FACILITATING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT THROUGH GUIDED READING AMONG YOUNG SCHOOL-AGE PUPILS
TL;DR
It is concluded that digital guided reading can become an effective pedagogical strategy when it is carefully planned, age-appropriate, balanced with print reading and mediated by the teacher.
Abstract
The article examines how guided reading can be redesigned in a digital environment in order to facilitate collaborative learning among young school-age pupils. Starting from the premise that technology should support, not replace, pedagogical interaction, the paper presents a small-scale classroom case study conducted with 16 fourth-grade pupils. The intervention lasted six weeks and combined printed reading fragments with digital activities created through Wordwall, Kahoot!, Padlet, Book Creator, Canva for Education, StoryJumper and related tools. The activities targeted comprehension, vocabulary development, reading fluency, inferential thinking and collaborative interpretation. The results recorded in the case study indicate progress in all four assessed indicators: text comprehension, identification of the main idea, vocabulary and reading fluency. The findings also show increased motivation and participation, especially when immediate feedback, gamified quizzes and collaborative digital products were used. The paper concludes that digital guided reading can become an effective pedagogical strategy when it is carefully planned, age-appropriate, balanced with print reading and mediated by the teacher.