Higher-Level Language Strategy-Based Intervention for Poor Comprehenders: A pilot single case experimental design

In contrast to the large body of research investigating intervention for poor decoding skills, far fewer studies have evaluated interventions for reading comprehension. There is even less research on children with more specific difficulties with reading comprehension, often referred to as “poor comprehenders”. Levels of effectiveness have varied for interventions targeting lower- and higher-level language, including inference making, on trained measures, with little transfer to generalised reading comprehension measures in both skilled and less-skilled readers. Outcomes have been more positive for poor comprehenders, however findings have been inconsistent as to which programme components have led to gains in reading comprehension. This pilot study utilised a case series design to explore whether a novel intervention targeting oral inference making and comprehension monitoring was effective in improving the targeted skills and reading comprehension of 11 children, aged 9;2–12;3 years, with average-for-age phonological and lower-level language skills but weak inferencing. All participants improved on the primary inference subtest post-intervention and continued to score higher at maintenance than at pre-intervention. Results on the remaining higher-level language tasks were more varied, as were the results for reading comprehension, with fewer participants demonstrating generalisation to these tasks, particularly the nonfiction texts. While the results are preliminary and descriptive, they suggest that improvements can be made in higher-level language in a 10-session intervention, and provide directions for future research.

Vector Autoregressive Modeling of COVID-19 Incidence Rate in Nigeria

With the outbreak of COVID-19, a lot of studies have been carried out in various science disciplines to either reduce the spread or control the increasing trend of the disease. Modeling the outbreak of a pandemic is pertinent for inference making and implementation of policies. In this study, we adopted the Vector autoregressive model which takes into account the dependence that exists between both multivariate variables in modeling and forecasting the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Nigeria. A co-integration test was carried out prior to the application of the Vector Autoregressive model. An autocorrelation test and a test for heteroscedasticity were further carried out where it was observed that there exists no autocorrelation at lag 3 and 4 and there exists no heteroscedasticity respectively. It was observed from the study that there is a growing trend in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. A Vector Autoregressive model of lag 4 was adopted to make a forecast of the number of cases and death. The forecast also reveals a rising trend in the number of infections and deaths. The government therefore needs to put further measures in place to curtail the spread of the virus and aim towards flattening the curve.

The Effect of Illustrations on the Ability of Children to Draw Inferences While Reading Narrative Texts

<p>Materials used to teach reading in New Zealand schools, as elsewhere, generally include illustrations to help learners develop reading skills. The present research tests the claim that the availability of pictures can hinder rather than help the complex constructive processes of reading and considers whether or not boys are more at risk than girls. It does this by considering how pictures affect the ability of learners to practice making inferences and how the use of pictures in instructional material might be one factor that could affect the development of an ability to integrate the skill of making inferences with the other skills that are performed during reading. The construction of a mental model while reading gives rise to making inferences and depends on the integration of such inferences. This process leads to an enhanced memory of the text and assists comprehension. Four questions were raised: To what extent do 7-9 year old readers draw inferences from pictures rather than text? Is there any difference between male and female readers of this age and in each of these reader groups in how illustrations affect their ability to draw inferences from text? Do pictures hinder 7 -9 year old readers who can decode text well and have a high level of vocabulary knowledge but do not comprehend well (referred to throughout as 'difference poor readers') in their attempts to incorporate general knowledge in their comprehension of text? Do pictures hinder 7-9 year old good readers in the same way? A repeated measures study was designed; 48 children read four stories each, rotated between 4 groups (good readers and poor readers, male and female) so that each story was read with and without pictures. Each child read 2 stories in one condition in the first session and the other 2 stories in the other condition in the second session. The order in which the stories were read was also rotated. The children gave oral answers to questions designed to probe for evidence of inference making after each reading with books open and then re-told the stories with books closed. Results indicated that for these participants, the male difference poor readers were more likely than any in the other groups to make more inferences from the text without the pictures; for some the response also indicated that the nature of their reading experience was profoundly affected. The good readers also tended to make fewer inferences with pictures as did half of the female difference poor readers. The other half seemed to make very few inferences unless pictures were present but these inferences were more influenced by the text than the pictures. These findings suggest that if the aim is to teach comprehension of text then learning materials might be more effective if they did not contain illustrations.</p>

The Effect of Illustrations on the Ability of Children to Draw Inferences While Reading Narrative Texts

<p>Materials used to teach reading in New Zealand schools, as elsewhere, generally include illustrations to help learners develop reading skills. The present research tests the claim that the availability of pictures can hinder rather than help the complex constructive processes of reading and considers whether or not boys are more at risk than girls. It does this by considering how pictures affect the ability of learners to practice making inferences and how the use of pictures in instructional material might be one factor that could affect the development of an ability to integrate the skill of making inferences with the other skills that are performed during reading. The construction of a mental model while reading gives rise to making inferences and depends on the integration of such inferences. This process leads to an enhanced memory of the text and assists comprehension. Four questions were raised: To what extent do 7-9 year old readers draw inferences from pictures rather than text? Is there any difference between male and female readers of this age and in each of these reader groups in how illustrations affect their ability to draw inferences from text? Do pictures hinder 7 -9 year old readers who can decode text well and have a high level of vocabulary knowledge but do not comprehend well (referred to throughout as 'difference poor readers') in their attempts to incorporate general knowledge in their comprehension of text? Do pictures hinder 7-9 year old good readers in the same way? A repeated measures study was designed; 48 children read four stories each, rotated between 4 groups (good readers and poor readers, male and female) so that each story was read with and without pictures. Each child read 2 stories in one condition in the first session and the other 2 stories in the other condition in the second session. The order in which the stories were read was also rotated. The children gave oral answers to questions designed to probe for evidence of inference making after each reading with books open and then re-told the stories with books closed. Results indicated that for these participants, the male difference poor readers were more likely than any in the other groups to make more inferences from the text without the pictures; for some the response also indicated that the nature of their reading experience was profoundly affected. The good readers also tended to make fewer inferences with pictures as did half of the female difference poor readers. The other half seemed to make very few inferences unless pictures were present but these inferences were more influenced by the text than the pictures. These findings suggest that if the aim is to teach comprehension of text then learning materials might be more effective if they did not contain illustrations.</p>

Textual Inference Comprehension in Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Influence of Semantic Processing and Verbal Episodic Memory

Language complaints, especially in complex tasks, may occur in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Various language measures have been studied as cognitive predictors of MCI conversion to Alzheimer's type dementia. Understanding textual inferences is considered a high-demanding task that recruits multiple cognitive functions and, therefore, could be sensitive to detect decline in the early stages of MCI. Thus, we aimed to compare the performance of subjects with MCI to healthy elderly in a textual inference comprehension task and to determine the best predictors of performance in this ability considering one verbal episodic memory and two semantic tasks. We studied 99 individuals divided into three groups: (1) 23 individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), (2) 42 individuals with non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI), (3), and (4) 34 cognitively healthy individuals for the control group (CG). A reduced version of The Implicit Management Test was used to assess different types of inferential reasoning in text reading. MCI patients performed poorer than healthy elderly, and there were no differences between MCI subgroups (amnestic and non-amnestic). The best predictors for inference-making were verbal memory in the aMCI and semantic tasks in the naMCI group. The results confirmed that the failure to understand textual inferences can be present in MCI and showed that different cognitive skills like semantic knowledge and verbal episodic memory are necessary for inference-making.

Developing a Validity Argument for an Inference-Making and Reasoning Measure for Use in Higher Education

The Inference-Making and Reasoning in Biology (IMRB) measure is an assessment tool intended to 1) aid university personnel in advising students on course enrollment, 2) identify students in need of interventions to increase their reasoning skills and likelihood of completing STEM majors, 3) support instructors in determining growth in students’ reasoning skills, and 4) provide a measuring tool to gauge success of higher-education interventions intended to increase reasoning skills. Validity arguments for these four uses of the IMRB are provided by implementing a validity argument approach. This work exemplifies the advantages of framing validation studies within a validity argument framework.

Development of a Tool to Assess Inference-Making and Reasoning in Biology

Making inferences and reasoning with new scientific information is critical for successful performance in biology coursework. Thus, identifying students who are weak in these skills could allow the early provision of additional support and course placement recommendations to help students develop their reasoning abilities, leading to better performance and less attrition within biology courses.

Scaffolding Inference-Making for Adolescents With Disabilities That Impact Reading

Middle grade students with disabilities that impact reading, including learning disabilities (LD) in reading, high functioning autism (ASD), emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), and students at-risk for reading failure due to the effects of poverty, often struggle to make knowledge-based inferences while reading informational texts. As a result, these populations of students are not able to read for understanding or learn from grade-level texts. Unfortunately, many special educators have had little preparation in how to develop their knowledge of inference-making or methods for explicitly teaching inference-making. Despite their lack of knowledge, special educators are often solely responsible for teaching skills that support reading comprehension, such as knowledge-based inference-making. This article provides special educators with information and resources to enhance their understanding of knowledge-based inferencing and methods for teaching knowledge-based inference-making to middle grade students with disabilities and those who are at risk for reading failure.