Retrieve, Read, Rerank: Towards End-to-End Multi-Document Reading Comprehension

We investigate the difficulty levels of questions in reading comprehension datasets such as SQuAD, and propose a new question generation setting, named Difficulty-controllable Question Generation (DQG). Taking as input a sentence in the reading comprehension paragraph and some of its text fragments (i.e., answers) that we want to ask questions about, a DQG method needs to generate questions each of which has a given text fragment as its answer, and meanwhile the generation is under the control of specified difficulty labels---the output questions should satisfy the specified difficulty as much as possible. To solve this task, we propose an end-to-end framework to generate questions of designated difficulty levels by exploring a few important intuitions. For evaluation, we prepared the first dataset of reading comprehension questions with difficulty labels. The results show that the question generated by our framework not only have better quality under the metrics like BLEU, but also comply with the specified difficulty labels.

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The Effect of Vocabulary Intervention on Text Comprehension: Who Benefits?

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/2019_lshss-voia-18-0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 562-578 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dawna Duff

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

Text Comprehension ◽

Classroom Instruction ◽

Vocabulary Instruction ◽

Clinical Intervention ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Vocabulary Intervention ◽

The Mean ◽

The Difference

Purpose Vocabulary intervention can improve comprehension of texts containing taught words, but it is unclear if all middle school readers get this benefit. This study tests 2 hypotheses about variables that predict response to vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: gains in vocabulary knowledge due to treatment and pretreatment reading comprehension scores. Method Students in Grade 6 ( N = 23) completed a 5-session intervention based on robust vocabulary instruction (RVI). Knowledge of the semantics of taught words was measured pre- and posttreatment. Participants then read 2 matched texts, 1 containing taught words (treated) and 1 not (untreated). Treated texts and taught word lists were counterbalanced across participants. The difference between text comprehension scores in treated and untreated conditions was taken as a measure of the effect of RVI on text comprehension. Results RVI resulted in significant gains in knowledge of taught words ( d RM = 2.26) and text comprehension ( d RM = 0.31). The extent of gains in vocabulary knowledge after vocabulary treatment did not predict the effect of RVI on comprehension of texts. However, untreated reading comprehension scores moderated the effect of the vocabulary treatment on text comprehension: Lower reading comprehension was associated with greater gains in text comprehension. Readers with comprehension scores below the mean experienced large gains in comprehension, but those with average/above average reading comprehension scores did not. Conclusion Vocabulary instruction had a larger effect on text comprehension for readers in Grade 6 who had lower untreated reading comprehension scores. In contrast, the amount that children learned about taught vocabulary did not predict the effect of vocabulary instruction on text comprehension. This has implications for the identification of 6th-grade students who would benefit from classroom instruction or clinical intervention targeting vocabulary knowledge.

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Text Comprehension: Graphic Organizers to the Rescue

Perspectives on School-Based Issues ◽

10.1044/sbi10.3.82 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 82-89

Author(s):

Janet L. Proly ◽

Jessica Rivers ◽

Jamie Schwartz

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Text Comprehension ◽

Graphic Organizers ◽

Expository Text ◽

Supporting Evidence

Abstract Graphic organizers are a research based strategy used for facilitating the reading comprehension of expository text. This strategy will be defined and the evolution and supporting evidence for the use of graphic organizers will be discussed. Various types of graphic organizers and resources for SLPs and other educators will also be discussed.

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Surgical management of extracranial carotid artery aneurysms

VASA ◽

10.1024/0301-1526/a000528 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 223-228 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jan Paweł Skóra ◽

Jacek Kurcz ◽

Krzysztof Korta ◽

Przemysław Szyber ◽

Tadeusz Andrzej Dorobisz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carotid Artery ◽

Surgical Management ◽

Minor Stroke ◽

Stroke Rate ◽

Extracranial Carotid Artery ◽

Long Term Follow Up ◽

End To End ◽

Dacron Patch ◽

Major Stroke

Abstract. Background: We present the methods and results of the surgical management of extracranial carotid artery aneurysms (ECCA). Postoperative complications including early and late neurological events were analysed. Correlation between reconstruction techniques and morphology of ECCA was assessed in this retrospective study. Patients and methods: In total, 32 reconstructions of ECCA were performed in 31 symptomatic patients with a mean age of 59.2 (range 33 - 84) years. The causes of ECCA were divided among atherosclerosis (n = 25; 78.1 %), previous carotid endarterectomy with Dacron patch (n = 4; 12.5 %), iatrogenic injury (n = 2; 6.3 %) and infection (n = 1; 3.1 %). In 23 cases, intervention consisted of carotid bypass. Aneurysmectomy with end-to-end suture was performed in 4 cases. Aneurysmal resection with patching was done in 2 cases and aneurysmorrhaphy without patching in another 2 cases. In 1 case, ligature of the internal carotid artery (ICA) was required. Results: Technical success defined as the preservation of ICA patency was achieved in 31 cases (96.9 %). There was one perioperative death due to major stroke (3.1 %). Two cases of minor stroke occurred in the 30-day observation period (6.3 %). Three patients had a transient hypoglossal nerve palsy that subsided spontaneously (9.4 %). At a mean long-term follow-up of 68 months, there were no major or minor ipsilateral strokes or surgery-related deaths reported. In all 30 surviving patients (96.9 %), long-term clinical outcomes were free from ipsilateral neurological symptoms. Conclusions: Open surgery is a relatively safe method in the therapy of ECCA. Surgical repair of ECCAs can be associated with an acceptable major stroke rate and moderate minor stroke rate. Complication-free long-term outcomes can be achieved in as many as 96.9 % of patients. Aneurysmectomy with end-to-end anastomosis or bypass surgery can be implemented during open repair of ECCA.

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The Relation Between Teachers' Diagnostic Sensitivity, their Instructional Activities, and their Students' Achievement Gains in Reading*

Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie ◽

10.1024/1010-0652/a000112 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 283-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Lars Behrmann ◽

Elmar Souvignier

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Classroom Management ◽

Reading Program ◽

Multilevel Analyses ◽

Moderating Effects ◽

Management Skills ◽

Judgment Accuracy ◽

Achievement Gains ◽

Instructional Activities ◽

Main Effects

Single studies suggest that the effectiveness of certain instructional activities depends on teachers' judgment accuracy. However, sufficient empirical data is still lacking. In this longitudinal study (N = 75 teachers and 1,865 students), we assessed if the effectiveness of teacher feedback was moderated by judgment accuracy in a standardized reading program. For the purpose of a discriminant validation, moderating effects of teachers' judgment accuracy on their classroom management skills were examined. As expected, multilevel analyses revealed larger reading comprehension gains when teachers provided students with a high number of feedbacks and simultaneously demonstrated high judgment accuracy. Neither interactions nor main effects were found for classroom management skills on reading comprehension. Moreover, no significant interactions with judgment accuracy but main effects were found for both feedback and classroom management skills concerning reading strategy knowledge gains. The implications of the results are discussed.

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