The Impact of Digital Storytelling on Fourth Grade Students’ Motivation to Write

Abstract

Educators often have difficulty motivating upper elementary and adolescent students to write, while still being held accountable for producing high academic achievement to the rigorous standards of today’s society. Educators today are also striving to prepare students for the ever-changing and advancing 21st century world. Although teachers recognize that writing at the fourth grade level has become more rigorous and student motivation towards writing has decreased, they are unaware of the role digital storytelling has on both motivation and writing performance. Using a qualitative research design and case study approach, the current study examined the impact of digital literacy, in the form of digital storytelling, on the motivation levels and writing performance of fourth grade students. Results suggest that digital storytelling has the power to not only improve student motivation towards writing, but also improve student self-perception, creativity, and overall writing performance on a four point grading rubric.