Title: Making Learnable Texts: Interaction Between the Reader and the Text
1Making Learnable Texts Interaction Between the
Reader and the Text
- E. Vidal-Abarca, R. Gilabert, T. Martinez
- University of Valencia
2Theoretical Framework
- Instructional text too many inferences
- Text Revision procedures
- Relationships between text ideas explicit (e. g.,
Britton Gülgöz, 1991) - Information to connect text ideas (e. g.,
Vidal-Abarca et al., 2000) - Reducing vs. Facilitating inferences
3Revision to facilitate inferenceswith ETAT
- ETAT Software to analyse expository text
- Revision
- Analysis of text ideas
- Adding info (text ideas)
4The Evolution of Species (Vidal-Abarca et al.,
2002b)
M 1.54 ( 26) SD 1.87 ( 30) Expl 38 (
0)
- 11th graders
- Questions favored vs. NOT fav
- Revised gt Original (Qs fav)
5Current study
- 3 experiments
- Goal
- Test procedure with younger students
- Analyse strategies
- Comprehension processes Text technology
6Experiment 1
- Goal test procedure with younger students
- Method
- 6th-grade children
- Text Work (Original vs. Revised)
- Measurement
- Prior background knowledge
- Comprehension 4 simple 4 complex (favored)
questions - Procedure Read text Answer Qs (text available)
- Hypotheses
- Revised gt Original (Complex Qs)
- Revised Original (Simple Qs)
7Human Work (REVISED)
5th-grade text 281 words (24) Links per node M
1.18 (26) SD 1.18 (9) 12 Explicit links
8Questions
Simple
Complex
- Connect 2 consecutive sentences
- Few inferences
- Connect 3-5 sentences
- Many inferences
- Favored by added info
9Results (Exp. 1)
- Simple Qs Orig gt Rev
- Compl Qs Orig Rev
- Discussion
- Hypoth Disconfirmed
- Poor strategies?
10Experiment 2
- Goal test procedure with older students (better
strategies) - Method
- 8th-grade children
- Prior knowledge equal to 6th-grade children
- Text, Measurement procedure Same as Exp 1
- Hypotheses (Same as Exp 1)
- Revised gt Original (Complex Qs)
- Revised Original (Simple Qs)
11Results (Exp. 2)
- Simple Qs Orig Rev
- Compl Qs Orig lt Rev
- Discussion
- Hypoths Confirmed
- Better strategies 8th-g
12Experiment 3
- Goal analyse processing strategies
- Method
- 6th 8th-grade children
- Prior knowledge equivalent Lexical access
- Text Only Revised version
- Measurement off-line on-line
- Procedure reading Q-A on computer
(ReadAnswer) - Hypotheses
- 8th gt 6th (specially Complex Qs)
- Processing strategies explain 8th gt 6th
13ReadAnswer Masked text
14ReadAnswer Unmasked text
15ReadAnswer Masked QAnw
16ReadAnswer Unmasked QAnw
17ReadAnswer Unmasked QAnw
18On-line measurements
- First reading of Text
- Question-answering
- Reading Question
- Locating Text relevant info
- Reading Text relevant info
19On-line measurements
- First reading of Text
- Question-answering
- Reading Question
- Locating Text relevant info
- Reading Text relevant info
20Off-line Results (Exp. 3)
- Summary
- Simple Qs 8th gt 6th
- Compl Qs 8th gt 6th
21On-line Results (Exp. 3) Text Q-A Time
22On-line Results (Exp. 3) Search
23Analysis of Q-A processes
- Selection of participants
- Best 5 (four 8th graders, one 6th grader)
- Poorest 4 (6th gaders)
- 72 Q-A sequences (9 participants x 8 questions)
- 20 bad answers (mostly from poor participants)
- 52 good answers (mostly from good participants)
24Sequence for Good Answers
Read Question
25Sequence for Poor Answers
Read Question
26Conclusions
- Profit of text changes requires good strategies
- Good Strategies
- Forming adequate goal representation
- Selecting right information
- Processing right information carefully
- Using right information to answer
- Poor strategies
- Superficial clues (repeated words)
- Misunderstanding
- Illusion of comprehension
- Use of strategies difference Good vs Poor
comprehenders
27Questions?
28Simple question How did primitive men satisfy
their feeding and dressing needs, before
agriculture was invented? Text To be able to
survive, people have always needed to cover
their basic needs of diet, dress, dwelling, etc.
Thus, to obtain food, the man had to collect wild
fruits, fish and hunt from the moment in which
he appeared on The Land Correct answer They
collected wild fruits, they fished and they
hunted.
29Complex question When did Industry appear?
Text Part of the products obtained working the
land or raising animals was consumed directly.
Another part of the products (seeds, plants,
skins, etc.) was transformed to make use of it.
With the seeds of cereals bread was produced.
With threads from different plants clothes were
woven. Clothes and footwear were done with
animal skins. To transform these products new
activities appeared as those of bakers,
shoemakers, weavers etc. A new progress had been
produced with the birth of industry. Correct
answer When products were transformed, to make
use of them.
30Human Work
(2) To obtain food, the man had to collect wild
fruits, fish and hunt from the moment in which
he appeared on The Land. (3) When food was over
in a place, people went to another place in
search of more food. (4) With the step of the
time, they learned to cultivate plants and to
raise animals. (5) People no longer had to move
from a place to another to hunt animals and
collect wild fruits. (6) The agriculture and the
stockbreeding had been invented. (7) Thanks to
this progress, the man began to live in a fixed
place and he could have food at his disposal
during all the stations of the year.
31Human Work
The agriculture and the stockbreeding had been
invented. Thanks to this progress, the man began
to live in a fixed place and he could have food
at his disposal during all the stations of the
year. Part of the products obtained working the
land or raising animals was consumed directly.
Another part of the products (seeds, plants,
skins, etc.) was transformed for several uses.
With the seeds of cereals bread was produced.
With threads from different plants clothes were
woven. Clothes and footwear were done with
animal skins. To transform these products new
activities appeared as those of bakers,
shoemakers, weavers etc. A new progress had been
produced with the birth of industry.