Making Learnable Texts: Interaction Between the Reader and the Text E. Vidal-Abarca, R. Gilabert, & T. Martinez University of Valencia

Theoretical 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

Revision to facilitate inferences with ETAT ETAT: Software to analyse expository text Revision: –Analysis of text ideas –Adding info (text ideas) Graph Statistics Rules

The Evolution of Species (Vidal-Abarca et al., 2002b) M = 1.54 (+ 26%) SD = 1.87 (+ 30%) Expl: 38 % (+ 0%) 2 (E) 22 (G) 14 (S) 32 (S)40 (S) 46 (E) 29 (S) 11th graders Questions: favored vs. NOT fav Revised > Original (Qs fav)

Current study 3 experiments Goal: –Test procedure with younger students –Analyse strategies –Comprehension processes & Text technology

Experiment 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 > Original (Complex Qs) –Revised = Original (Simple Qs)

Human Work (REVISED) 5th-grade text 281 words (+24%) Links per node: M = 1.18 (+26%) SD = 1.18 (+9%) 12 % Explicit links 5G 20G 14E 12E

Questions SimpleComplex Connect 2 consecutive sentences Few inferences Connect 3-5 sentences Many inferences Favored by added info

Results (Exp. 1) Simple Qs: Orig > Rev Compl Qs: Orig = Rev Discussion –Hypoth Disconfirmed –Poor strategies?

Experiment 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 > Original (Complex Qs) –Revised = Original (Simple Qs)

Results (Exp. 2) Simple Qs: Orig = Rev Compl Qs: Orig < Rev Discussion –Hypoths Confirmed –Better strategies 8th-g

Experiment 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 (Read&Answer) Hypotheses: –8th > 6th (specially Complex Qs) –Processing strategies explain 8th > 6th

Read&Answer: Masked text

Read&Answer: Unmasked text

Read&Answer: Masked Q+Anw

Read&Answer: Unmasked Q+Anw

On-line measurements First reading of Text Question-answering –Reading Question –Locating Text relevant info –Reading Text relevant info Control: cycles of RQ-LT-RT

On-line measurements First reading of Text Question-answering –Reading Question –Locating Text relevant info –Reading Text relevant info

Off-line Results (Exp. 3) Summary: –Simple Qs: 8th > 6th –Compl Qs: 8th > 6th

On-line Results (Exp. 3): Text + Q-A Time

On-line Results (Exp. 3): Search Time reading questions % Number Relevant segments opened % Time Relevant segments opened

Analysis 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)

Sequence for Good Answers Read Question Remember Answer 19.2 % Copy/Elaborate ideas 9.6 % Re-read relevant segment Quick Re-read NOT relevant segment (verifying) Text Re-read relevant segment COPY/Elaborate ideas 71.2 % Text

Sequence for Poor Answers Read Question Misunderstan ding (20 %) Misunderstan ding (30 %) Question  text segment Re-read relevant segment Copy words (35 %) Text Re-read NOT relevant segment Question = text segment Copy words (15 %) Text

Conclusions 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

Questions?

Simple 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.

Complex 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.

Human 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.

Human 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.