Read-Think-Aloud Protocols: A New Data-Source for Formative Evaluation

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L. Smith ◽  
John F. Wedman
Keyword(s):  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Data Source

Heuristic and Formative Evaluation: A Case Study Illustration of a New Technique

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi L. Schnackenberg ◽  
Kevin Chin ◽  
Rocci J. Luppicini
Keyword(s):  
Human Performance ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Human Performance Technology ◽  
Evaluation Methodology ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Performance Technology ◽  
Graduate Degrees ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
A New Technique

The purpose of the present work was to carry out an evaluation of an interactive, instructional Website that teaches the basic tenets of human performance technology. The evaluation methodology was based upon a unique combination of heuristic and formative evaluation techniques. It involved measuring attitudinal reactions to the Website, learning gains from performance scores on practice exercises, and content, navigation, and design areas needing modification or revision. Evaluation data were gathered from five students pursuing graduate degrees in education at an urban university. Paper-based attitude surveys, think-aloud protocols, and heuristic response forms were utilized to collect data. Student evaluators found the content in the Website to be useful and interesting; however, in some instances the practice items were confusing. The site was found to be easy to navigate and, overall, evaluators enjoyed using it. The evaluation methodology was shown to be effective in assessing design, content, and attitudinal issues, although in the future think-aloud protocols may be optional because they do not provide sufficient data to warrant the time spent on their use. Data also revealed that measuring learning gains was critical to the accurate evaluation and educational effectiveness of instructional Websites.

Are Subjective Reports of Conscious Recollection Valid? Evidence from Think Aloud Protocols

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey K. Boman ◽  
David P. McCabe ◽  
Amanda E. Sensenig ◽  
Matthew G. Rhodes ◽  
Meghan T. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Think Aloud ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Conscious Recollection ◽  
Valid Evidence ◽  
Subjective Reports

The interplay of glossing with text difficulty and comprehension levels

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110204
Author(s):  
Seyede Faezeh Hosseini Alast ◽  
Sasan Baleghizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Language ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Text Difficulty ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension ◽  
Underlying Processes

The aim of this experiment was to investigate how glossing influences second language (L2)reading comprehension in relation to text difficulty and the two local and global meaning representations. Fifty-eight undergraduate students were asked to read three easy, moderate, and difficult texts and, following each passage, answer twenty comprehension questions targeting local and global concepts in one of the two first-language-glossed and unglossed conditions. Half of the participants in each group were supposed to think aloud while reading. The results revealed a significant difference between the performance of glossed and unglossed groups on comprehension of local concepts in all three difficulty levels. However, the impact of glossing on comprehension of global concepts was significantly influenced by text difficulty. The qualitative analysis of think-aloud protocols suggested a substantial difference in glossing functionality on fluency between the easy and the difficult texts. Furthermore, it is suggested that revisiting the glossing effect in combination with text difficulty on the reading product and underlying processes might reconcile some divergent hypotheses on glossing impact on fluency.

scholarly journals Rhetorical, Metacognitive, and Cognitive Strategies in Teacher Candidates’ Essay Writing

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Claudio Díaz Larenas ◽  
Lucía Ramos Leiva ◽  
Mabel Ortiz Navarrete
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Writing Intervention ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Before And After

This paper reports on a study about the rhetoric, metacognitive, and cognitive strategies pre-service teachers use before and after a process-based writing intervention when completing an argumentative essay. The data were collected through two think-aloud protocols while 21 Chilean English as a foreign language pre-service teachers completed an essay task. The findings show that strategies such as summarizing, reaffirming, and selecting ideas were only evidenced during the post intervention essay, without the use of communication and socio-affective strategies in either of the two essays. All in all, a process-based writing intervention does not only influence the number of times a strategy is used, but also the number of students who employs strategies when writing an essay—two key considerations for the devising of any writing program.

Grammatically Judgments and Second Language Acquisition

1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Think Aloud ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Dative Alternation ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions

This article takes a critical look at grammaticality judgment tasks in second language acquisition research. It begins by examining the theoretical assumptions that underlie grammaticality judgment tasks, pointing out that previous studies have reported considerable differences between the results obtained from grammaticality judgment tasks and from other, production-oriented tasks. A description of the design features of grammaticality judgment tasks that have been used to date is then provided. There follows an account of a small-scale study designed to investigate the nature of learner judgments. Twenty-one adult advanced Chinese learners of English were asked to judge sentences designed to test their knowledge of dative alternation. The results indicated that the learners rarely used the “not sure” option in the test. Eight of these subjects were then administered a reduced version of the original test as a think-aloud task 1 week later. The results showed that these learners were inconsistent in 22.5% of their judgments. The think-aloud protocols showed that they resorted to a variety of strategies in making judgments. The article concludes by arguing that grammaticality judgment tasks elicit a particular kind of performance that needs to be understood much more thoroughly before it is used as a basis for investigating second language acquisition.

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