Book: Memory improved: Enhanced reading comprehension and memory across the life span through strategic text structure.
Abstract
This unique text presents a systematic study of a proven method for increasing the memory and reading comprehension of older adults by using a program based on discourse processing. The program facilitates the encoding and retrieval of information through a reading strategy plan utilizing top-level structures in the text. The authors of this volume provide student and teacher training manuals for the program as well as a review of the literature, data tables and graphs; an extensive bibliography; and five 1 1/2 hour sessions to improve memory and reading comprehension.
... It assumes that communication is an intersubjective, co-constructed accomplishment that can be examined in talk data. The second layer of analysis draws on a theory of mind (Bartlett 1978(Bartlett , 2003Meyer, Young, andBartlett, 1989, 1993) that accounts for the organisation, prioritisation and communication of schematic content in terms of levels of idea structure. Specifically, the theory of top-level structuring (TLS) reflects an associative view of how memories are constructed and retrieved and meaning generated at the mostintegrated or "top" level of the idea hierarchy underpinning a communication (Bartlett 2003). ...
... Analysis is initially framed by the interactional features of the recall session in order to establish how the 'social' contributed to and impacted upon the knowledge elicitation process ( Holstein and Gubrium, 2004). This is followed by top-level structural analysis to reveal how the program administrator clustered her knowledge into a coherent account (Bartlett, 1978(Bartlett, , 2003Meyer et al. 1989Meyer et al. , 1993. This approach provided insights into the participant's conceptualisation of the elements of INSET provision and also into the impact of the research tools upon the data-gathering process. ...
... The relations fell generally into two forms of rhetorical predicates -lists and cause-and-effect structures and are described in this way throughout the chapter. Participant M's approach to the task cognitively is analysed here in terms of top-level structure theory -a conceptualisation of language-evidenced cognition that assumes people schematically organise and prioritise ideas into more or less coherent schemas that may be identified by a finite number of rhetorical predicates (Bartlett 1978(Bartlett , 2003(Bartlett , 2008Meyer, Young andBartlett 1989, 1993; Fletcher, Zuber-Skerritt and Bartlett 2008). These predicates have specific functions in arranging information into formats such as lists, comparisons, causal chains or problems and solutions. ...
... For example, knowing how different types of headings affect readers' attention to text organization and content would be helpful to an author who writes to inform an audience about a complex topic. Second, an understanding of how mature readers use signaling devices to aid their comprehension efforts could be useful in devising and teaching text effective comprehension strategies to less sophisticated readers (Goldman & Wiley, 2011;Kulikowich, 2008;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989). Given that many college students appear not to adequately process topic structure information (Mayer et al., 1984;Meyer et al., 1980;Sanchez et al., 2001), there is much to be learned about the instruction of comprehension strategies designed to aid learning from informational text. ...
... Therefore, many researchers have developed comprehension strategies that attempt to teach readers to detect and use a text's organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Paris & Oka, 1989;Richgels, McGee, Lomax & Sheard, 1987;Samuels, Tennyson, Sax, Mulcahy, Schermer, & Hajovy, 1988;Sanchez et al., 2001). Signaling devices can be an important component of this approach because of their explicit cueing of organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Sanchez et al., 2001). ...
... Therefore, many researchers have developed comprehension strategies that attempt to teach readers to detect and use a text's organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Paris & Oka, 1989;Richgels, McGee, Lomax & Sheard, 1987;Samuels, Tennyson, Sax, Mulcahy, Schermer, & Hajovy, 1988;Sanchez et al., 2001). Signaling devices can be an important component of this approach because of their explicit cueing of organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Sanchez et al., 2001). ...
... Another approach to improve the effectiveness of marking is through training focused on the text structure (i.e., how the text is organized). Meyer, Young, and Bartlett (1989Bartlett ( /2014 showed that teaching students how to outline effectively by identifying various text structures made them able to mark more main ideas than details, a tendency displayed by more expert readers with high vocabulary and higher education (e.g., Meyer & Rice, 1989). More detailed discussions on text structure and its relevance to study strategy training will be provided later in the Outlining section. ...
... Another approach to improve the effectiveness of marking is through training focused on the text structure (i.e., how the text is organized). Meyer, Young, and Bartlett (1989Bartlett ( /2014 showed that teaching students how to outline effectively by identifying various text structures made them able to mark more main ideas than details, a tendency displayed by more expert readers with high vocabulary and higher education (e.g., Meyer & Rice, 1989). More detailed discussions on text structure and its relevance to study strategy training will be provided later in the Outlining section. ...
... Learner-generated outlining without prior training facilitates essay writing by improving the structure of the written product and it appears to reduce mental effort (De Smet, Brand-Gruwel, Leijten, & Kirschner, 2014;De Smet, Broekkamp, Brand-Gruwel, & Kirschner, 2011;Kellogg, 1990; but see De Smet, Brand-Gruwel, Broekkamp, & Kirschner, 2012). 3. Intelligent Tutoring of the Structure Strategy is a reading comprehension training that incorporates several study strategies, such as identifying text structure, monitoring comprehension through summarizing main points according to the identified test structure, and retrieval using the text structure as the guide (see also Bartlett, 1978;Meyer & Poon, 2001;Meyer et al., /2014Williams et al., 2005). ...
Researchers’ and educators’ enthusiasm in applying cognitive principles to enhance educational practices has become more evident. Several published reviews have suggested that some potent strategies can help students learn more efficaciously. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, students do not report frequent reliance on these empirically supported techniques. In the present review, we take a novel approach, identifying study strategies for which students have strong preferences and assessing whether these preferred strategies have any merit given existing empirical evidence from the cognitive and educational literatures. Furthermore, we provide concrete recommendations for students, instructors, and psychologists. For students, we identify common pitfalls and tips for optimal implementation for each study strategy. For instructors, we provide recommendations for how they can assist students to more optimally implement these study strategies. For psychologists, we highlight promising avenues of research to help augment these study strategies.
... We investigated the efficacy of a shorter version of the Text Structure Strategy (TSS) training (MEYER, YOUNG & BARTLETT, 1989) with a group of native Portuguese speakers learning English as a second language, and a group of English monolingual speakers. In Experiment 1, English learners of low-intermediate proficiency received a 2-hour training session on the TSS in either Portuguese, or English. ...
... Regarding how a reading strategy may benefit readers, Meyer and Ray (2011) argue that the use of a structure strategy helps readers organize ideas based on explicit or implied relationships communicated by the text, thus facilitating comprehension. A number of reading strategies that are based on text structure, such as the knowledge maps (k-maps) by Dansereau and colleagues (e.g., DANSEREAU et al., 1979;, the flowcharting of expository text by Geva (1983), the adoption of Graphic Organizers as a tool to develop discourse organization awareness (FLY, JEAN & HUNTER, 1988;MEDE, 2010), and the Text Structure Strategy (TSS) (MEYER, 1985;MEYER, BRANDT, & BLUTH, 1980;MEYER, YOUNG & BARTLETT, 1989;, SCHWARTZ, MENDOZA & MEYER, 2013 have been shown to be effective in improving recall and comprehension of text. ...
... The Text Structure Strategy (TSS), as designed in Meyer et al. (1989), is a training program that offers explicit instruction on how readers can use text structure and signal words to organize concepts during reading. Readers trained with the TSS learn that an author's goal is to convey a message by organizing information in a comprehensible manner. ...
We investigated the efficacy of a shorter version of the Text Structure Strategy (TSS) training (MEYER, YOUNG & BARTLETT, 1989) with a group of native Portuguese speakers learning English as a second language, and a group of English monolingual speakers. In Experiment 1, English learners of low-intermediate proficiency received a 2-hour training session on the TSS in either Portuguese, or English. We expected a greater gain in reading recall measures for the group trained in Portuguese. Results from Experiment 1 showed only a slight increase in recall associated with the use of text structure for training in the first language, while accuracy of recalls improved significantly for the group trained in Portuguese. In Experiment 2, English native speakers received the same 2-hour training in English. We expected an increase in both reading recall measures after training. Contrary to what was expected, this group did not show any improvement with training. These findings are discussed in terms of how the two groups may be different. Keywords: Reading strategy. Text structure. English as a second language. Título: Aprendizes de inglês como segunda língua, nível baixo-intermediário, melhoram leitura com uso de estratégia de estrutura textual. Resumo: Este estudo investigou a eficiência de uma versão mais curta do treinamento Text Structure Strategy (TSS) (MEYER, YOUNG & BARTLETT, 1989) com um grupo de aprendizes de inglês como segunda língua, e um grupo de falantes nativos de inglês. No Experimento 1, aprendizes de inglês de proficiência média-baixa receberam uma sessão de 2 horas de treinamento com o TSS em português ou em inglês. Era esperado que o grupo que recebeu treinamento em Português demonstrasse maior ganho nas medidas de recordação do texto. Resultados do Experimento 1 evidenciaram que os aprendizes de inglês treinados em português recordaram um pouco mais da estrutura do texto depois do treinamento. Quanto à qualidade do que foi recordado, no entanto, houve um aumento significativo para os aprendizes treinados em português. No Experimento 2, falantes nativos de inglês receberam o mesmo treinamento de 2 horas em inglês. Era esperado uma melhora para ambas medidas de recordação de texto para este grupo. No entanto, não houve nenhuma melhora com o treinamento. Os resultados dos Lower-Intermediate learners of English Linguagem & Ensino, Pelotas, v.18, n.2, p. 275-301, jul./dez. 2015 276 dois experimentos são discutidos em relação a demais possíveis diferenças entre os grupos. Palavras-chave: Estratégia de leitura. Estratégia de estrutura de texto. Inglês como segunda língua.
... Text structure refers to the organization of information in a text. Meyer, Young and Bartlett (1989) argued that writers usually use a certain types of text structures (e.g. description, sequence, causation, problem-solution, comparison, etc.), and readers would recall or comprehend a text better if they are aware of these structures. ...
... description, sequence, causation, problem-solution, comparison, etc.), and readers would recall or comprehend a text better if they are aware of these structures. Meyer Meyer, Young and Bartlett (1989) proposed an intervention named Text Structure Strategy (TSS) to increase readers' awareness of text structure. Contrary to the implicit instruction like RR, TSS explicitly instructs readers to recognize the structure of a text and use the same structure for recall. ...
... Numerous studies (e.g. Meyer, 1985;Meyer & Freedle, 1984;Meyer, Talbot, Poon & Johnson, 2001;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989) have demonstrated the effectiveness of TSS for enhancing text recall for a variety of readers from elementary school age to older adults. In addition to the studies in L1 setting, a few L2 studies also demonstrated the benefits of TSS (Carrell, 1985;Raymond, 1993;Yeh, Schwartz & Baule, 2011). ...
The present research deals with the effectiveness of Repeated Reading (RR) in improving reading fluency and reading comprehension of L2 learners. Although RR intervention was first introduced to L1 beginning readers and individuals with reading disability, recent research has applied it to L2 readers. However, the results are inconclusive. Review of the past research on RR in L2 8 readers has inspired this current study, which aims at strengthening the effectiveness of RR within the L2 context. Hence, not only the automaticity of lower-level reading processing is tackled, but the repeated training on higher-level processing is also emphasized. EFL students with different English proficiencies were recruited to our RR intervention. It is hypothesized that by means of implicitly and repeatedly presenting different texts with similar text structure to the participants, they would “naturally” develop awareness of the text structure and show better reading comprehension. Participants’ performance in pretest and posttest as well as during the intervention generally confirmed our prediction. Although the participants’ reading fluency was not improved, their reading comprehension on new texts (transfer effect) did significantly improve. Additionally, the higher proficient EFL students also showed higher repetition and transfer effects during and after the intervention. Based on these findings, theoretical and practical implications for the future research on RR in L2 context are discussed.
... older adults, Meyer et al. (1980;Meyer, Wijekumar and Lin 2011;Meyer, Young and Bartlett 1989) found that good readers often use the structure in expository text to organise their understanding, while poor readers rarely use the affordance of text structure. Readers who use a different organisational structure from that used by the author may be at a disadvantage in comprehending the text. ...
... However, students can acquire this skill through explicit instruction on how to use the text structure strategy (TSS) (e.g. Meyer et al. 1989. Positive effects on measures of reading comprehension have been found with readers as young as 2nd graders (Williams et al. 2005(Williams et al. , 2009. ...
... Benefits of explicit instruction on using text structure have also been observed across young and older adults (e.g. Cook and Mayer 1988; and on retired adults Meyer et al. 1989. Meyer et al. (1989) used some of the texts, feedback materials and formats from Bartlett's (1978) training programme and adapted them for young (18-to 32-years-old) and older (65 years and older) adults. ...
The goal of the present study was to examine the efficacy of learning a text structure strategy (TSS) for improving reading comprehension and recall for second language (L2) learners, as well as to test for transfer of the strategy to the native language (L1). University L2 learners of English completed a five-session course on using the TSS to improve recall and comprehension of expository texts. All instructions and materials were in English, the L2. As part of learning the structure strategy, participants practiced identifying key words that signal the structure of text being read (called ‘signal words’). At no point were these signal words ever translated into Spanish (L1) for the participants. At pre-test and post-test participants read and recalled two texts, one in Spanish and the other in English, while underlining areas of text that they deemed important. After completing strategy instruction, participants made significant gains in their ability to recall information from text in both English and Spanish, despite the fact that all instructions and practice were in English only. Analyses of underlining revealed an overall decrease in use of underlining at post-test for both English and Spanish texts, coupled with an increased tendency to underline signal words in both texts. Together the increases in recall and detection of signal words across languages indicate automatic transfer of the strategy across the learners' two languages.
... For example, knowing how different types of headings affect readers' attention to text organization and content would be helpful to an author who writes to inform an audience about a complex topic. Second, an understanding of how mature readers use signaling devices to aid their comprehension efforts could be useful in devising and teaching text effective comprehension strategies to less sophisticated readers (Goldman & Wiley, 2011;Kulikowich, 2008;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989). Given that many college students appear not to adequately process topic structure information (Mayer et al., 1984;Meyer et al., 1980;Sanchez et al., 2001), there is much to be learned about the instruction of comprehension strategies designed to aid learning from informational text. ...
... Therefore, many researchers have developed comprehension strategies that attempt to teach readers to detect and use a text's organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Paris & Oka, 1989;Richgels, McGee, Lomax & Sheard, 1987;Samuels, Tennyson, Sax, Mulcahy, Schermer, & Hajovy, 1988;Sanchez et al., 2001). Signaling devices can be an important component of this approach because of their explicit cueing of organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Sanchez et al., 2001). ...
... Therefore, many researchers have developed comprehension strategies that attempt to teach readers to detect and use a text's organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Paris & Oka, 1989;Richgels, McGee, Lomax & Sheard, 1987;Samuels, Tennyson, Sax, Mulcahy, Schermer, & Hajovy, 1988;Sanchez et al., 2001). Signaling devices can be an important component of this approach because of their explicit cueing of organizational structure (Meyer et al., 1989;Sanchez et al., 2001). ...
Two experiments compared the effects on text processing of headings and preview sentences that were
designed to communicate the same information about the texts’ topics and their organization. In
Experiment 1, college students read a text for understanding then were tested on memory for the subtopics
and memory for simple facts presented in the text. Memory for subtopics was better for the text with
headings; there was no difference between headings and preview sentences on memory for facts. In
Experiment 2, participants read a text in order to outline it. Outlining was better if the text contained
signals to topic structure than if the text did not contain signals, but there were no reliable differences
between previews and headings. The findings show that previews function similarly to headings in a task
that emphasizes the relevance of topic structure information, but they do not elicit readers’ attention to
topic information as readily as headings do. These results have implications for textbook design and
instruction of comprehension strategies.
... Historically, following the author's logical structure of a text has been identified as a component of good reading comprehension (e.g., Davis, 1944;Meyer & McConkie, 1973). The structure strategy explicitly teaches learners how to follow the logical structure through strategic use of knowledge about text structures (e.g., Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989). Students learn how to use these structures to increase comprehension. ...
... Text structures, their key components, and their signaling words are affordances in text (Corno et al., 2002;Gibson, 1966) that can help readers interrelate ideas and build both global (main ideas) and local (details) coherence. Many readers need to be taught how to use these affordances in text (Meyer et al., 1989). For example, readers can learn that scientific materials often follow a problem-and-solution structure: first presenting important problems and their causes and then presenting a solution that eliminates one or more of the causes. ...
... The structure strategy is a well-tested method that helps readers focus on text structure and organize their reading accordingly. This results in significant improvement in recall of expository text (e.g., Meyer et al., 1989;Raphael & Kirschner, 1985). Gains in reading comprehension have been reported for children in second grade (Williams et al., 2005) through retired adults (Meyer & Poon, 2001). ...
This study investigated the effects of different versions of Web-based instruction focused on text structure on fifth- and seventh-grade students' reading comprehension. Stratified random assignment was employed in a two-factor experiment embedded within a pretest and multiple posttests design (immediate and four-month delayed posttests). The two factors were type of feedback provided by the Web-based tutor (elaborated vs. simple feedback) and the motivational factor of choice of text topics in practice lessons (student choice of texts vs. no choice). These factors were examined to learn how they affected performance after the six-month, 90-minutes/week intervention. Students who received elaborated feedback performed better on a standardized test of reading comprehension than students who received simple feedback. Learning how to attend to errors from the elaborated feedback tutor yielded large gains in test performance. Simple feedback did not help the least skilled third of readers move from complete lack of competency to competency using the structure strategy with problem-and-solution text. Choice between two topics for practice lessons did not increase reading comprehension. Substantial effect sizes were found from pretest to posttest on various measures of reading comprehension: recall, strategy competence, and standardized reading comprehension test scores. Maintenance of performance over summer break was found for most measures. The study informs research and teaching about Web-based reading tutors, feedback, comprehension, and top-level text structure.
... These structures have unique signaling words that should cue the student to organize the reading and recall using this knowledge. Extensive research has been conducted with human tutors training students on using the Structure Strategy and the results have been overwhelmingly positive (Armbruster, Anderson, & Ostertag, 1987;Bartlett, 1978;Carrell, 1985;Cook & Mayer, 1988;Englert & Hiebert, 1984;Gordon, 1990;Meyer, 1999;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;Paris, Cross, & Lipson, 1984;Polley, 1994). The methods employed in these studies require trained human tutors and many tutors to expand the training to a larger audience in schools. ...
... Research on the Structure Strategy showed that the method helps readers to focus on the text organization, helping them organize their reading accordingly, and showing significant improvement in recall of expository text (e.g., Meyer, 1999). Meyer, Young, & Bartlett (1989) found that the strategy helped readers remember more ideas and more important ideas, as well as remembering the ideas longer. ...
... Instruction about text structures has yielded positive effects for understanding and remembering information from text with children, young adults, and older adults (Armbruster et al., 1987;Bartlett, 1978;Carrell, 1985;Cook & Mayer, 1988;Englert & Hiebert, 1984;Gordon, 1990;Meyer, 1999;Meyer et al., 2002;Meyer et al., 1989;Paris et al., 1984;Polley, 1994;Raphael & Kirschner, 1985;Richgels, McGee, Lomax, & Sheard, 1987;Samuel et al., 1988;Slater, Graves, & Piche, 1985;Taylor & Beach, 1984;Weisberg & Balajthy, 1989). ...
Children ,and adults of all ,ages have improved ,their reading comprehension ,when ,trained on using ,the Structure Strategy to read, understand, and recall information from expository text. Training on the structure strategy has been conducted in small groups or using one-on-one tutoring and some web-pages withemail tutoring, all showing significant improvements ,in comprehension. We are creating a ,web-based intelligent tutoring system to present ,the strategy to 5, grade students. The advantages of web-based tutors are: consistent tutoring technique, modeling of good practice, scaffolding, immediate feedback, and motivation. This paper presents the foundations of our project Intelligent Tutoring for the Structure Strategy – ITSS, supporting research for the design, and preliminary findings from pilot tests. Keywords: Intelligent Tutoring, Reading Comprehension, K-12, web-based, software agents, Structure Strategy
... Identifying the macrostructure of an information text passage means discerning its purpose or basic organizational structure. These organizational structures include causation, comparison, description, sequence, and problemsolution (Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989). Each of these structures has associated signal words and phrases. ...
... Furthermore, information text and narrative text have different characteristics, some of which may make comprehending information text particularly challenging. For example, information text tends to include more technical and unfamiliar vocabulary, to utilize a greater variety of text structures, and to demand more logical, complex causal reasoning Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;. Therefore, it might be expected that struggling readers would manifest particular difficulties on information text comprehension assessments and particularly benefit from instruction focused on information text comprehension. ...
Adolescents’ Engagement in Academic Literacy
Edited By
John T. Guthrie, Allan Wigfield and Susan Lutz Klauda
Final Report to NICHD, USA
... In their study, readers who were better able to infer the top-level structure of a text also had higher text comprehension levels. Moreover, intervention studies seem to suggest a causal link between text structure inference skill and text comprehension because training students to attend to text structure during reading (e.g., underlining words that signal text structure and searching for the overall structure of a text) is associated with better scores on standardized reading comprehension tests, as well as with better recall of a text's main ideas and of text information in general (e.g., Cook & Mayer, 1988;Gordon, 1989;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;Meyer & Poon, 2001;Paris, Cross, & Lipson, 1984;Wijekumar, Meyer, & Lei, 2013;Williams, Hall, & Lauer, 2004;Williams, 2005;Williams, Stafford, Lauer, Hall, & Pollini, 2009). ...
... The present study has shown a strong correlation between text structure inference skill and expository text comprehension. Although a correlation does not imply causality, many other studies have shown that training students on knowledge and skills necessary to infer text structure improves text comprehension (e.g., Cook & Mayer, 1988;Gordon, 1989;Meyer et al., 1989;Meyer & Poon, 2001;Moeken, Kuiken, & Welie, 2015;Paris et al., 1984;Wijekumar et al., 2013;Williams et al., 2004Williams et al., , 2009Williams, 2005). Therefore we can safely assume that better text structure inference skill leads secondary school readers to better understanding of their expository texts. ...
The present study investigated whether text structure inference skill (i.e., the ability to infer overall text structure) has unique predictive value for expository text comprehension on top of the variance accounted for by sentence reading fluency, linguistic knowledge and metacognitive knowledge. Furthermore, it was examined whether the unique predictive value of text structure inference skill differs between monolingual and bilingual Dutch students or students who vary in reading proficiency, reading fluency or linguistic knowledge levels. One hundred fifty-one eighth graders took tests that tapped into their expository text comprehension, sentence reading fluency, linguistic knowledge, metacognitive knowledge, and text structure inference skill. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that text structure inference skill has no unique predictive value for eighth graders’ expository text comprehension controlling for reading fluency, linguistic knowledge and metacognitive knowledge. However, text structure inference skill has unique predictive value for expository text comprehension in models that do not include both knowledge of connectives and metacognitive knowledge as control variables, stressing the importance of these two cognitions for text structure inference skill. Moreover, the predictive value of text structure inference skill does not depend on readers’ language backgrounds or on their reading proficiency, reading fluency or vocabulary knowledge levels. We conclude our paper with the limitations of our study as well as the research and practical implications.
... As such, this activity was strategic, albeit not conscious. This is consistent with other studies of adult readers (Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989). Furthermore, this strategic reading would be expected of successful tertiary students and is consistent with findings from studies of adults in tertiary study contexts, in particular, Meyer (1975), Bartlett (2003), and Meyer, et al. (2002). ...
... Yet, even with this narrow view of assignment task, TLS might have helped. The literature rates it as a valuable tool in ensuring faithful and comprehensive retrieval of text-based information (Bartlett, 2003;Meyer, 1978;Meyer, Young & Bartlett, 1989). ...
... Furthermore, reading for study is associated with the utilization of processes intended to improve comprehension (van den Broek, Lorch, et al., 2001). Previous work also suggests that teaching students to modify their reading behaviors as a function of text structure can improve their comprehension (Meyer, Brandt, & Bluth, 1980;Meyer & Poon, 2001;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989). Because environments oriented towards study are linked to utilizing strategies that improve comprehension, we hypothesized that adaptations of processing based on text structure would be most likely to occur when reading for study (as opposed to reading to be entertained). ...
... The chronological texts listed a sequence of events in chronological order; however, no causal markers linked the events (a listing of the events that led to the civil war, nuclear power, the personal computer, and racial integration in schools). This is consistent with Meyer, Young, and Bartlett's (1989) sequence texts. The average grade level was 13.0, and the average word count was 207.8. ...
In the current study we examined the complex interactions of instructional context, text properties, and reader characteristics during comprehension. College students were tasked with the goal of reading for study versus entertainment (instructional context) while thinking-aloud about four different expository text structures (text properties). Working memory also was assessed (reader characteristics). Reading goals and working memory interacted to influence paraphrasing and non-coherence processes when thinking aloud. Reading goals, working memory, and text structure all interacted to influence text-based inferences. Text structure also influenced knowledge-based inferences. Post-reading recall was highest for those with the instructional goal of reading for study (compared to entertainment), as well as for problem-response and compare-contrast texts (compared to descriptive and chronological texts). Implications of the findings are discussed.
... Through many years of research with many different groups of users the structure strategy has consistently shown improvements in reading comprehension . For example, Meyer et al. (1989) carried out the earliest randomized control trial showing larger statistically significant gains in reading comprehension for young and older adults taught to use the structure strategy in comparison to those who were randomly assigned to practice reading and recalling the same instructional materials (everyday nonfiction) without structure strategy instruction or a no contact control group. More recently, Meyer et al. (2010) studied the effects of the ITSS structure strategy delivery to 5th and 7th grade students and showed statistically significant improvements in reading comprehension. ...
... In summary, the structure strategy shows students how to strategically organize their memory of expository texts and works to enhance other comprehension approaches, such as underlining and summarizing, by helping students find the most important information (Meyer et al. 1989). The structure strategy can be applied to any domain and text structures can be nested to form complex passages. ...
Reading comprehension is a challenge for K-12 learners and adults. Nonfiction texts, such as expository texts that inform and explain, are particularly challenging and vital for students’ understanding because of their frequent use in formal schooling (e.g., textbooks) as well as everyday life (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and medical information). The structure strategy is explicit instruction about how to strategically use knowledge about text structures for encoding and retrieval of information from nonfiction and has consistently shown significant improvements in reading comprehension. We present the delivery of the structure strategy using a web-based intelligent tutoring system (ITSS) that has the potential to offer consistent modeling, practice tasks, assessment, and feedback to the learner. Finally, we report on statistically significant findings from a large scale randomized controlled efficacy trial with rural and suburban 4th-grade students using ITSS.
... Ausubel (1962) claimed that knowledge is hierarchically organized, with the most general ideas subsuming specific and detailed ideas. Likewise, Meyer et al, (1989) argued that a writer uses only a limited number of general ideas to organize his or her interpretation of a topic. These general ideas are the possible plans, superordinate schemata, or codes 28 JURNAL PENDIDIKAN used in writing, under which the more detailed information is placed. ...
... In summary, to interpret a topic, an author may organize his or her writing by comparing, defining, describing, identifying the causal link of ideas, or linking the problem and solution parts of ideas. Meyer et al. (1989) suggested that in order to facilitate encoding and retrieval processes, a reader should focus on the overall plan-the top-level structures-rather than on plans that organize details. Armbruster, Anderson, and Ostertag (1987) concurred that "formation of macrostructure is ... a prerequisite for success in a task involving global comprehension and meaningful learning" (p. ...
... The idea that the teaching of text structure or text organization is a well-established vehicle by which to increase reading literacy and raise it to a more spontaneous, instant, or effortless level has been critically examined for about 50 years in a wide variety of settings (Meyer & Ray, 2011). These settings include i) a variety of age groups (children through older adults) (Ciardiello, 2002;Meyer, Poon, Theodorou, Talbot, & Brezinski, 2000;Meyer, Talbot, Stubblefield, & Poon, 1998;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett (1989).), ii) several languages (Meyer, Talbot, Poon, & Johnson, 2001;Raymond, 1993)., iii) diverse educational settings (K-12, community colleges, gerontology, English as a second language) (Carrell, 2007;Hall, Sabey, & McClellan, 2005;Meyer, Brandt, & Bluth, 1980), iv) several disciplines (science, social studies, and literary) (Cook & Mayer, 1988;Samuels, Tennyson, Sax, Mulcahy, Schermer, & Hajovy;1988) , as well as v) with and without related assistive techniques such as use of signal words or technology Meyer, Wijekumar, & Lin, 2011). ...
This thesis is about the dynamics of peshat and derash in the commentary of Rashi on the bible. The contributions of this doctoral thesis are the following: i) Peshat (the straightforward meaning of the text)is identified with the nuances understood by a literate speaker (for example: The word "drive" in English implies "by car"); ii) Rashi was very familiar with many concepts of modern grammar which the rest of the Northern School was unaware of: For example Rashi knew of TAM (See Rashi comments on Ex. 15:1; also see his interpretation of the form QaTol as a durative command (i.e. a command with repetitive application) on Ex. 20:8; also see his pragmatic anticipation of the Qatal-VaYiQToL distinction as indicating a switching of scenes on Gen. 4:1); iii) Rashi was totally familiar with the modern treatment of parallelism including parallel passages as indicating climax; the sources that seem to suggest that Rashi was unaware (or struggling) with parallelism (such as his comments on Ps. 9:5) are refuted using texts from the Mesorah Parvah and Magna; iv) the Maimonideean approach that Bilam's vision of the talking donkey happened in a dream is systematically extended to all prophecies; all prophecies including the Decalogue and the Akeydah occurred through the medium of dreams; this approach while very novel resolves many problems; iv) it is shown (hinted at by the works of other scholars like Gamliel and Teshima) that Rashi's commentary was not authority-based (his goal was not to summarize what previous authorities had said) but rather database-based (his goal was to uncover very find nuances based on broad queries of the biblical text); v) a comprehensive and new theory of metaphor (including symbolism and figures of speech) is presented; it is based on experience of speakers and not on comparative linguistics (e.g. the word "honey" means "sweet" precisely because in the experience-base of most speakers "honey" is a frequently encountered example of sweetness); this new approach allows us (or at least we so attempted) to analyze texts without the necessity of extensive comparative linguistics; vi) Rashi frequently expressed abstract ideas using familiar concrete examples; he also frequently associated Peshat with exaggerated metaphors; this accounts for the appearance that Rashi was not very deep when in fact he was; vii) Seven distinct meanings are given to "derash"; it is shown that only one of them refers to total homily; five of the other six meanings refer to reasonable interpretations of the text that are true but not peshat; finally the 7th meaning of derash refers to the nuances understood by a literate speaker (for example that "drive" implies "by car"; this richer vocabulary allows to satisfactorally resolve the peshat-derash dichotomy.
... To address this problem, researchers have studied strategy-based components that can help improve individuals' reading ability (e.g., Mason, 2013;Meyer et al., 1989;van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983). The text structure strategy approach explicitly teaches learners to trace the logical structures of expository text, including common organizational patterns used by authors. ...
The intelligent tutoring system of structure strategy (ITSS) is a web-based digital tutoring system proven to be effective in helping students recognize and use text structures to comprehend and recall texts. However, little is known about the dynamic learning processes within the ITSS. This study aims to investigate the effects of feedback dosage on lesson mastery throughout the progression of ITSS lessons. We applied a confirmatory factor analysis and extended vector autoregressive model to assess the dynamic relationships among three tasks embedded within the ITSS and found: (1) significant cross-regression effects among the three reading tasks; (2) distinct effects of feedback dosage on the specific reading task; and (3) different effect sizes of feedback across lessons. Results provide helpful insights on ways to design better modules in further development of the ITSS.
... The texts that scientists read and write typically follow the five text structures that have been identified previously in the research literature. These structures have been identified as the cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem/solution or question/answer, descriptive, and sequential text structures (Meyer and Freedle 1984;Meyer et al. 1989). Additionally, signal words have been identified within each text structure that are unique to that structure and that are used to provide signals for the reader and to aid in comprehension (e.g., the sequence structure includes signal words such as first, initially, following, and consecutively, while the compare and contrast structure includes signal words such as before, in contrast, equal to, parallel to, and diverge from). ...
The purpose of the study was to examine how integrated science and disciplinary literacy instruction influenced the quality of science informational text produced by first-grade students and student perceptions these young children held about scientists. The disciplinary literacy instruction took place over the course of 8 weeks (three 20–30-min lessons/week) and incorporated reading, writing, speaking, and listening as literacy tools to make sense of science content. A single-subject design (N = 76) using a paired sample t test was used to compare results of the scores from the informational text writing samples using a writing rubric and the Draw-a-Scientist Test. Results revealed that students were able to produce higher-quality science informational texts in all areas being examined on the weighted writing rubric. However, the perceptions the first graders had regarding scientists remained essentially unchanged from beginning to end of the study. Implications for these findings are discussed. Educators should consider disciplinary literacy instruction as a way to support young children in learning to write science informational texts effectively.
... This could be because SF in the two passages are short, functional (instead of content) and common words and phrases, (such as it describes, even though, when, sometimes and but) therefore the participants may have skipped them when reading. Hartley (2004) who cited Meyer et al. (1989) defined them as non-content words or phrases that are used to help readers recognise the way a passage is organised. However, the fact that they have scored reasonably well in the comprehension tests of both passages suggests that ignoring these features have not badly affected their comprehension of the passages. ...
The study was undertaken to investigate the effects of English as a Second Language (ESL) on students' reading processes and preferences on their comprehension of two different types of passages. The participants were 17 students from the English Language Studies department and 16 from the Psychology department of a public university in Malaysia. The eye tracker device (EyeNTNU-120) developed by the National Taiwan Normal University was used to record students' eye movements while reading the two different types of texts and their patterns analysed statistically. This was triangulated with interviews to find out students' preference and a reading test. A descriptive text (inclined towards language learning) and a comparison text (inclined towards psychology) were used. The interviews were undertaken to find out students' reading preferences and the reading test was to measure their reading comprehension performance. It was predicted that the ELS students would prefer Passage A and Psychology students would prefer Passage B because of familiarity of content materials. However, the results showed that both groups of students preferred Passage B and performed better for it too. The results further revealed that g e n e r a l l y both group of students exhibited similar patterns while reading and there was no relationship between reading patterns and reading comprehension scores. Finally, it was discovered that text-based reasons had a greater influence on passage preference than reader-based reasons.
... Also, other factors such as readers' goals (Noordman, Vonk, and Kempff 1992) and verbal ability (Meyer, Young, and Bartlett 1989) seem to influence the effects of relational markers. ...
... This approach to text structure could also help to improve reading skills. Research on reading comprehension has strongly emphasized the importance that recognizing text organization has for effective reading (Floris and Divina 2009;Meyer et al. 1989;Kintsch and Vipond 2014) and that text organization awareness is the most difficult reading skill for learners (Floris and Divina 2009). Hence, the use of the journeying metaphor, which makes available the possibility of applying our embodied experience, on which metaphors are based, to make inferences about text structure, could contribute to P A P E R A C C E P T E D . ...
La escritura es una tarea compleja y multifacética que presenta muchos desafíos, especialmente cuando se escribe en un idioma extranjero. Estudios recientes han demostrado que tanto escritores como lectores se benefician del conocimiento explícito de los géneros textuales y de su organización, ya que el sentido de unidad de un texto está en gran parte relacionado con su estructura general. El conocimiento de la estructura del texto revela las convenciones que controlan el flujo de información y determinan los tipos de señales disponibles para los lectores. En este artículo usamos la teoría de la metáfora conceptual para proporcionar una nueva forma de explorar la escritura en el contexto académico y analizar el marco conceptual que escritores y lectores emplean para organizar la información. En este sentido, ilustramos cómo la metáfora los TEXTOS SON VIAJES puede usarse para dilucidar la organización macroestructural subyacente en textos expositivos escritos por aprendices de inglés.
... Some ITSs are based on a reading strategy. For instance, Intelligent Tutoring of the Structure Strategy (ITSS) is a web-based tutoring system which facilitates understanding of text by explicitly teaching learners how to follow the propositional structure of text by applying knowledge about text structures (Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;Meyer et al., 2010). There are also ITSs designed to help human tutors, rather than replacing them entirely (Danis et al., 2005;Mitchell & Grogono, 1993). ...
Abstract:
This meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of improving reading comprehension for students in K-12 classrooms using intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), a computer-based learning environment that provides customizable and immediate feedback to the learner. Nineteen studies from 13 publications incorporating approximately 10 000 students were included in the final analysis; using robust variance estimation to account for statistical dependencies, the 19 studies yielded 88 effect size estimates. The meta-analysis indicated that the overall random effect size of ITSs on reading comprehension was 0.60 (using a mix of standardized and researcher-designed measures) with a 95% confidence interval 0.36 to 0.85 (p < 0.001). This review confirms previous studies comparing ITSs to human tutoring: ITSs produced a small effect size when compared to human tutoring (0.20, 0.02-0.38, p = 0.036, n = 21). All comparisons to human tutoring used standardized measures. This review also found that ITSs produced a larger effect size on reading comprehension when compared to traditional instruction (0.86) for mixed measures and (0.26) for standardized measures. These findings may be of interest to practitioners and policy makers seeking to improve reading comprehension using consistent and accessible ITSs. Recommendations for researchers include conducting studies to understand the difference between traditional and updated versions of ITSs and employing valid and reliable standardized tests and researcher-designed measures.
... Multiple studies have shown the structure strategy is an efficient and effective reading comprehension approach (Meyer, Brandt, & Bluth 1980;Meyer et al. 2002;Meyer, Wijekumar, & Lin, 2011;Meyer et al., 2010;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;Wijekumar, Meyer, & Lei, 2012;Wijekumar et al., 2014;Wijekumar, Meyer, & Lei, 2017). However, most studies used the traditional variable-centered analysis method, which fails to inform the multi-faceted profile of students' reading skill patterns. ...
Latent transition analysis (LTA) was conducted on data from a recent cluster randomized controlled study of 1808 seventh-grade students’ use of a web-based intelligent tutoring system (ITSS). This analysis goes beyond traditional variable-centered methods to focus on profiles of learners and changes in reading class membership between pre- and post-tests for students with and without receiving ITSS intervention. A four-class model was obtained, consisting of poor readers (class 1), delayed readers (class 2), proficient readers (class 3), and readers with specific deficits in problem and solution (class 4). Analysis showed that students receiving the ITSS intervention were more likely than students without the intervention to transition into the proficient class regardless of their initial reading performance profiles. However, the odds ratio of transitioning into the proficient class (as opposed to staying in the same class) in the ITSS condition, compared to the control, was the highest (4.29) for initial readers with deficits in problem and solution, followed by initial poor readers (1.66) and initial delayed readers (1.50). Findings indicated that students in the ITSS condition had larger reading improvement than students in the control condition, particularly for readers with initial deficits in problem and solution.
... In a study somewhat similar to the current study, Meyer, Young, and Bartlett (1989) approached a more targeted examination of a specific intervention component. In their study, participants were taught to identify and discriminate text structures before writing a main idea statement by providing definitions for the text structures, examples of the text structures, and signaling words. ...
Students who struggle with reading have particular trouble with expository text. Instruction in text structures has been shown to be effective for improving expository reading comprehension. However, few studies have been conducted specifically with upper elementary aged struggling readers. To address these issues, we developed a new intervention, Structures, to improve the expository text comprehension of 4th and 5th grade struggling readers. In this study, we conducted a randomized control trial to assess the promise, usability, and feasibility of one component of the intervention designed to teach students to identify and discriminate the five text structures. Forty-five 4th and 5th grade struggling readers were randomly assigned to intervention or business-as-usual conditions. Students in the Structures condition were taught to identify and discriminate among the five text structures used by authors of expository text: description, sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution. At post-test, experimental students (n = 24) statistically significantly outperformed control students (n = 21) on a structures identification measure (d = 0.94). No other statistically significant differences were found. However, a practically (but not statistically) significant effect size was found on an oral retell measure (d = 0.29). Results also indicate the materials were usable for teachers and it was feasible to implement the intervention in a school setting. The implications and future directions of the development of remaining components in the Structures intervention are discussed.
... Intervention studies seem to support the causal link between strategic use of connectives and text comprehension. Training students to attend to text structure and connectives has been shown to improve memory for texts and text understanding (e.g., Cook & Mayer, 1988;Gordon, 1989;Meyer & Poon, 2001;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;Paris, Cross, & Lipson, 1984;Wijekumar, Meyer, & Lei, 2013;Williams, Stafford, Lauer, Hall, & Pollini, 2009). ...
The present study examined whether knowledge of connectives contributes uniquely to expository text comprehension above and beyond reading fluency, general vocabulary knowledge and metacognitive knowledge. Furthermore, it was examined whether this contribution differs for readers with different language backgrounds or readers who vary in reading fluency, general vocabulary knowledge or metacognitive knowledge levels. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that knowledge of connectives explained individual differences in eighth graders' text comprehension (n = 171) on top of the variance accounted for by the control variables. Moreover, the contribution of knowledge of connectives to text comprehension depended on a reader's level of metacognitive knowledge: more metacognitive knowledge resulted in a larger association between knowledge of connectives and text comprehension. Reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge and language background did not interact with knowledge of connectives. Findings are interpreted in the context of the strategic use of connectives during expository text reading.
... Meyer and her colleagues (Meyer and Rice, 1984; Meyer et al., 1989Sagerman and Mayer, 1987). Task variables, such as the pace of presenting information or the way information is presented (e.g. ...
The purposes of this study were (1) to compare the reading comprehension test
scores of the students who learned with the Text Structure Reading Strategy CALL
program (herein called TSRS) and those who did not learn with the TSRS CALL
program, but studied texts from the Voice of America (VOA) Special English
Program web pages, and (2) to explore the students’ opinions towards the TSRS
CALL program and its usefulness. The participants consisted of 86 students with
medium and low English proficiency who registered for Foundation English III
during the summer semester of academic year 2009 at Kasetsart University
Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus. The participants were divided into
an experimental group (n = 42) and a control group (n = 44). The two groups took the
pre-test, then the experimental group learned with TSRS CALL program, but the
control group studied the texts from the VOA Special English. Then the two groups
took the post-test.
The experiment tool was the TSRS CALL program, of which the efficiency
was 81.30/84.24, which was higher than the 80/80 criterion. The data were collected
using a pre-test and a post-test, a questionnaire towards the program and its
usefulness, and a semi-structured interview. The data were analyzed quantitatively
IV
and qualitatively. The statistical analysis of the quantitative data included arithmetic
mean, standard deviation, and percentage. The testing of the mean difference was
conducted using t-test and ANCOVA. The qualitative data were analyzed using
content analysis.
The results were as follows:
1. The students with medium English proficiency who learned with the TSRS
CALL program did not have significantly higher post-test scores than the medium
proficiency ones who did not learn with the program.
2. The students with low English proficiency who learned with the TSRS
CALL program had significantly higher post-test scores (p<.01) than the low
proficiency students who did not learn with the program.
3. Overall, the students who learned with the program had significantly higher
post-test scores (p<.01) than the students who did not learn with the program.
4. The students who learned with the TSRS CALL program had very positive
opinions towards the program and its usefulness ( X = 3.86, S.D. = .64).
... The process component involves a discussion of the comprehension questions such as the multiple choice (MC) questions on the CET and how these will provide the signals that will direct the learner's comprehension. It is this procedural element of text processing where strategic action and its benefits are concentrated (Bartlett, 2010;Meyer, Young, & Bartlett, 1989;Wegner & Bartlett, 2008). Wu (1998) has conducted a very insightful analysis of the effect of MC questions on various learners. ...
The present study is an off-shoot of a larger project, in which a significant statistical relationship was observed between learner variables of a large sample (n=1440) of Chinese Learners of English as a Foreign Language and their reported use of Language Learning Strategies. In this article, we report the use of a combination of metacognitive strategies, namely selective attention, organisational planning and self-management in two different learning contexts (in-class and out-of-class) as an investigation of the perceived usefulness of this combination in these contexts. An analysis of the listening and speaking tasks that students face both in and outside the classroom revealed considerable variation, notably with more use of the metacognitive strategies reported for speaking and listening when both were undertaken out-of-class. In addition, variation was reported along gender lines. These outcomes are elaborated with implications for the teaching and learning of speaking and listening of English in China.
... Since Bloom's study (1956), many others (Adey & Shayer, 1994;Ashman & Conway, 1997;Como & Randi, 1999;de Corte, 2000;Elliott, 2000;Hamers & Overtoom, 1997;Leat & Higgins, 2002;Lipman, 2003;Newton, 2000;Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976;Zimmerman, 2000) have focused on learners' cognitive process for the improvement of teaching, learning, and assessment. Many educators and teachers (Adams & Wallace, 1991;de Corte, Verschaffel & van de Ven, 2001;Fuchs et al., 2003;Leat, 1998;Meyer, Young & Bartlett, 1989;Shayer & Adey, 2002;Taba, 1966;Wallace, 2001) have also suggested new curriculum and educational methods that develop learners' cognitive abilities in different areas of school subjects. Those methods employing critical thinking skills have also been highlighted in language education. ...
As a part of basic research for developing concordance materials for young EFL learners, this study explores appropriate numbers of concordance citations contained in the materials, given that secondary EFL students successfully undertake Data-Driven Learning (DDL) in the classroom. In past decades, there have been increasing demands regarding deductive DDL for language learners at low proficiency levels. However, few practical suggestions have been made how to develop the materials. This current study focuses on the importance of suitable materials for young learners and suggests guidelines for materials development in terms of citations limited to classroom activity. It followed three Korean teachers of English aod 78 high school students. Students' learning outcomes were qualitatively analyzed using DDL materials developed with different numbers of citations, aod interview transcripts. Based on students' findings and preferences, it was concluded that 12 citations were most appropriate for the classroom activity studied. Three participant teachers stated that the numbers were dependent on learning settings. The study provides practical information on appropriate numbers of citations at least required for DDL activity in the secondary classroom.
... Expository texts place little emphasis on time-and-place context features; expository intends to describe the relationships between content elements mainly as sets of local propositions, but also globally at the paragraph and section levels as text signals and top-level structure such as text topics and subtopics (Meyer et al. 1980). Nouns, pronouns, and signal phrases are particularly important, such as specifically, for example, for instance, namely, such as, attributes of, qualities are, characteristics are, marks of (Meyer et al. 1989). ...
This investigation applies two approaches for representing and comparing text structures as undirected network graphs to describe the influence of narrative and expository lesson texts on readers’ knowledge structure elicited as free recall. Narrative and expository lesson texts and undergraduate participants’ free recall essays (n = 90) from a study by Wolfe and Mienko (Br J Educ Psychol 77, 541–564, 2007) were reanalyzed for lexical proximity as sequential occurrence of selected important terms in the text and as actual minimum distances between these terms. The proximity data were then rendered as Pathfinder networks for analysis. Compared to human-rater benchmark measures, the convergent validity of the sequential approach (range of r = .53 to .83, median r = .70) was a little better than that of the minimum distance approach (.51 to .80, median r = .67). Further, we anticipated that the lesson text structure would be reflected in the text structure of the free recall essays, but this was not observed. On average, the essays in all three lesson conditions tended to converge on a sequential expository structure. Further, compared to the expository lesson texts, the narrative lesson text had a distinctly different influence on posttest recall essay text structures. Overall then, the sequential occurrence approach appears to provide a reasonably good, automatically derived method for representing and comparing lesson texts and participants’ essays as network graphs. If further confirmed and fully automated, there is a wide range of application of such measurement approaches for learning and research.
Previous corpus-based studies (Ibáñez, Moncada & Cárcamo, 2019) have identified the most and the least frequent coherence relations in Chilean primary school textbooks. Based on these findings, in this study, we explored the effect of exposure to coherence relations on their processing and comprehension. We expected the most frequent coherence relations in school textbooks to be more easily processed and better comprehended than the least frequent ones. Our expectation is explained by integrating the Language Experience (LE) hypothesis (Nippold & Taylor, 2002) and the Schematic Structural Expectations (SSE) hypothesis (Mulder, 2008). A self-paced reading experiment with a within-subjects design and cumulative window paradigm was carried out. One hundred and thirty-eight participants (12-14 years old), attending Chilean schools participated in the experiment. Each of them read 30 experimental items in two different sessions. Results revealed, in the first place, low levels of reading comprehension achievement. General results also showed that, although participants read the most frequent coherence relations slower than the least frequent ones, they comprehended them better. Analysis showed different patterns depending on the subject, which demonstrated that our expectations were partially fulfilled.
Establishing relations between concepts and ideas is vital for university-level reading. However, students often understand expository text only superficially (Graesser, 2007), especially in the case of a second language (L2). Insufficiently developed linguistic competence, inadequate prior knowledge or weaker reading skills may all lead to a lack of deep comprehension. Our aim was to examine the effects of a macrostructure-based reading strategy of searching for rhetorical relations on the comprehension of a text in English as L2. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in which junior undergraduate students of business and economics were trained to establish the rhetorical structure of an expository text (c. 900 words). During reading, students were required to make graphically organized notes with explicit rhetorical relations, write linear-text summaries and answer comprehension questions. Analysis of the students' notes and summaries showed the positive effects of the training on knowledge construction and text integration (e.g., relevance, coherence, accurate rhetorical relations). Some aspects of note accuracy were negatively affected, and no effects were found on note completeness, local summary accuracy and answers to comprehension questions. The results indicate that the applied strategy significantly enhances macroprocessing leading to text integration. The revealed comprehension gaps point to the need to avoid the mechanical application of the strategy and a loss of detail in locally-oriented tasks.
Underdeveloped reading comprehension skills can limit academic success; a particular challenge for English Language Learners (ELLs). The current study investigated whether a web-based text structure strategy, delivered via the Intelligent Tutoring of Structure Strategy (ITSS) program to adult Chinese ELLs, improved students' use of reading strategies and/or overall reading comprehension. Using a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design, 207 adult Chinese ELLs from four classes were assigned to intervention or control groups. The intervention group utilized the ITSS to support their English reading instruction, whereas the control group was exposed to only traditional instruction. Our results indicate that the ITSS intervention had a statistically significant positive effect on adult Chinese ELLs' reading comprehension (β=3.07, p<0.001) with Cohen's d = 0.43, as measured by the College English Test-4 (CET-4). Furthermore, we found that Chinese ELLs reported using more higher-order reading strategies (p<0.01) after the intervention and there was no significant change of reported reading strategy usage for the control group from pretest and post-test. However, the current study did not provide evidence that the change in use of reading strategies mediated the relationship between the intervention/control condition and Chinese ELLs' reading comprehension.
The effects of teaching the text structure strategy using a web‐based Intelligent Tutoring System for the Text Structure Strategy (ITSS) were examined with fourth‐ and fifth‐grade children scoring below the 25th percentile on comprehension measures using the Gray Silent Reading Test (GSRT) and researcher designed assessment from 130 fourth‐grade and 130 fifth‐grade classrooms. The ITSS was designed to teach students how to select and encode strategic memory from expository texts. The system provides modelling, practice, assessment, scaffolding, and feedback to learners on identifying signalling words, summarizing, making inferences, generating elaborations, and monitoring comprehension. A large scale randomized controlled trial was conducted with 130 fourth‐grade and 130 fifth‐grade classrooms. Students completed GSRT‐ and researcher‐designed measures of reading comprehension at pretest and posttests. An analysis of fourth‐grade students using ITSS who scores less than the 25th percentile on the GSRT pretest showed small but meaningful effect sized on the posttests. The fifth‐grade students in ITSS, who scored less than the 25% percentile on the GSRT pretest, showed the highest effect sizes (moderate to large effects) on the standardized test scores on the posttests.
My recount in this chapter is of research and practice that illustrate the nature and teaching of top-level structuring, a procedure that underpins several topical twenty-first century higher-order learning skills. Top-level structuring is a procedural strategy that has its genesis in knowledge of how ideas interrelate in a communication such as a piece of text. The gist of representing top-level structuring as a source for better reading outcomes is that knowing how language works organisationally and using that knowledge will lead students to a simple, yet viable and productive consideration of how to make sense of and explain what they remember, forget, understand and are befuddled by when reading. There are core patterns that model such organisation in written and oral text, and these have logical structural form and utility in relation to strategic functioning. Children become better readers, for example, when they have a better sense of how reading works—and insights gained through knowing about text structure and about themselves as deconstructors and constructors of texts hold potential for powerful contributions to their ongoing improvement. When educators have this knowledge and observe its effect, then teaching others to be better readers and strategic communicators takes a significant turn. It focuses on improving reading by supporting students to understand more about how language is at work when they are reading and to provide action learning aimed at viewing themselves as improving readers.
Reciprocal teaching is characterized as a dialogue taking place between the teacher and students (or student leader and members of the group) that results in students learning how to construct meaning when they are placed in must read situations (Carter & Fekete, 2001). It provides students with four discrete and specific reading strategies that are actively and consciously used as texts are processed (Palincsar & Brown, 1984). These reading strategies are clarifying, predicting, questioning, and summarizing. Reciprocal teaching has two forms. Rosenshine and Meister (1994) referred to these forms as reciprocal teaching only (RTO) and explicit teaching of strategies before reciprocal teaching (ET-RT). Fung, Wilkinson, and Moore (2003) claimed that "few students are able to handle the linguistic burden when the reciprocal teaching dialogue is conducted without explicit teaching of strategies" (p. 3). The present study was conducted to determine the difference between reciprocal teaching only and explicit teaching of strategies before reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of Iranian female EFL learners. The result of statistical analysis revealed that reciprocal teaching can improve reading comprehension of EFL learners. The result of the tests also indicated that explicit teaching of strategies before reciprocal teaching (ET-RT) turned out to cause more gains in reading comprehension of EFL learners at the intermediate level.
Reading comprehension is an integral part of all learning and success in life. Our Web-based intelligent tutoring system for the structure strategy was tested with 5th grade students on reading comprehension and motivation and we found significant improvement on both areas. This paper presents the theoretical foundations for motivation and reading comprehension, the research design, results, and discussion of findings.
In a repeated-measures experimental design, 28 college students read and later answered questions about specific pieces of information in 2 sets of 4 fictitious biographical passages that differed in terms of the presence of thematic connections (with theme or without theme). As hypothesized, the students recalled more items from the theme set than the non-theme set. The positive effect of thematic connections was strongest for the students who exhibited some awareness of theme. In other words, the students who selected the theme set as the easiest recalled more than those who chose the non-theme set as easiest. The students who picked the theme set as easiest were also more accurate in their prediction estimates of their theme set recall. Student explanations for why one story set was easier than the other were predominantly Story explanations (referring to characteristics of the story) and Order explanations (referring to factors influenced by set order). Students gave different explanations depending on which story set they picked as easiest. As expected, the students who picked the non-theme set as easiest gave relatively few Story explanations. The students reported different patterns of strategy use depending upon whether or not they switched strategies for the different story sets.
This article reviews common curricular alternatives for addressing the needs of secondary students with learning disabilities in science. For the most part, special education strategies for modifying science materials reflect generic techniques. Support for these methods is based on the argument that they place relatively few demands on teachers. Moreover, these methods readily apply to the commercial texts used in general and special education classrooms, however, the increasing complexity of secondary materials, as well as the call for a richer understanding of science. Make techniques like direct instruction, mnemonics, and graphic organizers less tenable. A curriculum revision method that emphasizes models and context-rich problem solving is proposed as a contemporary alternative.
Interest may be a particularly valuable motivational resource for older adults in a time of life when a number of cognitive resources show decline. Perplexing findings from Study 1 concerning the differential gain from reading strategy instruction by young and old adults prompted us to consider the possible influence of noncognitive factors. In a follow‐up to Study 1, older adults were more dependent on signals in text in order to effectively use the strategy they had learned. In Study 2 we found that signaling had its largest effect on older readers who had low interest in the topic. These data reveal that a strictly cognitive approach to text learning is not sufficient to understand the complexity of prose learning in older adults. Rather, we must consider cognitive factors in conjunction with non‐cognitive factors including both text‐based variables (e.g., signaling) and affective/ motivational variables (e.g., interest).This research was supported by Grant R01 AG09957 from the National Institute of Aging to Bonnie J. F. Meyer, principal investigator, Department of Educational and School Psychology and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State University, and to Leonard W. Poon, co‐principal investigator, Gerontology Center, University of Georgia.We particularly appreciate the interest and hard work of all of our participants in this research. In addition, we appreciate the assistance of Cathy Hetrick, Deana Puskar, Jackie Edmondson, and Steve Shaffer who contributed as graduate students in our laboratory.
A reading comprehension instructional programme was analyzed in two complementary studies. This programme was designed to improve knowledge and use of the text structure as a comprehension strategy. In the first empirical study, intervention was carried out through an instructional programme applied to a group of high school students (aged 14–15) at two different reading ability levels. The performance of good and poor readers was contrasted with the results obtained from two control groups. In general, the study indicated that the readers trained in this programme benefitted from improved text comprehension in comparison with their counterparts in the control groups. The aim of the second study was to determine if this improvement could be maintained with a different text structure. Thus, the question addressed was if the participants in the instructional programme transferred their newly acquired knowledge to a text with a structure which had not been previously taught. The results indicate that this is the case.
Reading is assumed to play an important role in the development of literate persons in that it is consciousness-altering activity. The manner by which reading contributes to development is unclear, however, and has been debated by social scientists for some years. Despite the importance of reading in adult life, only recently have researchers devoted significant attention to what and how well adults read. Less scrutiny has been directed toward understanding what sorts of benefits may be gained from reading in adult life and how reading contributes to adult development. This paper describes adults' reading practices across a variety of social contexts, the types of skills employed in these practices, and how reading may contribute to adult cognitive development. Implications deriving from a better understanding of adult reading practices and skills across the life span are discussed.
Research relating to graphic organizers was reviewed. The findings suggest that currently there is no systematic approach to analyzing graphic organizer research resulting in a lack of explanations for why graphic organizers work or do not work. The primary difficulty to provide explanations was found to be due to the lack of consistent operational criteria in studies using graphic organizers. Further, instructional implications are tenuous at best due to the lack of explanations of how graphic organizers work or do not work. One method of analysis would be to examine previous graphic organizer studies using a relational grammar. This would allow for identifying the structure and content of text used in graphic organizer studies, the graphic organizer itself, and the measurement or evaluation instrument. This analysis would allow for a comparison of the structure and content of the different organizer studies and allow for an explanation of the cognitive processes that readers evoke in developing mental representations of ideas contained in text.
Elaborative or maintenance rehearsal strategy-use during a verbal working memory task was the grouping variable for a study that tested whether group membership distinguished 53 healthy adults by age, education, or performance on reading comprehension and verbal working memory tasks. No significant differences in age or reading comprehension emerged as a function of strategy-use. However, the elaborative strategy group had significantly better performance on one measure of verbal working memory. Several within age-group differences as a function of strategy-use were also significant. Younger adults who used elaborative rehearsal had superior working memory measures, and older adults who used elaborative rehearsal had superior reading comprehension measures, suggesting elaborative rehearsal's memory-enhancing function in verbal working memory and reading comprehension tasks.
Younger and older adults participated in 9 hr of either structure strategy training, interest strategy training, or no training. Both trained groups reported positive changes in reading, but only the structure strategy group showed increased total recall from a variety of texts and an informative video. Structure strategy training increased the amount of information remembered as well as recall of the most important information. This training affected the organization of recall and was critical for producing readers who could use the structure strategy consistently across a variety of expository texts. In addition, it helped learners use signals in text more effectively. There was an additive effect of training plus signaling for use of the structure strategy consistently across five passages. The strategy switch hypothesis was supported, indicating that signaling affects encoding rather than retrieval processes. The findings have implications for both reading and writing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The goal of matching texts to readers can be aided by using readability formulas in concert with considering text, task, reader, and strategy variables. For example, signaling makes sentences longer and readability scores soar, but eases readability for readers employing the structure strategy and looking for such signals. Coherent texts are easier to understand. The top-level structure of a text and its clarity to readers, enhanced by signaling, are important factors to consider when matching readers with appropriate text materials. Examples of readers from grade 5 to retirement years demonstrate the importance of text structure as an aspect of readability.
Educators want students to be able to learn proficiently from reading, to understand the information in a text, and integrate it with their growing knowledge about a topic. Teachers do not want the packaging of the text to interfere with a student's understanding; therefore, a match is needed between the text and the characteristics of the student. This goal of best matching texts and readers is the motivation for developing readability measures. This is not an easy goal to reach because of the complexity of the interaction among text, task, reader, and strategy variables involved in reading as depicted in Figure 1 (Jenkins, 1979; Meyer & Rice, 1983). This article focuses on many of the text variables shown in the Figure 1 and how they interact with some of the reader, strategy, and task variables to affect readability.
ABSTRACT This study investigated the role of health literacy and visual and cognitive function in the self-reported Internet use of two demographically distinct study samples of older adults. Measures of health literacy, vision, cognition, and Internet use were administered (total n = 250). Comparisons by study and by health literacy were made. Hierarchical logistic models were used to evaluate predictors of Internet use by sample and overall. Internet use, and predictors thereof, differed by sample. The sample with lower levels of income, education, and health literacy rarely used the Internet; cognition alone predicted Internet use. In contrast, Internet use in the sample with higher levels of income, education, and health literacy was predicted by vision and cognition. The influence of health literacy, vision, and cognition on Internet use may vary as a function of socio-demographic characteristics and may represent important considerations in addressing older adults’ barriers to Internet use.
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