materials, hindering their natural progression to full literacy. This study therefore sought to explore the efficacy of using a computer-based literacy learning game to help grade 6 learners improve reading and comprehension in selected subjects learnt at school. To achieve this goal, the study used a two-phase approach and started with a pilot study, which used an intervention design with a pre/post-test. In the main study, a randomized controlled trial was used in which grade 6 learners were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Participants for the pilot study, including both children and adults, showed significant improvement in basic reading skills after using the GraphoLearn-based game. The Comprehension Game effectively enhanced participants’ understanding of climate change and its impact, particularly on food security. The main study findings strongly suggest that the educational intervention had a significant positive impact on learners’ reading and comprehension performance across the three subjects. Therefore, these findings suggest that integrating digital tools like the GraphoLearn-based game and the Comprehension Game can significantly enhance literacy and comprehension skills, providing a viable solution for educational challenges in rural areas. The study was limited by a small number of grade 6 learners. Further research is recommended using a larger population to find out if it would yield similar results. While the study shows short-term effects of using educational mobile games, future studies may concentrate on determining whether these tools encourage sustained improvement over time.