An Introduction to Strategic Reading Comprehension

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An Introduction to Strategic Reading Comprehension

• Art Graesser

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Overview

• Shallow versus deep comprehension
• Levels of representation and processing
• Theoretical frameworks
• Strategies
• Interdisciplinary projects with computer
  technologies

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Wading in Shallow Waters

• Shallow knowledge
• Shallow comprehension strategies
• Minimal comprehension training
• Shallow tests
• Shallow classroom questions
• Unspectacular comprehension calibration of
  learners
• Shallow theories
• Shallow policy makers

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Restoration of Hope

• The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor
  earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the
  time he was allowed out of his cupboard again,
  the summer holidays had started and Dudley had
  already broken his new video camera, crashed his
  remote control airplane, and, first time out on
  his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as
  she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.

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• A mushy, brown peach is lifted from the garbage
  and placed on the table to pinken. It pinkens,
  it turns hard, it is carried in a shopping sack
  to the grocers, put on a shelf, removed and
  crated, returned to the tree with pink blossoms.
• In this world, time flows backward.

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Levels of Discourse Structure

• Graphemes and phonemes
• Morphemes and words
• Syntactic composition
• Linguistic style and dialect
• Explicit propositions
• Referents of referring expressions
• Common ground (shared knowledge)
• Discourse focus versus presuppositions
• Situation models (space, causality, goal
  structures) inferences
• Embedded dialog
• Configuration of multiple agents
• Genre, registers, rhetorical structures
• Plot configurations
• Local and global coherence
• Point of message -- theme
• Goals and attitude of author

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What is the ideal grain size?

• Crude but teachable to teachers
• Word/sentence interpretation
• Links between sentences
• Links to readers background knowledge
• Theoretical natural categories (Kintsch,
  Graesser)
• Surface code
• Propositional textbase
• Situation model
• Text genre and rhetorical structure
• Pragmatic communication
• Psychometric categories (Oakhill, VanderVeen)
• 3-5 construct limitation
• Evidence centered design (Mislevy)
• ETS, College Board
• Dozens at a fine grain
• Requires computers
• Challenges of validation

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Example Theories and Models in Discourse
Psychology

• Text grammars (Van Dijk)
• Bridging and given-new (Clark)
• Scripts, plans, and schemas (Bower, Schank
  Abelson)
• Structural affect theory (Brewer, Lehnert)
• Structure-building framework (Gernsbacher)
• The Reader model (Just Carpenter)
• Constructionist theory (Graesser, Singer,
  Trabasso)
• Construction-integration model (Kintsch)
• Landscape model (van den Broek)
• Event indexing model (Zwaan)
• Memory-based resonance model (OBrien and Myers)
• Embodied theoretical frameworks Indexical
  Hypothesis (Glenberg)

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Five Metaphors for Text Understanding (Graesser
Britton, 1996)

• Assembling a multilevel representation
• The construction of a coherent structure
• A dynamical system
• Managing working memory
• Inference generation

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Theoretical Components
Levels of representation
Reader goals and assigned task
Knowledge and skill
Metacognition
Memory and attention
Cohesion and coherence
Information sources
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What do the theories and models truly predict and
explain?

• Directly articulated in the model
• Naturally follows from the model, but not
  directly articulated
• Ad hoc assumptions or parameters to accommodate
  data
• Impossible to accommodate or out of scope of
  model
• Do we draw the line at 2 or 3?

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Observations on analysis of theoretical
predictions

• Very few 2s even though they are perhaps most
  interesting
• Status of predictions is often murky with respect
  to 3 versus 4
• General theories of memory and cognition do not
  go the distance in explanatory adequacy. We need
  theories of discourse and pedagogy.
• Problems with kitchen sink manipulations in
  informing us about effective theoretical
  components

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Strategies and Strategy Interventions

• iSTART Interactive Strategy Training for Active
  Reading and Thinking (McNamara 30)
• LSAT RSAT diagnoser with iSTART (Magliano
  Millis)
• Reciprocal teaching method (Palincsar Brown)
• Concept mapping (Vitale Romance)
• PALS Peer-assisted Learning Strategies (Fuchs)
• CORI Concept Oriented Reading Instruction
  (Guthrie)
• Text Structure (Williams)
• Structure Strategy tutor (Meyer)
• Question Asking and Answering (King, Guthrie,
  Gholson)
• 3D Readers (Johnson-Glenberg)
• Joke City (Yuill)
• Indexing and embodiment (Glenberg)
• Universal Learning Environments (Dalton
  Proctor)
• Summary Street (Caccamise, Kintschs)

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Good Job!
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• Question Taxonomy
• (Graesser and Person,1994 Gholson Craig)
• LEVEL 1 SIMPLE or SHALLOW
• 1. Verification Is X true or false? Did an
  event occur?
• 2. Disjunctive Is X, Y, or Z the case?
• 3. Concept completion Who? What? When?
  Where?
• 4. Example What is an example or instance of a
  category?).
• LEVEL 2 INTERMEDIATE
• 5. Feature specification What qualitative
  properties does entity X have?
• 6. Quantification What is the
  value of a quantitative variable? How much?
• 6. Definition questions What does X mean?
• 8. Comparison How is X similar to Y? How is X
  different from Y?
• LEVEL 3 COMPLEX or DEEP
• 9. Interpretation What
  concept/claim can be inferred from a pattern of
  data?
• 10. Causal antecedent Why did an event occur?
• 11. Causal consequence What are the consequences
  of an event or state?

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Status of Strategy

• Strategy presses buttons in some circles
• Strategies should be integrated with concrete
  examples and content
• Strategies should not interfere with
  comprehension
• Strategies are always context-sensitive rather
  than context-free

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Strategy parameters to worry about

• What level of representation is being tapped?
• What prerequisite knowledge or skills are needed
  to apply the strategy?
• What prerequisite knowledge or skills will yield
  maximal gains through the strategy?
• How much training is needed for mastery?
• Does the strategy need to be explicit and
  conscious? Or is unconscious induction adequate?
• What are the relevant genres, registers, and
  content?
• Can humans be trained or is a computer necessary?

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Claims

• Human teachers and trainers will not have enough
  expertise and time to apply complex
  context-sensitive strategies.
• Computer technologies are in place for automation
  at many levels.

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Interdisciplinary Approach
Dissecting text at multiple levels
Readers expertise at each level
Computational Linguistics
Verbal protocols
Corpus analyses
Psychological educational theories
Behavioral Tests of Predictions
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Behavioral Tests

• OFF-LINE
• Recall
• Summarization
• Retrospective think aloud
• Recognition tests
• Sentence verification
• Question asking answering
• Response signal paradigm
• Ratings
• Word sorting

• ON-LINE
• Self-paced reading times
• Eye tracking
• Word naming latencies
• Lexical decision latencies
• RSVP-SOA
• Physiological recordings
• fMRI
• Evoked potential

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COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS AND CORPUS ANALYSES

• Lexicons (Wordnet, COMLEX)
• Brill part-of-speech tagger
• Syntactic parsers
• Penn Tree Bank
• Latent Semantic Analysis
• Biber discourse classifications
• MUC and TREC

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CohMetrix (McNamara, Louwerse, Cai, Graesser)
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QUAID (Graesser, Louwerse, Cai)
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Plate-Tech Tutor on Critical Stance
(Wiley, Goldman, Graesser)
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AutoTutor (Graesser, Hu, Louwerse, Gholson,
Person 100)

• Asks questions and presents problems
• Evaluates meaning of the learners answers
• Gives feedback on answers
• Display facial expressions with emotions
• Nods and gestures
• Hints
• Prompts for specific information
• Adds information that is missed
• Corrects bugs and misconceptions
• Answers student questions
• Holds mixed-initiative dialog in natural language
• Guides the learner in interactive 3-D simulations

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When a car without headrests on the seats is
struck from behind, the passengers often suffer
neck injuries. Why do passengers get neck
injuries in this situation?
Question
Head
Parameter Controls
Describe what happens
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Conceptual Physics(Graesser, Jackson, et al.,
2003)

• Three tutoring conditions
• AutoTutor
• Read textbook control
• Read nothing
• 63 college students

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Multiple Choice Scores
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Learner emotions AutoTutor (Graesser,
Franklin, Gholson, Louwerse,
Picards Affect Computer Lab
at MIT)

• Frustration
• Confusion
• Excitement
• Boredom

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Visual IBM Blue eyes camera
Posture Body Pressure Measurement System
Auto Tutor
Pressure force sensitive mouse and keyboard
AutoTutor text dialog
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Fishics AutoTutor

• Andrew Olney

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Closing Comments

• Rand Reading Study Group (Snow, 2002) emphasized
  comprehension
• Text
• Reader
• Activities
• Sociocultural context
• Advanced computer-based learning technologies
  will be necessary to achieve this vision

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