scholarly journals Use of Conjunctions in Expository Texts by Skilled and Less Skilled Readers

1985 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Geva ◽  
Ellen Bouchard Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Expository Text ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Expository Texts ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
And Control ◽  
Average Readers ◽  
Implicit Condition ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Below Average Readers ◽  
Selection Of

The present study was designed to shed light on whether some of the problems that average and below average readers have in comprehending expository texts stem primarily from lack of familiarity with conjunctions or a tendency to ignore these markers. On the basis of Gates-MacGinitie reading comprehension scores, 93 students in grades 5 and 7 were classified into high, medium, and low reading levels. All students read short expository texts under four conjunction manipulation conditions and answered comprehension questions. The conjunction manipulations within the texts were designed for examination of the roles of analyzed linguistic knowledge and cognitive control in comprehension. Analyses indicated that all groups benefited from the highlighting of explicit conjunctions. The comprehension of interpropositional relationships by average and below average readers was enhanced when explicit conjunctions were available, relative to an implicit condition. Furthermore, the deep processing manipulation (conjunction multiple-choice cloze) actually hindered, rather than facilitated, comprehension for all students. Data on appropriate selection of conjunctions in this condition revealed less knowledge of these important cohesive indicators among average and below average readers than above average readers. Together with the comprehension findings, we conclude that average and below average readers exhibit problems with both knowledge of conjunctions and control over their use in comprehending expository text.

Audiovisual Equivalence of Stimuli in Acquisition of Associations at Two Reading Levels

1974 ◽  
Vol 38 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1271-1274
Author(s):  
Robert M. Alworth
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Paired Associate ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
Delayed Presentation ◽  
Associate Learning ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
Average Readers ◽  
Element Sequence ◽  
Below Average Readers

This research was intended to investigate the difficulty experienced by retarded readers in acquiring associations between auditory and visual information. First- and second-grade above- and below-average readers ( ns = 41, 42) were presented paired-associate tasks involving: (a) simultaneous and delayed stimulus presentation, (b) visual-visual and visual-auditory stimuli, and (c) stimuli in which within-stimulus element sequence was and was not relevant in determining the associated response. Inferior paired-associate learning was noted in below-average readers, delayed-presentation tasks, and sequence-relevant tasks. No significant interactions were noted.

The Use of Graphic and Contextual Information by Average and Below-Average Readers

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Oral Reading ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
Reading Levels ◽  
Reading Abilities ◽  
Rate Effects ◽  
Unknown Words ◽  
Reading Miscues ◽  
Average Readers ◽  
Below Average Readers

The use of graphic and contextual information by average and below-average readers was inferred by examining their oral reading miscues. It was hypothesized that inconsistent findings of previous studies comparing children of differing reading abilities were due to unequal miscue rates between the groups. The present study equated miscue rate of average and below-average readers and examined the effects of different miscue rates on the use of graphic and contextual information. Forty second-grade average readers and forty below-average readers in third to sixth grades read two selections of second grade readability. Three levels of miscues per hundred words which span the functional reading levels were examined: 1–5, 6–10, and 11–15. The results show that miscue rate effects the use of contextual information: miscues which are not syntactically correct increase as miscue rate increases, and miscues which are syntactically correct but change the author's meaning decrease as miscue rate increases. Below-average readers made proportionally more miscues which changed the author's meaning and showed greater dependence on graphic cues; a dependence which was unsuccessful in decoding unknown words. Average readers made proportionally more miscues which made no changes in the author's meaning. Instructional implications were discussed.

scholarly journals Eighth graders’ expository text comprehension

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Welie ◽  
Rob Schoonen ◽  
Folkert Kuiken
Keyword(s):  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Expository Text ◽  
Eighth Graders ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Expository Texts ◽  
Good Readers ◽  
Sentence Reading ◽  
Expository Text Comprehension

Abstract The present study examined whether ten motivations to read expository texts moderated the effects of cognitive skills on eighth graders’ expository text comprehension, while accounting for the main effects of cognitive skills. Furthermore, it was examined whether the effect of motivational dimensions on expository text comprehension differed between monolingual and bilingual Dutch students, and between poor and good readers. Hundred fifty-two eighth graders took tests measuring their expository text comprehension, sentence reading fluency, linguistic knowledge, metacognitive knowledge and motivations to read expository texts. None of ten motivational aspects did moderate the effect of cognitive skills on expository text comprehension. Furthermore, there were no differences between monolingual and bilingual Dutch students, or between poor and good readers, in terms of the relationship between motivational dimensions and expository text comprehension. Differences between our findings and results from other studies are interpreted in the context of measurement specificity and the school system.

scholarly journals Fostering Comprehension Monitoring in below Average Readers through Self-Instruction Training

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria E. Miller ◽  
Andrea Giovenco ◽  
Katheryn A. Rentiers
Keyword(s):  
Reading Ability ◽  
Expository Texts ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Comprehension Monitoring ◽  
Fifth Grade Students ◽  
Ability Levels ◽  
Instruction Effect ◽  
Self Instruction ◽  
Average Readers ◽  
Below Average Readers

The benefits of self-instruction training on the comprehension monitoring performances of below average and above average readers were examined. Fourth- and fifth-grade students were tested on their ability to detect between-sentence contradictions in short expository texts after receiving either three sessions of self-instruction or equivalent didactic instruction. Additionally, generalization was assessed on text passages different from those employed during training and on postreading monitoring measures. A significant self-instruction effect was found for both reading ability levels on all of these measures. Moreover, the below average readers performed at a level commensurate with their higher ability peers on the transfer measures. It was concluded that self-instruction training was successful in enhancing student's regulatory processing during reading.

Read, Understand, Learn, & Excel: Development and Testing of an Automated Reading Strategy Detection Algorithm for Postsecondary Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1257-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Kucheria ◽  
McKay Moore Sohlberg ◽  
Jason Prideaux ◽  
Stephen Fickas
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Expository Text ◽  
Reading Strategy ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Expository Texts ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Periodic Review ◽  
Wide Range

PurposeAn important predictor of postsecondary academic success is an individual's reading comprehension skills. Postsecondary readers apply a wide range of behavioral strategies to process text for learning purposes. Currently, no tools exist to detect a reader's use of strategies. The primary aim of this study was to develop Read, Understand, Learn, & Excel, an automated tool designed to detect reading strategy use and explore its accuracy in detecting strategies when students read digital, expository text.MethodAn iterative design was used to develop the computer algorithm for detecting 9 reading strategies. Twelve undergraduate students read 2 expository texts that were equated for length and complexity. A human observer documented the strategies employed by each reader, whereas the computer used digital sequences to detect the same strategies. Data were then coded and analyzed to determine agreement between the 2 sources of strategy detection (i.e., the computer and the observer).ResultsAgreement between the computer- and human-coded strategies was 75% or higher for 6 out of the 9 strategies. Only 3 out of the 9 strategies–previewing content, evaluating amount of remaining text, and periodic review and/or iterative summarizing–had less than 60% agreement.ConclusionRead, Understand, Learn, & Excel provides proof of concept that a reader's approach to engaging with academic text can be objectively and automatically captured. Clinical implications and suggestions to improve the sensitivity of the code are discussed.Supplemental Materialhttps://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8204786

The Adult as Foe or Friend?: Childism in Guus Kuijer's Criticism and Fiction

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Joosen
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Children's Books ◽  
Children’S Books ◽  
Memorial Award ◽  
Adult Reader ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Selection Of

Compared to the attention that children's literature scholars have paid to the construction of childhood in children's literature and the role of adults as authors, mediators and readers of children's books, few researchers have made a systematic study of adults as characters in children's books. This article analyses the construction of adulthood in a selection of texts by the Dutch author and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Guus Kuijer and connects them with Elisabeth Young-Bruehl's recent concept of ‘childism’ – a form of prejudice targeted against children. Whereas Kuijer published a severe critique of adulthood in Het geminachte kind [The despised child] (1980), in his literary works he explores a variety of positions that adults can take towards children, with varying degrees of childist features. Such a systematic and comparative analysis of the way grown-ups are characterised in children's texts helps to shed light on a didactic potential that materialises in different adult subject positions. After all, not only literary and artistic aspects of children's literature may be aimed at the adult reader (as well as the child), but also the didactic aspect of children's books can cross over between different age groups.

MODEL OF SOCIAL POTENTIAL OF CHILDHOOD IN THE RUSSIAN REGIONS: THE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS

2019 ◽  
pp. 152-162
Author(s):  
A.G. Filipova ◽  
A.V. Vysotskaya
Keyword(s):  
Third Wave ◽  
Russian Regions ◽  
The Third ◽  
Control Factors ◽  
Social Potential ◽  
System Input ◽  
Optimal Values ◽  
Fixed Ideal ◽  
And Control ◽  
Selection Of

The article presents the results of mathematical experiments with the system «Social potential of childhood in the Russian regions». In the structure of system divided into three subsystems – the «Reproduction of children in the region», «Children’s health» and «Education of children», for each defined its target factor (output parameter). The groups of infrastructure factors (education, health, culture and sport, transport), socio-economic, territorial-settlement, demographic and en-vironmental factors are designated as the factors that control the system (input parameters). The aim of the study is to build a model îf «Social potential of childhood in the Russian regions», as well as to conduct experiments to find the optimal ratio of the values of target and control factors. Three waves of experiments were conducted. The first wave is related to the analysis of the dynam-ics of indicators for 6 years. The second – with the selection of optimal values of control factors at fixed ideal values of target factors. The third wave allowed us to calculate the values of the target factors based on the selected optimal values of the control factors of the previous wave.

Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Religious Background ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Selection Of

This book examines the ways in which the biblical book of Esther was read, understood, and used in Muslim lands, from ancient to modern times. It zeroes-in on a selection of case studies, covering works from various periods and regions of the Muslim world, including the Qur’an, premodern historical chronicles and literary works, the writings of a nineteenth-century Shia feminist, a twentieth-century Iranian dictionary, and others. These case studies demonstrate that Muslim sources contain valuable materials on Esther, which shed light both on the Esther story itself and on the Muslim peoples and cultures that received it. The book argues that Muslim sources preserve important, pre-Islamic materials on Esther that have not survived elsewhere, some of which offer answers to ancient questions about Esther, such as the meaning of Haman’s epithet in the Greek versions of the story, the reason why Mordecai refused to prostrate himself before Haman, and the literary context of the “plot of the eunuchs” to kill the Persian king. Furthermore, throughout the book we will see how each author’s cultural and religious background influenced his or her understanding and retelling of the Esther story: In particular, it will be shown that Persian Muslims (and Jews) were often forced to reconcile or choose between the conflicting historical narratives provided by their religious and cultural heritages respectively.

scholarly journals The dynamic of body and brain co-evolution

2021 ◽  
pp. 105971232199468
Author(s):  
Paolo Pagliuca ◽  
Stefano Nolfi
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Traits ◽  
The Body ◽  
Morphological Variations ◽  
And Control ◽  
Selection Of

We introduce a method that permits to co-evolve the body and the control properties of robots. It can be used to adapt the morphological traits of robots with a hand-designed morphological bauplan or to evolve the morphological bauplan as well. Our results indicate that robots with co-adapted body and control traits outperform robots with fixed hand-designed morphologies. Interestingly, the advantage is not due to the selection of better morphologies but rather to the mutual scaffolding process that results from the possibility to co-adapt the morphological traits to the control traits and vice versa. Our results also demonstrate that morphological variations do not necessarily have destructive effects on robots’ skills.

scholarly journals ProReal®: The ‘good enough’ online alternative to face-to-face Dramatherapy

Dramatherapy ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 026306722110208
Author(s):  
Claire Anne Quigley
Keyword(s):  
Ambiguity Tolerance ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
On Line ◽  
And Control ◽  
Selection Of

The Covid-19 restrictions have limited the access of face-to face therapies for many people and continues to effect how Dramatherapists operate. The following article offers reflections around adapting to an on-line medium, focusing more specifically around the software of ProReal. Limitations and considerations are acknowledged, including technological difficulties, computer efficacy, ambiguity tolerance and the need for careful contracting and reassurance of autonomy and control when using on-line platforms. The article ends with a short selection of vignettes from ProReal sessions.

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