Collaborative sense-making in print and digital text environments

This study describes the sense-making behaviors of sixth- and seventh-grade students (n = 46 dyads) as they read and discussed expository articles in print and digital formats. Most dyads approached the digital text as if it were static and linear, despite the availability of hyperlinks. Reading through (or covering) the text was the most commonly observed behavior, occurring in 89% of the coded intervals in the print condition and 76% of intervals in the digital condition. Students were observed discussing a variety of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The most common strategies were process monitoring, summarizing, connecting, and reacting. The dyads used at least one overt sense-making strategy in about 50% of the intervals when reading the print text and about 65% of the intervals with the digital text. Previewing and progress monitoring, which serve important planning and self-regulative functions, were used more frequently in the digital condition. Regression analyses show that several collaborative behaviors were associated with text comprehension, as measured by a researcher-designed multiple choice test, in the print condition but not in the digital condition. These included word recognition monitoring (β = 1.84; SE = 0.90; p = .05), summarizing (β = 2.43; SE = 1.21; p = .05), and connecting (β = −5.20; SE = 2.06; p = .02) at the student level and attending to illustrations (γ = −7.08; SE = 2.17; p = .003) at the dyad level. In both conditions, prior reading achievement and prior knowledge were strong predictors of comprehension.