Reading Comprehension - Science topic

In my opinion, it will depend on to what extent the language learner would like to view how the language works. I would say that if we opt to view language from the perspective of medium/tool in conveying messages or communication; incorporating structural grammar and IC analysis are beneficial to use the grammar correctly within the exact communication function to deliver the correct message by the encoder to the decoder.

Maybe this article will be of help: https://aguidetocomprehension.weebly.com/four-resources-model.html

Hello Aki, I do agree with Michal Místecký. I can also recommend the Lextutor platform (https://www.lextutor.ca/) and the Sketch Engine open corpora (https://app.sketchengine.eu/#open). You can also access the Leeds (http://corpus.leeds.ac.uk/internet.html), although its sytanx is not the most user-friendly. Good luck!

Absolutely! Writing clarity definitely enhances readability and comprehension. It also makes the process pleasurable. Just to note, that while "plain language" may help, it is not the only factor to deliver clarity. Effective structural organisation of ideas, logical development of content, variation of syntax and sentence length, etc. all contribute to delivering writing clarity. Different writing genres require different considerations.

Dear Robert,

I understand you are looking for "normed" texts, by which I understand that the texts have been calibrated for a certain level. My question is: do you have a framework of reference in mind for the calibration? CEFR?

I know that this website offers texts at different levels, but I'm not sure how they calibrated the texts: https://www.newsinlevels.com/

I also know of another website that analyzes texts with the CEFR in mind (English Vocabulray Profile to be precise): https://textinspector.com/help/lexis-evp/

The following article might also be useful:

I hope this helps.

It sounds like the percent correct on the test would be your outcome variable, so you could compare the pre- and post-test scores with a paired comparison t-Test (which is the parametric equivalent of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test).

Hi Foudil, It makes complete sense you wouldn't like to give the same reading pre and post because then your participants would read it twice. So similar reading passages make sense. To be your best experiment, you'd probably like to counter-balance. Half your participants get each of the readings before the experiment and then everybody gets the opposite of their original reading afterward. When you analyze your data counter-balancing condition can be a variable so you'll find out if your reading passages are equally difficult. Hope your study goes well! -Maddie

Please clarify. Do you want to know the reading comprehension level viz a viz standardized tests or do you want middle school students to evaluate themselves, like Marsh's academic self-concept (ASC) for language arts?

Dear Nahida El Assi

Really great job, thanks for your effort.

It is true that this protocol is one of best strategies for assessing reading comprehension; Because when the reader thinks aloud, and himself and others hear his ideas and imaginations, he reveals the degree of his understanding of what is being read accurately..

But the important question here: What practices should the teacher do to improve the abilities of his students to Aloud thining?.

As Michael W. Marek mentioned, learners are not good at accurately monitoring their learning. The monitoring accuracy depends hugely upon the types of metacognitive cues (better predictive or less predictive cues) while they monitor their learning. The literature says that good performers usually underestimate their learning (less confident) and poor performers tend to overestimate.

Jennifer Knellesen, considering your question, the overestimation (or overconfidence) for the difficult text made them cautious and when they go to the less difficult text, they preferred to underestimate. They realize that the types of cues they considered to monitor their learning for the first text were probably less predictive. The opposite case happens when they first read the less difficult text. The pattern of cue utilization by the learners is a complex process. Those who use cues specific to situation model comprehension are observed to be better predictors of their learning. The following article might help you.

Prinz, A., Golke, S., & Wittwer, J. (2020). To what extent do situation-model-approach interventions improve relative metacomprehension accuracy? Meta-analytic insights. Educational Psychology Review, 1-33.

Kindly see also the following link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-62154-0

Good morning

Stake, R. E. (2013). Multiple case study analysis. Guilford Press.

It is a qualitative study, so your recollected data may be with deep interviews.

Also, you need software to code the answers.

Atals.ti is a good one.

In order to do the guion you have to follow your objectives.

You will find attachment one of my cases, I hope it helps you.

Best regards

Ph.D. Ingrid del Valle García Carreño

Carreño, I. D. V. G. (2021). Distributed leadership in educational organizations in Madrid: case study. Revista Ibero-Americana de Estudos em Educação, 189-209.

Reading difficulty appears in many forms and range from inadequate vocabulary building to medical conditions like dyslexia ,ADHD ,ADD. Through observations and by checking child`s work ,cognition tests ,and particularly language evaluvation teacher and parent can identify reading difficulty.The child shows no interest in reading , not able to answer simple questions , he steers clear opportunities for reading ,shows difficulty in communication

Siti Khairunnisa, for people to be able to help you effectively, I think you need to provide information about how you were measuring personality and reading habits. For example, did you use multi-item scales for each of those variables, and, if so, were there subscales on those scales?

Also, what did scores on the writing test look like? Were they pass/fail, or percentages, or what?

Online or distance teaching has its implications on learners. One of the direct consequences of distance learning is the type of educational platform an institution adopts and uses. Features of these platforms determine which skill is prevalent and more rapid in use. I have found interactive oral skills to be most affected followed by writing and then reading. Students listen most of the time while attending online classes with less willingness/chances to interact verbally.

Examine the distributional characteristics of your variables first. If they are all approximately normally distributed then you can use a multiple regression. If one or more of the variables are not normally distributed, you can see if a transformation will yield a normal distribution. Note that some of the tests we use to test for normality are very/overly sensitive to variations from normality; therefore, I suggest that you supplement them with visual inspection of your data distribution. If any of the variables are not even close to a normal distribution, return here to ask for further advice.

Doung Dara Blaine Tomkins Thank you for your insights, I appreciate your time.

the oboist is right. the level of reading comprehension is correlated positively to the level of cognitive flexibility.

Reading is the process of knowing a complex of symbols and letters intended to convey the meaning, so it is preferable to develop the effectiveness of differentiated education

Yo pienso que eso depende de factores como la edad de los niños, el estilo de aprendizaje que tenga y la metodología que el docente use para enseñar a comprender textos. En los niños pequeños un ejemplo aprender mucho de manera visual pero hay niños que son auditivos, además que la repetición de la palabra, frase o texto es fuente misma de la comprensión; es decir si tu metodología es que todos los días al ingresar al salón le vas a leer un texto ellos a la semana ya te sabrán recitar el texto mediante sus palabras y te da Indice de la compresión de el texto.

With total learning we can do this.

Interested

Good question

The state of thought processes and the ability to understand the connections between words in the text are of fundamental importance for reading comprehension. In reality, to measure comprehension, we must be able to evaluate verbal thinking.

I agree with answer of Dr. Marie Dontfraid .

I do not read the whole book; I read the chapters or the parts that I currently need. Then I read a second, third and fourth books at the same time, in the same way. I might return to any one of them as needed. But the approach enables me to read more books, with specific purposes, not just for reading.

Yes. For comparison you might look at the "cognitive aspects of survey methodology" (CASM) work. It aims to understand how aspects of survey items can affect responses.

One group non randomised

C K Gomathy Thank you for the link

Dear Kirsty,

Our research focus in describing the level of reading comprehension of EFL students in a colombian university. We don´t have yet the license for using standardized tests, that´s why we are attempting to design our own test to assess the students' reading comprehension. We are thankful for your help. Your suggestions light our way to create a method.

We will show you our test as soon as we finish it.

Kind regards,

Sindy

KET and  PET and IELTS for upper intermediate learners

Matthieu Peignot thank you for your response

Dear Mustafa, the idea of ​​your project is interesting and up to date. Cases of poor reading comprehension are more and more common in children with dyslexia. They are part of the heterogeneous neuropsychological symptoms in these cases. Keep in mind that working verbal memory is one of the factors to understand, but it is not basic - you can remember everything but you can not understand it. You can use a graded memory assessment system - from understanding phrases with literal and transcendent meaning (allegories), understanding the syntax of grammar constructions of isolated extended sentences to understanding the read text. It is best to use the classic way of checking the memory is a repetition of the reading, but for this purpose you need to design quantitative evaluation criteria yourself.

Another option is to check the memory of a material that is independent of the read text - learn 10 words (Luria`s test) and compare results with reading.

The modern method is to use image learning and segmentation lessons into sections and then merge

pls read this article :-

Begin with the Topic and the Scope. The topic should be obvious within the first 1-2 sentences of the passage. ...

The Tone is either Neutral or Strong/Complex. ...

Go back to the passage for Detail questions. ...

Write down the Purpose as soon as you finish reading. ...

Inferences are based on Implications.

This many not be what you are looking for, but here is a process my colleagues and I use to analyze critical thinking in writing. Maybe there is some element you can use.

I think that the best way to improve the usage of those resources is trying to create some kind of competition-related prizes (eg: badges, medals). If you perceive that your class is competitive you can decide about scores between grades (some of them are not so competitive and play only by scores could not be interesting).

The aim is to identify where lies the trade-off between challenge and stimulation to avoid that their willingness to participate fell down.

Please visit the following link

Best Regards Aaryn Schmuhl

En argentina, Paula Carlino.

@ David Morse

Thank you so much, I just had the separate scores and wanted to know which of them represents better the students degree of comprehension of the text. But, I think that, as you have mentioned, that this is likely to be arbitrary.

Dear  El Hassan

The measures of reliability, validity, and feasibility were applied and studied in the papers (which are available with me):

1. Validity and Reliability of Students and Academic Staff’s Surveys to Improve Higher Education. Educational Alternatives, Journal of International Scientific Publications, 2016,Vol.14, pp. 242-263 .

2. Statistical characteristics of performance indicators. Int. J. of Quality and Innovation. 2014, Vol.2, No.3-4, pp. 385-309.

3. Quantitative and qualitative indicators to assess the performance of higher education institutions. Int. J. of Information and Decision sciences, 2014, Vol.6, No. 4, pp.369-392.

Regards,

Zuhair

From your description, linear regression could be a useful tool. It is not really a test, but it has some tests associated with it. You are correct that there are a number of assumptions associated with linear regression, but whether you need to satisfy all of them depends on how you plan to use linear regression. A quick review these assumptions is as follows. More information (and software to carry out the various tests) can be found at www.real-statistics.com.

1. Linearity – You have two independent variables and so you should create two scatter charts: (1) independent variable 1 with the dependent variable and (2) independent variable 2 with the dependent variable. The data on each of these plots should align reasonably well with a straight line (i.e. match the linear trendline in Excel)

2. Normality – The residuals (the y data values minus the y values predicted by the regression model) should be normally distributed. You can check this by using the Shapiro-Wilk test (or QQ plots, etc.)

3. Other assumptions about the residuals – The residuals should be randomly distributed with mean close to zero. You can test this graphically or by using Cook’s D (or other similar tests)

4. No Multicollinearity – You won’t be able to get a linear regression model if there is exact multicollinearity. You can remove multicollinearity by removing one (possibly more) of the variables that is causing multicollinearity. Exact multicollinearity is not common with real data, but you can have a high level of multicollinearity (especially if you have a lot of independent variables). You can detect the possibility of high multicollinearity if the VIF values for some of the variables are high. The problem with high multicollinearity is that the standard errors of the regression coefficients will be high and so the predictions from the linear regression model won’t be very precise. You can reduce the impact of multicollinearity by using Ridge regression or some other similar method.

5. Homoscedasticity (homogeneity of variances) – When you graph the residuals against any of the independent variables, you should see a random pattern. If the resulting scatter chart looks like a line, a regular curve or any other pattern that isn’t random, then you have the possibility of violating this assumption. You can also use the Breusch-Pagan test. You can address violations of this requirement by using a transformation of the data or a correction to the standard errors of the regression coefficients (what are called robust standard errors).

6.No Autocorrelation – You can use Durbin-Watson to detect first-order autocorrelation. This test won’t detect other forms of autocorrelation. The Breusch-Godfrey test can be useful in this case. Autocorrelation tends to be an issue with time series data since the data in one period (year, month, etc.) tends to be correlated with the data in the previous period (first-order autocorrelation) or possibly an earlier period (p-order autocorrelation). Autocorrelation can be addressed using techniques such as Newey-West standard errors.

7. The sample size should be larger than the number of independent variables (otherwise the regression model won’t be defined — k linear equations in more than k unknowns).

Unless assumption 7 is violated you will be able to build a linear regression model, but you may not be able to gain some of the advantages of the model if some of these other assumptions are not met. Normality and Durbin-Watson (actually Autocorrelation is the assumption) are not the only assumptions that are important. In fact, for large samples it tends to be less critical to check for normality since the Central Limit Theorem will kick in).

Charles

Hi Zeneb,

Comprehension is the ultimate final product of reading -- there is no other reason for it than to derive meaning/understanding from the text. Rather than focusing on a code-based approach using decoding from the visual to the auditory, one should use strategies that enhance the reader's ability to use her/his background knowledge when reading. Since reading comprehension comes from juxtapositioning one's background knowledge of the world and of language (referred to as using "cueing systems") with the in-coming visual text to "weave a web of meaning" (J. Emig's quote), then you should use stratgies to do this.

Ellin Oliver Keene's book "To Understand: new Horizons in reading comprehension" as well as Keene & Zimmermann's " Mosaic of Thought: The power of comprehension strategy instruction (2nd edition)" is also good.

Take a look at the work of Helma van Lierop-Debrauwer (https://tilburguniversity.academia.edu/HelmavanLierop)

Students are supposed to annotate printed material and today to annotate PDFs. Sadly this is often not taught. I have an unpublished draft paper on the topic "The teaching of annotating".

I taught undergraduates a minimal set of symbols:

Of course, this practice has now mainly transferred to electronic media, where an annotation report^* can automatically extract just the annotatations for revision or write-up time.

My E-textbook^** suggests 10 letter codes M1 to M10 to be used consistently to note creative Modifications to the text. It also suggests ten letter codes R1 to R10 to be used consistently to indicate the Resolves of the student.

I fear that you are asking something of mindfulness that it was never designed to do. Mindfulness was a bit of a craze a while back, but there's no evidence to suggest that it would help with reading. You are better off looking at proven educational methods such as Debra suggests.

Not sure. But I would be interested in information like time needed for four year old to read out words, phrases, and sentences by length, type, and difficulty.

Thank you Sir for giving me different sources of Online Survey but I want to know about the specific one Online Survey of Anderson (2003) Will have to follow specific rules to use OSORS (Online Survey of reading Strategies) to check the response of Online readers and Can we do modification in already designed survey according to our need?

Regards

Nosheen, Do you have any evidence to suggest that the online and offline reading of a text would be different?

 @Arne Matthias: I do not know what you mean with 'my current question', so it is very difficult to answer it.

Hi, Maria.

You could try some subscales of the standarized Test-A (Panteliadou&Antoniou, 2008), which is appropriate for assessing students till the third class of high school.

Hi colleague 

You can check the following  link.  It may be useful to you. 

Metacognition means "thinking about how we think."  So I think metacognition is relevant to figuring out what study strategies work for each of us, as individuals.

For example, what is the best strategy for ME when I am reading and find a word I do not know.  Should I stop and look it up?  Keep reading and depend on my ability to understand the word from the context?  

I think that analyzing these things and using them as a strategy does represent use of metacognition. 

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Muchas gracias, José Luis. Revisaré el artículo adjunto.

I was intrigued by your question. Since the issue of learning English is quite important I wanted to help to the extent possible. But the question was not clear. So I looked up the abstract of your paper. There is no progress. Can you state in simple terms (forget statistical jargon) the question you are trying to answer? Also, in your abstract you mention a t test but you do not state what hypothesis you are checking. Can you clarify that? There is some skewness in your scores and you seemed to see much meaning in that. I am not so sure.

Glad you are appreciative!

You should test your data for normality. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3693611/

Hi Sharam, the attachment will only answer partly to your question but point out some other benefits of (e)Portfolios.

Mozelius, P. (2013). Learning by Building–the Lunarstorm Generation Constructing Their own ePortfolios. In 12th European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL 2013), 30-31 October 2013, Sophia Antipolis, France (pp. 319-322). Academic Conferences and Publishing International.

Kind regards,

/Peter

"Phenomenological" approaches need to be considered in two ways. The first potential contribution  is methodological, i.e., the use of empirical phenomenological methods to examine experiential accounts of reading events. The neurophenomenological group (following Varela, represented by Petitmengin) provides one methodological option, but I am (as might be expected) partial to the more systematic procedures we have developed  (cf. Kuiken & Miall, 2001). The second potential contribution of phenomenological approaches to "literature reception" is conceptual. The dominant cognitivist theory of text comprehension is rather lopsided: it emphasizes an inference-driven quest for explanation. In contrast, the phenomenologically oriented theoretical account emphasizes an expression-centered quest for explication. (Both, perhaps, involve the "extraction" of meaning in some sense.) The aesthetic outcomes of expression-centered explication is where something like the Experiencing Questionnaire can contribute. For an example of that approach see the draft Chapter entitled (at the moment) "Forms of Absorption that Facilitate the Aesthetic and Explanatory Effects of Literary Reading." Linking either of the preceding phenomenologically guided efforts to neuroscience paradigms is the challenge. I am confident there are ways to do so, but that calls for careful consideration of specific neuroscience paradigms, too. That is where the real "work" of cross-fertilization might actually occur.

Esteban, I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "text simplification," but if you mean reducing the readability level of the text, the answer is no.  Such simplification actually hinders comprehension.  There appear to be two factors that have a significant effect on reading comprehension.  One is working memory disfunction associated with slow reading speed.  The other, related, factor is lack of vocabulary.  Instruction that increases vocabulary and reading speed, as well as instruction designed to enhance WM will provide benefits. 

These issues are addressed in education and psychology research, some of which is supported by the International Reading Association.

Hi Margaret,

Hope the attached article will enlighten you on a sample test.

regards

The framework for QAR comprehension strategy is to provide improvement for students’ learning.  However, some of the students’ may not be able to link questions to the information in the text. Therefore, students’ should be taught how to locate answers to the questions. QAR framework is a strategy for students’ comprehension skills.

Researchers usually create these as they depend on the group being assessed. They are often, but not always, based on a 4 level scale of fluency 1 being single word reading skills and 4 a more fluent comprehension of groups of words within sentences. Sorry not to be more help but you could look at other reading scales, whihch are easily available on the web or from examining bodies, and adapt one to your particular needs.

Thank you  Dr.feras for your reply, my thesis in arabic,and i searched about meta comprehension scale and a comprehension scale..there is just one for metacomprehension..an old one.. by  DeWayne Moorea, Karen Zabruckyb 1997.could you help me please?!

Harshvardhan,

Thank you. It's amazing to find someone to help from Panjab University. Thank you again. I will check the sources you suggest.

Perhaps I can interest a classification of types of digital texts:

Another option is the TOSREC (Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension).  It is quick and easy to give. 

Check out the What Works Clearinghouse of the IES:

I don't know of any such tests that are both well constructed and free to use. After all, it costs a lot in professional time & resources to develop and standardize a test! But if you are after receptive vocabulary (how many words the person understands), then your best bet might be the Peabody Picture-Vocabulary Test. If you prefer to measure expressive vocabulary, there is a "twin" instrument, the Expressive Vocabulary Test. I would lean toward the PPVT in a study of autistic people, so as to reduce problems with memory retrieval or cooperation. Both of these measures have been normed on large, nationally representative samples. They are widely used clinically and in research, and either one can usually be administered in 15 minutes or so. Another option would be the Vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV), which would be even quicker to administer but has fewer items (therefore somewhat lower reliability) and requires the person to actually define the word.

If you want to use a written test suitable for group administration, you might consider the Shipley IOL scale (now the Shipley 2): just use the vocabulary portion! Or you could use the Vocabulary subtest of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test the same way.

Hi Pouran, 

You can watch if the students eyes are tracking their words as they're pointing to the words when they're reading. I'm wondering about the age group you're referring to?. If the children are very young it might not necessarily mean they're having reading difficulties. Also since you're teaching them two languages at the same time, are you noticing that they're reading better in one language than the other? which language are the children getting more exposure in? Assuming that the exposure is the same if a child has a true reading difficulty such as a learning disability like dyslexia, he or she would have struggle regardless of the language. 

Also remember that some children struggling with reading may not necessarily have reading issues it could be vision, attention etc. Best wishes