METACOMPREHENSION AND COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE IN YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

On the basis of metamemory assessment research and theories of discourse comprehension, the Metacomprehension Scale (MCS) was designed to assess multiple dimensions of metacomprehension. In a sample of younger (n = 30) and older (n = 30) adults, we examined age differences in self‐assessed components of metacomprehension and the relation of the MCS to comprehension performance and general verbal ability. Younger adults reported greater use of strategies to resolve comprehension failures (i.e., regulation) and placed higher value on good comprehension skills than older adults. The MCS revealed a substantial amount of variance in comprehension performance and verbal ability, with the regulation dimension of metacomprehension being a reliable and consistent predictor of performance. The results provided support for domain‐specific assessment of metacognition and for the critical role of regulation in comprehension performance.     

METACOMPREHENSION KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION OF EXPOSITORY AND NARRATIVE TEXTS AMONG YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS

In the present study we investigated the relations between younger and older adults' metacomprehension knowledge and their comprehension of expository and narrative texts as well as their self-perceptions of comprehension evaluation ability. We employed the Metacomprehension Scale (MCS) designed by Moore, Zabrucky, and Commander (1997a) to assess readers' metacomprehension knowledge; adults' self-perceived comprehension evaluation ability was measured using a Likert scale. Results indicate that metacomprehension knowledge as measured by the MCS was a reliable predictor of comprehension performance and self-perceptions of comprehension evaluation ability in younger and older adults. However, younger and older adults' comprehension was best predicted by different components of metacomprehension knowledge, and metacomprehension knowledge better predicted comprehension of expository than narrative texts.     

Individual differences in relative metacomprehension accuracy: variation within and across task manipulations

In recent decades, increasing numbers of studies have focused on metacomprehension accuracy, or readers’ ability to distinguish between texts comprehended more vs. less well. Following early findings that suggested readers are fairly poor at doing so, a number of studies have identified specific tasks to supplement a single reading of text that have resulted in greater metacomprehension accuracy. One assumption underlying these studies is that, in the absence of such tasks, metacomprehension accuracy is uniformly poor, and given their implementation, readers uniformly improve. Here we describe the individual variation that occurs both in the absence (e.g., within a single text reading manipulation) and presence (e.g., within a rereading or selective rereading task manipulation) of these supplementary tasks (N = 214), in order to make a case for greater attention to individual differences in metacomprehension accuracy. We also introduce a new manipulation in metacomprehension research, selective rereading, and argue that certain types of tasks may be more likely to reveal individual differences in metacomprehension accuracy due to the nature of the task being more or less demanding on working memory capacity.     

英语学习者在控制性写作考试和任务型课堂写作中的书面语产出研究

本论文主要研究两种写作任务（大规模考试中的写作任务和任务型课堂教学中的写作任务）对中国英语学习者书面语产出在准确度、复杂度和流利度三方面表现的影响。研究发现,学习者在这两种写作任务中的表现存在显著差别,笔者尝试用Skehan任务难度分析理论解释了造成这些差别的原因,认为任务环境、语言输入等因素对学生语言产出有重要作用。该研究旨在更深入地了解这两种写作任务之间的差别,以及可能对学习者产生的影响,从而对写作教学任务和考试写作任务的设计以启示。     

Cognitive activities in complex science text and diagrams

Ainsworth’s (2006) DeFT framework posits that different representations may lead learners to use different strategies. We wanted to investigate whether students use different strategies, and more broadly, different cognitive activities in diagrams vs. in running text. In order to do so, we collected think-aloud protocol and other measures from 91 beginning biology majors reading an 8-page passage from their own textbook which included seven complex diagrams. We coded the protocols for a wide range of cognitive activities, including strategy use, inference, background knowledge, vocabulary, and word reading. Comparisons of verbalizations while reading running text vs. reading diagrams showed that high-level cognitive activities—inferences and high-level strategy use—were used a higher proportion of the time when comprehending diagrams compared to when reading text. However, in running text vs. diagrams participants used a wider range of different individual cognitive activities (e.g., more different types of inferences). Our results suggest that instructors might consider teaching students how to draw inferences in both text and diagrams. They also show an interesting paradox that warrants further research—students often skipped over or superficially skimmed diagrams, but when they did read the diagrams they engaged in more high-level cognitive activity.     

Adult Metacomprehension: Judgment Processes and Accuracy Constraints

The objective of this paper is to review and synthesize two interrelated topics in the adult metacomprehension literature: the bases of metacomprehension judgment and the constraints on metacomprehension accuracy. Our review shows that adult readers base their metacomprehension judgments on different types of information, including experiences with current tasks and pre-formed expectations of performance affected by factors such as self-perception of ability. We propose a model that shows the anchoring and adjustment mechanism (Tversky and Kahneman, Science 185:1124–1130, 1974) underlies metacomprehension judgments. Specifically, due to test uncertainty, people may judge future comprehension performance by starting with an anchor such as pre-formed performance expectations and then (insufficiently) adjust away from it based on experiences with current tasks. This anchoring and adjustment model of metacomprehension judgment sheds light on what constrains metacomprehension accuracy. We conclude that two main accuracy constraints are the anchoring effect and the poor diagnostic validity of experiential cues. Based on the review, we discuss avenues for future research that will further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying metacomprehension.     

The persuasiveness of persuasive discourse

This investigation explored why and how persuasion occurs. Toward this end, we examined the processing of two articles under conditions called for in the persuasion and conceptual change literatures. One unique aspect of the current study was the use of topic-specific measures of beliefs, knowledge (i.e., perceived and demonstrated), and interest. The performance of members of three educational communities (i.e., undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty) was compared, as was the knowledge and interest of more or less persuaded readers. One article argued that there are prenatal similarities among humans and other mammals, while the second presented a favorable view of same-sex marriages. Although both articles produced significant changes in readers’ beliefs, knowledge, and interest, there were performance differences by text, educational community, and persuasion group. Results showed that readers’ perceptions of their knowledge played a more significant role in persuasion outcomes than the knowledge they actually demonstrated. Outcomes suggest the need to look more closely at the relationship between knowledge and interest in subsequent studies of persuasion.     

A Multidimensional Investigation of Deep-level and Surface-level Processing

This study examines the moderating effects of a situational factor (i.e., text type) and an individual factor (i.e., subject-matter knowledge) on the relation between depth of processing and performance. One-hundred and fifty-one undergraduates completed measures of subject-matter knowledge, read either an expository or persuasive text about the existence of extraterrestrials while thinking aloud, and then completed a passage recall task and an open-ended task. Results indicated that the relation between depth of processing and the open-ended tasks was moderated by the type of text participants read (i.e., expository or persuasive). Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the passage recall measure and open-ended task for depth of processing and type of text.     

英语阅读教学中语篇信息词的作用

文章作者以教学研究者和反思者的双重身份,以自己的课堂教学为试验基地,通过两年的实践,在英语阅读教学中有意识地强调语篇信息词在英语阅读课文中的作用。研究试验数据、教师的实际教学、问卷调查和随后的访谈都表明有意识地培养学生在英语阅读课文中关注语篇信息词,不仅可以提高学生阅读理解的效率,还可改进教师英语阅读课的教学方法和提高授课技巧。     

Multimedia learning environments: Issues of learner control and navigation

Using schema theory as a framework, we view learning as an active, constructive process. It is affected not only by learners' internal knowledge structures, but by the external constraints of the learning environment as well (Kozma, 1991). This article examines how different internal learner characteristics (e.g., prior knowledge, self efficacy and interest) and different external constraints (e.g., learner control, instructional design and level of control) influence the learning process. Specifically, we address learning from a variety of multimedia environments such as video, hypertexts, kiosks and other hypermedia within a schema theoretic approach that incorporates a constructivist view.     

Professional knowledge or motivation? Investigating the role of teachers’ expertise on the quality of technology-enhanced lesson plans

In an expertise study with 94 mathematics teachers varying in their relative teacher expertise (i.e., student teachers, trainee teachers, in-service teachers), we examined effects of teachers' professional knowledge and motivational beliefs on their ability to integrate technology within a lesson plan scenario. Therefore, we assessed teachers' professional knowledge (i.e., content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological knowledge), and their motivational beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy, utility-value). Furthermore, teachers were asked to develop a lesson plan for introducing the Pythagorean theorem to secondary students. Lesson plans by advanced teachers (i.e., trainee teachers, in-service teachers) comprised higher levels of instructional quality and technology exploitation than the ones of novice teachers (i.e., pre-service teachers). The effect of expertise was mediated by teachers' perceived utility-value of educational technology, but not by their professional knowledge. These findings suggest that teachers’ motivational beliefs play a crucial role for effectively applying technology in mathematics instruction.     

Knowing what you know: improving metacomprehension and calibration accuracy in digital text

This paper presents results from an experimental study that examined embedded strategy prompts in digital text and their effects on calibration and metacomprehension accuracies. A sample population of 80 college undergraduates read a digital expository text on the basics of photography. The most robust treatment (mixed) read the text, generated a summary for each page of text, and then was prompted with a metacognitive strategy. The metacognitive treatment received metacognitive strategy prompts only, and the cognitive group implemented the cognitive strategy (summarization) only. A control group read the text with no embedded support. Groups were compared on measures of achievement, attitudes, cognitive load, and metacomprehension and calibration accuracy. Results indicated that a combination of embedded cognitive and metacognitive strategies in digital text improved learner achievement on application-level questions, yielded more accurate predictive calibration, and strengthened the relationship between metacomprehension and performance, all of which are common attributes of an academically successful learner.     

The influence of topic knowledge, domain knowledge, and interest on the comprehension of scientific exposition

In this study, we explored the influence of subject-matter knowledge and interest on college students' comprehension of scientific exposition. Two forms of subject-matter knowledge were considered: Passage-specific (i.e., topic) knowledge and general (i.e., domain) knowledge. College students read two passages from physics, one dealing with Stephen Hawking and Grand Unification Theory, and one about the search for the truth quark. Students' topic knowledge and domain knowledge were tested before reading the passages. After reading each passage, students rated their interest in what they read. Comprehension measures were then completed for each passage. We performed regression analyses to determine the effects of subject-matter knowledge and interest on the comprehension scores for each passage. For the more technical Quarks passage, domain knowledge and interest were both significant predictors of comprehension. For the more personally-involving Hawking passage, topic knowledge, domain knowledge, and interest were significant predictors of comprehension performance. Overall, students were more interested in less abstruse and more personally-involving information for both passages.     

The relationship between media type and vocabulary learning in a cross age peer-learning program for linguistically diverse elementary school students

The goal of the present study was to compare children’s word learning through print text, video, and electronic text in the context of a cross-age peer-learning program implemented in linguistically diverse kindergarten and fourth grade classrooms that included English Learners (ELs) and their non-EL peers. Children were assessed at pre- and post-test on measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge. Findings showed effects of media type on word learning. Effects differed across grades (i.e., kindergarten and fourth grade, language background (i.e., non-EL and EL), and knowledge types (i.e., receptive and expressive). In kindergarten, results suggest that video may be more helpful than electronic texts for supporting receptive and expressive vocabulary, and video may be more helpful than both print and electronic texts for supporting the expressive vocabulary of ELs. In fourth grade, results suggest that video and electronic texts may be more helpful than print texts for supporting expressive vocabulary for non-ELs but not for ELs.     

Do illustrations help or harm metacomprehension accuracy?

The present research examined the effect of illustrations on readers' metacomprehension accuracy for expository science text. In two experiments, students read non-illustrated texts, or the same texts illustrated with either conceptual or decorative images; were asked to judge how well they understood each text; and then took tests for each topic. Metacomprehension accuracy was computed as the intra-individual correlation between judgments and inference test performance. Results from both studies showed that the presence of decorative images can lead to poor metacomprehension accuracy. In the second study, an analysis of the cues that students reported using to make their judgments revealed that students who used comprehension-relevant cues showed more accurate metacomprehension. A self-explanation instruction did not alter either comprehension-relevant cue use or metacomprehension accuracy, although some advantages were seen when readers were prompted to self-explain from texts illustrated with conceptual images. These results suggest that students may need more explicit instruction or support to promote the use of valid cues when engaging in comprehension monitoring with illustrated text, and that seductive information such as decorative images may undermine comprehension monitoring.     

Prior knowledge,reading skill,and text cohesion in the comprehension of science texts

This study examined how text features (i.e., cohesion) and individual differences (i.e., reading skill and prior knowledge) contribute to biology text comprehension. College students with low and high levels of biology knowledge read two biology texts, one of which was high in cohesion and the other low in cohesion. The two groups were similar in reading skill. Participants' text comprehension was assessed with open-ended comprehension questions that measure different levels of comprehension (i.e., text-based, local-bridging, global-bridging). Results indicated: (a) reading a high-cohesion text improved text-based comprehension; (b) overall comprehension was positively correlated with participants' prior knowledge, and (c) the degree to which participants benefited from reading a high-cohesion text depended on participants' reading skill, such that skilled participants gained more from high-cohesion text.     

Orthographic knowledge predicts reading and spelling skills over and above general intelligence and phonological awareness

It is widely accepted that general intelligence and phonological awareness contribute to children’s acquisition of reading and spelling skills. A further candidate in this regard is orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge about permissible letter patterns). It consists of two components, word-specific (i.e., the knowledge of the spelling of specific words) and general orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge about legal letter patterns of a writing system). Among German students, previous studies have shown that word-specific orthographic knowledge contributes to both reading and spelling. The results regarding general orthographic knowledge and its contribution to reading and spelling are inconsistent. The major goal of the present study was to determine the incremental predictive value of orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling skills among German elementary-school children (N = 66), over and above the contribution of general intelligence and phonological awareness. The second goal was to examine whether there is a difference between the two subtypes of orthographic knowledge in the amount of their respective contribution to reading and spelling performance. The results show that word-specific as well as general orthographic knowledge contribute to both reading and spelling performance, over and above intelligence and phonological awareness. Furthermore, it reveals that both word-specific and general orthographic knowledge explain more variance of spelling compared to reading. Possible explanations for these results, limitations, and implications of the study are being discussed.

     

Examining the Perspectives of Latino Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Towards Advocacy

Rapidly becoming the largest ethnic group of American students, compared to White students with disabilities, Latino students with disabilities receive less services and their parents are more likely to struggle to receive services. Yet, it is unclear how Latino families advocate for their children with disabilities including how cultural values facilitate their advocacy efforts. In this study, four focus groups were conducted with 46 Latino parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Parents reported advocating by being assertive but not aggressive, being involved in school activities, communicating with the school and documenting the communication, and relying on knowledge and faith. Parents also reported facilitators (i.e., knowledge and resources, increased parent-school communication, and greater peer support) and barriers (i.e., poor school experiences, school related-stress, and stigma and discrimination) to advocacy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

Effects of different sequences of examples and problems on motivation and learning

Recent research has shown that example study only (EE) and example-problem pairs (EP) were more effective (i.e., higher test performance) and efficient (i.e., attained with less effort invested in learning and/or test tasks) than problem-example pairs (PE) and problem solving only (PP). We conducted two experiments to investigate how different example and problem-solving sequences would affect motivational (i.e., self-efficacy, perceived competence, and topic interest) and cognitive (i.e., effectiveness and efficiency) aspects of learning. In Experiment 1, 124 technical students learned a mathematical task with the help of EEEE, EPEP, PEPE, or PPPP and then completed a posttest. Students in the EEEE Condition showed higher posttest performance, self-efficacy, and perceived competence, attained with less effort investment, than students in the EPEP and PPPP Condition. Surprisingly, there were no differences between the EPEP and PEPE Condition on any of the outcome measures. We hypothesized that, because the tasks were relevant for technical students, starting with a problem might not have negatively affected their motivation. Therefore, we replicated the experiment with a different sample of 81 teacher training students. Experiment 2 showed an efficiency benefit of EEEE over EPEP, PEPE, and PPPP. However, only EEEE resulted in greater posttest performance, self-efficacy, and perceived competence than PPPP. We again did not find any differences between the EPEP and PEPE Condition. These results suggest that, at least when short training phases are used, studying examples (only) is more preferable than problem solving only for learning. Moreover, this study showed that example study (only) also enhances motivational aspects of learning whereas problem solving only does not positively affect students’ motivation at all.     

Modeling the Growth of Decoding Skills in First-Grade Children

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of combining curriculum-based measurement and hierarchical linear modeling procedures to identify the characteristics of first-grade children that predict growth rates in the acquisition of decoding skills (as assessed through measures of isolated word and nonword reading). This study examined the relative importance of both static (initial levels of performance) and dynamic (rate of growth) measures of cognitive-processing abilities (i.e., phonemic awareness and rapid naming speed) and emergent print knowledge (i.e., letter name, letter sound, more advanced graphophoneme knowledge, and orthographic awareness) as predictors of decoding growth in a sample of 75 first-grade children. Over the course of an academic year, a set of parallel word and nonword reading tasks, constructed using curriculum-base measurement techniques and administered on a monthly basis, were capable of demonstrating individual change in decoding skill. Furthermore, results indicate that growth in cognitive-processing abilities and general knowledge about print could likewise be measured and adequately modeled. In this sample of children, rate of growth in word and nonword reading was predicted by a different combination of static and dynamic variables representing both cognitive-processing abilities and print knowledge. Results suggest that in the very earliest stages of word reading development there may be a strong association between the rate of growth in cognitive processing, print knowledge, and decoding skills.