Parents’ goals for and perceptions of alphabet books

This study examined parents’ goals for reading ABC books with their children and their perceptions of page features. Factor analysis of a questionnaire answered by 225 parents of junior and senior kindergarten students revealed four goals for reading alphabet books. In order of importance as rated by parents the goals were: Learning to Read, Enjoyment and Bonding, Learning from Books, and Soothing the Child. Maternal education, number of ABC books owned, and ABC book reading frequency were related to parents’ goals. When viewing ABC pages, parents rated pages with little text, simple illustrations, and letter sound-word consistency as more appropriate for fulfilling purposes related to learning to decode than pages with a lot of text, complex illustrations, and letter sound-word violations. These perceptions are congruent with previous research and experts’ advice. However, parents rated pages with more complex illustrations as more appropriate for enjoyment, potentially putting books with complex illustrations at cross purposes with the previous goals.     

Exploring how relevance instructions affect personal reading intentions,reading goals and text processing: A mixed methods study

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate how relevance instructions influence readers’ personal reading intentions, reading goals, text processing, and memory for text. Undergraduates (n = 52) were randomly assigned to one of three pre-reading relevance instruction conditions that asked them to read from a perspective or to read for understanding. Experimental results showed that information was read slower and remembered better when it was relevant. However, some readers spent more time reading irrelevant information, whereas others spent less time reading this information. Post-reading interviews were analyzed to explain these reading time differences. The interview data indicated that relevance instructions influenced readers’ goals and the strategies they used to meet those goals. The data sets were complementary: the quantitative data indicated differences in reading time and recall, and the qualitative data allowed us to explain why these differences occurred. These data revealed three distinct reader profiles within and across conditions, and demonstrate how relevance instructions affect reader goals, processing, and comprehension.     

Motivational and Cognitive Predictors of Text Comprehension and Reading Amount

Motivational variables contribute to reading achievement and text comprehension through several paths. We report the results of 2 studies further examining these relations. Study 1 included 3rd and 5th graders. We measured their motivation and reading amount with questionnaires and their text comprehension with 2 performance tests. Results revealed that reading amount significantly predicted text comprehension on 2 different indicators, even when the contributions of past reading achievement, prior topic knowledge, self-efficacy for reading, and reading motivation were controlled statistically. Study 1 also showed that reading motivation significantly predicted reading amount when past reading achievement, prior topic knowledge, and self-efficacy were controlled. In Study 2, we investigated the same variables among students in Grades 8 and 10 from a nationally representative data set. Similar to Study 1, the results showed that reading amount significantly predicted text comprehension with other variables controlled. Further, motivation predicted reading amount with other variables controlled and directly predicted text comprehension. Findings were interpreted as supporting a process of attunement of motivational and cognitive goals as a function of time.     

Literacy as Multidimensional: Locating Information and Reading Comprehension

A contrast is proposed between the two literacy constructs of reading comprehension and locating information in text. A pragmatic approach to identifying important classes of literacy tasks reveals that locating information is prevalent in school and work. This process is a form of strategic reading that differs from reading comprehension or recall of prose by being more goal directed, more selective in the use of text, and less dependent on declarative knowledge. The process of locating text information requires: formulation of a goal, selection of a category of text for inspection, extraction of relevant details, and recycling to obtain solutions. Relationships of locating information in text to models of problem solving, studying, and reading comprehension are discussed and research implications are suggested.     

The Role of Surface Text Processing in Centrality Deficit and Poor Text Comprehension of Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Think‐Aloud Study

The present study employed a think‐aloud method to explore the origin of centrality deficit (i.e., poor recall of central ideas) in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Moreover, utilizing the diverse think‐aloud responses, we examined the overall quality of text processing employed by individuals with ADHD during reading, in order to shed more light on text‐level deficiencies underlying their poor comprehension after reading. To address these goals, adolescents with and without ADHD were asked to state aloud whatever comes to their minds during the reading of two expository texts. After reading, the participants freely recalled text ideas and answered multiple‐choice questions on the texts. Compared to controls, participants with ADHD generated fewer responses that reflect deep, efficient text processing, and reinstated fewer prior text ideas, particularly central ones, during reading. Moreover, the proportions of deep processing responses positively associated with participants’ performance on recall and comprehension tasks. These findings suggest that individuals with ADHD exhibit poor text comprehension and memory, particularly of central ideas, because they construct a low‐quality, less‐connected text representation during reading, and produce fewer, less‐elaborated retrieval cues for subsequent tasks after reading.     

评价系统在英语阅读中的运用研究

评价系统主要是用来分析语篇的人际意义,而作为语篇分析为主的英语阅读教学则主要是通过学习者对其文本中的各种语言信息或标记及语篇的结构特征进行分析来达到学习者对所阅读的文本研究和理解的目的。通过评价理论的学习,可以帮助英语阅读者自主地掌握和不断地提高英语阅读的水平和理解的能力,进一步达到英语学习的最终目的。     

University student’s goal profiles and metacomprehension accuracy

In this study, undergraduate students provided confidence ratings to predict future performance in answering questions drawn from the text before reading the text, after reading the text and after rereading the text. Self-reports of achievement goal orientations during reading and posttest scores were also collected. Student’s calibration index was the comparison between their predicted posttest performance and actual performance in the posttest. Correlational analyses did not reveal any statistically detectable relationships between self-reported goal orientations and monitoring accuracy, except that bias scores were marginally related to goal orientations. Further cluster analyses and analyses of variance (ANOVA) also showed that student’s multiple goal profiles failed to clearly differentiate the groups in terms of their calibration accuracy, yet performance-approach goals did distinguish overconfident from underconfident students. Plausible reasons for the finding were provided and implications for future research were also discussed.     

基于语篇能力培养的英语专业阅读教学设计与理念

承担着培养英语专业学生语言能力和交际能力重任的基础课程——精读,受传统教学的影响,局限于语音、词汇、语法等语言层次的教学,难以有效实现教学大纲要求。而语篇语言学提出的重视语篇能力和语篇策略的概念,与现代语言教学强调的交际能力培养不谋而合。本文探讨如何将语篇能力的培养落实到专业阅读课程教学中,探索有利于学生能力发展的有效阅读教学设计。     

Why do learning goals (not) work: a reexamination of the hypothesized effectiveness of learning goals based on students’ behaviour and cognitive processes

Explicitly informing students about learning goals has been argued to foster intentional learning. This study tested three theoretical hypotheses regarding the facilitating effects of learning goals by investigating 72 students’ actual reading behaviour and cognitive processes (i.e., the use of learning goals). Participants studied a text presented on 15 separate computer screens with/without learning goals. In line with the three hypotheses, the analyses focused on three aspects: students’ interpretations of the learning goals, information selection processes and monitoring behaviour. Results indicated variability among students in their perceptions of the learning goals in terms of goal consistency and specificity. Students in the learning goal condition recorded more goal-relevant information in their notes. However, only few students deliberately used learning goals to monitor their goal-directed activities while studying the text. Analysis of students’ reading behaviour and cognitive processes suggests that the absence of significant performance differences between the conditions can be explained by referring to students’ actual use of learning goals.     

Effects of text structure,reading goals and epistemic beliefs on conceptual change

We investigated the online and offline effects of learner and instructional characteristics on conceptual change of a robust misconception in science. Fifty‐nine undergraduate university students with misconceptions about evolution were identified as espousing evaluativist or non‐evaluativist epistemic beliefs in science. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a traditional or refutational text that discussed a misconception in evolution and a general comprehension or elaborative interrogation reading goal. Participants' cognitive and metacognitive processes while reading were measured using a think‐aloud protocol. Postreading, participants' correct and incorrect conceptual knowledge were separately assessed with a transference essay. Results showed that text structure and reading goals affected cognitive conflict, coherence‐building and elaborative processing while reading and promoted correct conceptual knowledge included in essays but failed to affect the inclusion of misconceptions. Further, participants with evaluativist epistemic beliefs engaged in fewer comprehension monitoring processes and were more likely to adapt their coherence‐building processes according to reading goals than their non‐evaluativist counterparts, but epistemic belief groups did not differ in the content of the posttest essay. Theoretical and educational implications of these findings are discussed.     

Detection of explanation obstacles in scientific texts: the effect of an understanding task vs. an experiment task

The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of tasks on the detection of explanation obstacles when secondary school students read scientific texts. Students were instructed to read short passages under different task conditions, and to ask questions if necessary. Obstacle detection was operationalised in terms of the type of questions asked by the students. The experiment examined the influence of goals associated with the task of reading to understand a text vs. reading to perform a procedure described by the text (a science experiment). Significantly, more explanation obstacles were found in the understanding condition than in the experiment condition. Scientific text also had an effect on the explanation obstacles detected.     

Staying with the text: the contribution of gender,achievement orientations,and interest to students’ performance on a literacy task

This study addresses concerns about boys’ underperformance on literacy tasks compared to girls, by investigating male and females students’ responses to narrative texts. Participants were 142 Grade 9 and 10 students. Achievement orientations, including goals, self‐efficacy, and self‐handicapping, were measured and approach and avoidance factors identified. Boys scored higher than girls on the avoidance factor. The task presented to participants involved reading sections from two narrative texts representing typically male or typically female reading interests. Interest ratings for the narrative text topics and interest levels while reading the texts were monitored, and students’ answers to multiple‐choice questions on text content recorded. Regression analyses confirmed that the influence of gender, achievement orientation, and on‐task text interest on reading performance varied with different patterns of task interest. The findings suggest that students’ achievement orientations and task interests are both important for understanding gender differences in students’ response to narrative texts.     

How generalization inferences are constructed in expository text comprehension

Three questions regarding adult readers’ processing of generalization inferences (conceptually broad statements that subsume several specific statements) are investigated. College students (N = 193) read expository texts containing target statements that were consistent, inconsistent, or off-topic in relation to a generalization implied by one paragraph. Reading times were faster for consistent than inconsistent statements and faster for inconsistent than off-topic statements, indicating adult readers construct generalization inferences online during initial reading of a text and that the inference they construct is relatively narrow in scope. This pattern of faster reading time for consistent sentences occurred under different reading goals, suggesting generalization inferences are a pervasive component of expository text comprehension.     

The origin of centrality deficit in text memory and comprehension by poor comprehenders: a think-aloud study

The present study employed a think-aloud method to explore the origin of a centrality deficit (i.e., poor recall of central ideas) found in poor comprehenders (PC). Moreover, utilizing the diverse think-aloud responses, we examined the overall quality of text processing employed by PC during reading, in order to shed more light on the cognitive underpinnings underlying their poor comprehension and memory after reading. To address these goals, adolescents with good and poor comprehension, matched on reading (decoding) skills, were asked to state aloud whatever comes to their mind during the reading of two expository texts. After reading, the participants freely recalled text ideas and answered multiple-choice questions on the texts. Results indicated that PC exhibited lower performance than good comprehenders (GC) on the recall and comprehension tasks. The think-aloud protocols indicated that PC generated fewer responses than GC that reflect high-level, deep text processing, and more responses that reflect low-level, surface text processing. Furthermore, compared to GC, PC reinstated fewer prior text ideas, with this reduction being significantly greater for central than for peripheral ideas. Finally, the proportions of deep processing responses in general were positively associated with participants’ performance on recall and comprehension tasks. These findings suggest that PC exhibit poor text comprehension and memory, particularly of central ideas, because they construct a low-quality, poorly-connected text representation during reading, and produce fewer, less-elaborated retrieval cues for subsequent text comprehension and memory. This explanation is further illuminated in the context of previous findings and theoretical accounts.

     

Metacognition in basic skills instruction

Metacognition is increasingly recognized as important to learning. This article describes self-regulatory processes that promote achievement in the basic skills of reading and mathematical problem solving. Self-regulatory behaviors in reading include clarifying one's purpose, understanding meanings, drawing inferences, looking for relationships, and reformulating text in one's own terms. Self-regulatory behaviors in mathematics include clarifying problem goals, understanding concepts, applying knowledge to reach goals, and monitoring progress toward a solution. The article then describes the author's experiences integrating metacognition with reading and mathematics instruction and highlights students' reactions to learning to think metacognitively.     

关联理论视角下的大学英语阅读教学

关联理论以关联性、认知原则和交际原则为核心,揭示出阅读理解的明示一推理过程。根据关联理论,在大学英语阅读教学过程中要把握语境,建立最佳关联,整体理解文章,实现阅读的真正目的。     

Reading argumentative texts: comprehension and evaluation goals and outcomes

The study is situated at the interface between reading comprehension and critical thinking research. Its purpose was to examine the influence of reading goals and argument quality on the comprehension and critical evaluation of argumentative texts. Young adult readers read to comprehend or evaluate texts on two different controversial issues. Argument quality was varied across text versions on the basis of the hasty generalization fallacy. Text versions varied with respect to the quality of the arguments included, but not in terms of argument content. Measures of comprehension included main claim recall, overall recall and inferences in recall. Text evaluation was measured with a rating task. The sample’s familiarity with the text topics was low, and prior beliefs were relatively neutral. The results indicated that an evaluation goal had a consistent positive effect on main claim and text recall when compared to comprehension goal. Argument quality, however, had no main or interactive effects on text evaluation. The findings indicate that reading to evaluate argumentative text facilitates the representation of its content and critical argument elements, such as the claim it promotes. However, this representation is not sufficient for analyzing and critically evaluating the text’s argument line. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to current efforts to promote critical-analytic thinking skills in the context of reading and writing.     

浅议语文课程中解读性阅读取向与教学

解读性阅读取向的是一种强调读者与文本相互作用的阅读取向。本文将这种阅读取向与传统的鉴赏性阅读取向进行比较,得出解读性阅读取向更具科学性和更符合阅读原本意义的结论,从而进一步证明这一阅读取向是落实当前语文课改诸多目标的关键。另外还就解读性阅读取向下的教学策略和对教师的要求等问题也进行了初步的探讨。     

Individual and developmental differences in reading monitoring: When and how do children evaluate their comprehension?

This paper examines evaluation in reading. Evaluation refers to the processes by which readers monitor their ongoing text comprehension to assess performance and task difficulties. Monitoring is assumed to explain a large proportion of individual differences in text comprehension, in that individuals need to be aware of their objectives and difficulties in order to adjust their strategies to match task requirements. The participants were French children in grades 3 and 5. Study 1 examined their evaluation-related knowledge (i.e., knowledge about reading objectives, sources of difficulties, comprehension awareness). Study 2 examined the children’s actual evaluation behavior during a comprehension task. The results showed that few children provided elaborate verbalizable knowledge about reading tasks, goals and corresponding skills, and that in most cases the children were highly confident in their responses to text comprehension questions, regardless of the correctness of their answer. The contribution of metalinguistic awareness to literacy acquisition as well as the implications of this type of study for educational practice are discussed.