Expository Text Comprehension: Helping Primary-Grade Teachers Use Expository Texts to Full Advantage

This study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to teach expository text comprehension during guided reading. Participants included 72 second graders in six classrooms, organized into four guided reading groups in each class (n = 24). The six classes were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Text Structure, Content, and No Instruction. The Text Structure group focused on text structure awareness. The Content group focused on background knowledge and vocabulary. The No Instruction group carried out their regular instruction. Findings suggest that text structure is an effective strategy for promoting expository text comprehension and that young children benefit from well-structured texts.     

说明文阅读中因果序列的表征

结合自定步调阅读与句子启动再认范式, 探讨说明文阅读过程中因果序列的表征问题。研究包括3个实验, 实验1的文本提供一个包括4个概念的因果链(如, A－B－C－D), 文本最后设置包含概念A或概念B或概念C的句子, 对概念D进行探测, 结果发现, 对于概念D的再认启动作用, 概念C＞概念B＞概念A; 实验2改变因果链的说明顺序, 使之与因果链本身次序不一致, 结果与实验1一致; 实验3的文本分别介绍两条独立的因果链(如A－B－C; D－E－F), 最后呈现包含概念A或概念D的句子, 对概念C进行探测, 结果发现, 包含概念A的句子理解启动了相关因果链, 使读者对随后呈现的概念C的再认反应加快。基于本研究结果, 结合相关研究, 本文尝试提出说明文文本表征的建构模式。     

说明文阅读中局部连贯因果推理的产生

探讨熟悉主题的说明文阅读过程中维持局部连贯的因果推理的产生问题。3个实验分别采用了不同的实验材料, 实验1的文本提供明确的前提信息, 实验2的材料提供隐含的前提信息, 实验3的材料在前提信息与结论信息之间插入了其他信息。总的结果表明, 熟悉主题的说明文阅读过程中, 当文本提供的前提信息与结论信息一起呈现时, 无论提供明确的还是隐含的前提信息, 实现文本局部因果连贯的推理能够即时产生; 当前提信息相隔2个句子后, 虽然读者还是可以产生因果推理检测到与推理内容矛盾的信息, 但是这种检测敏感度大有降低。基于本研究结果, 结合相关研究, 本文尝试提出关于文本阅读中推理产生的“认知代价”观, 试图整合文本推理理论。     

熟悉主题说明文阅读推理加工的认知神经机制

采用功能磁共振成像(Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, fMRI)技术对熟悉主题说明文阅读过程因果推理加工进行研究, 探讨说明文阅读过程中读者是否能够自发进行因果推理加工, 以及阅读焦点的存在是否会对说明文阅读过程中的因果推理加工产生影响。结果表明, 读者在熟悉主题说明文阅读过程中能够自动进行推理加工, 负责推理加工的主要脑区为额叶(尤其是额下回)、顶叶下部及双侧楔前叶等区域。在熟悉主题说明文阅读过程中, 阅读焦点的存在一定程度上使读者的认知加工资源集中在对与焦点相关的推理关系的加工上。     

The Effects of Familiarization with Oral Expository Text on Listening and Reading Comprehension Levels

This study examined the effects of text type and early familiarization with oral expository text structures on listening and reading comprehension levels. Second-grade students read and listened to narrative and expository texts, and their comprehension was assessed with a sentence verification task. Half of the students had participated in a nine-week long intervention designed to familiarize them with oral expository structures in the previous year while in first grade. The findings indicated that familiarization did not lead to the expected advantage of listening over reading for either expository or narrative text. Implications concerning the conceptualization of comprehension as a unitary process construct are discussed.     

The Relationship between Oral Narrative Production and Expository Text Comprehension of Fifth-Grade Students

The purpose of the present study is to determine if there is a relationship between oral narrative production and the reading comprehension of expository text. The researcher measured both overall and component scores for expository text comprehension and oral narrative production ability of 40 typically-developing fifth grade students. Findings included a moderate correlation between overall expository comprehension and oral narrative production. A significant linear regression indicated that oral narrative production and background knowledge accounted for 18.9% of the variance in expository comprehension. Lastly, significant differences were found in the means of overall oral narrative production, narrative elements, and oral narrative in the single-scene picture condition between the low and high comprehension groups. An implication of this research is that classroom teachers could explore using an oral narrative-based intervention to improve the expository text comprehension of their fifth-grade students.     

Levels of Reading Comprehension Across Text Types: A Comparison of Literal and Inferential Comprehension of Expository and Narrative Texts in Iranian EFL Learners

The purpose of this study was to investigate two levels of reading comprehension, namely literal and inferential, of two text types of narration and exposition in Iranian EFL learners. The elicitation instruments were four expository texts and four narrative ones. One hundred eighty upper-intermediate EFL learners were assigned the reading passages followed by both literal and inferential multiple-choice items. Paired-samples t tests were run to provide answers to the research questions of this study. From an inter-text-type angle, the results demonstrated that the participants meaningfully outperformed on the expository texts at the level of literal comprehension. Yet, regarding inferential comprehension, there was no significant difference between the two text types. The results, from an intra-text-type perspective, also revealed that in the expository texts, literal comprehension meaningfully outweighed inferential comprehension, whereas no significant difference was observed between literal and inferential comprehension in the narrative texts. Finally, probable explanations and interpretations for the obtained results were provided.     

速度、步幅与窗口对引导式中文文本阅读工效的影响

引导式显示是在视觉显示终端(VDT)上呈现动态文本的主要方式之一.本研究考察了显示窗口大小、跳动步幅、显示速度等因素对引导式中文文本的阅读工效的影响.实验中采用了3(跳动步幅,被试内变量)×3(显示速度,被试内变量)×2(显示窗口大小,被试间变量)的混合设计,共有18个被试参加了实验.结果发现(1)跳动步幅、显示速度和窗口大小均影响中文文本的阅读工效;(2)达到最佳阅读工效的实验条件在速度和步幅上分别集中于200～400字/分和1～3字/步.最后本文结合中文阅读的相关眼动研究,对这些结果的成因进行了简要的探讨.     

年老化与文本理解

年老化与文本理解的研究表明,老年人在表层形式和文本基础两个低水平表征上的理解和记忆能力下降,而在情境模型的建构和提取、更新等加工过程中都没有发现由于年老化引起的能力下降。在介绍这些研究的基础上,从情境模型与另两个低水平加工的不同特点和老年人自身的特殊性两个方面分析了老年人在不同层次表征水平加工能力差异的原因。对情境模型水平加工能力保持的潜在机制及相关的影响因素,以及如何弥补在低水平加工中认知能力因年龄而产生的下降等问题还需要进行探讨     

Differential Competencies Contributing to Children's Comprehension of Narrative and Expository Texts

The purpose of this study was to examine the connections between the oral reading abilities and the spelling behaviors of third and fifth grade students. Seventy-two third graders and sixty fifth graders from two different schools (one urban and one suburban) were the subjects of the study. Each subject read a selection one level above his/her current grade placement, spelled the words on the appropriate grade level list of the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge and took the appropriate level of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. Oral readings were scored for accuracy, rate and phrasing. Spellings were scored for accuracy, phonetic quality and stage of spelling development. These scores were then analyzed using correlations, partial correlations and multiple regression techniques. At both grade levels there were high, significant correlations between spelling and reading variables, with spelling variables accounting for from 40% to 60% of the variance in oral reading measures and a smaller, but still significant percentage of the variance when standardized test scores were used as a control. These results confirm a strong relationship between spelling skill and oral reading ability, supporting the argument that a common body of conceptual word knowledge underlies both.     

多媒体互动插图对科学说明文学习的影响

48名 1 3岁中学生被分为高低两种学习能力 ,每种被试又被分成两组分别学习配有两种插图 (多媒体静态插图和多媒体互动插图 )的一篇生物说明文 ,结果表明 :( 1 )在重在考查插图加工水平的图片测验上 ,学习能力和插图类型主效应均显著 ,但两者之间不存在显著交互作用 ;( 2 )在重在考查文图整合加工水平的文字测验上 ,学习能力和插图类型之间存在显著的交互作用 ,即只有当学习能力高时 ,两种插图之间存在显著差异。 ( 3 )在被试的填图过程中 ,被试的尝试次数与其插图加工时间及学习效果之间存在显著的相关。这说明 ,多媒体互动插图可促进所有被试对插图的加工 ,但只能促进学习能力高者对图文的整合加工 ,而且多媒体互动插图对学习的促进效果与被试加工插图时的实际加工深度有关     

文本阅读认知神经科学研究进展

功能磁共振成像等认知神经科学技术被广泛引入文本阅读的认知神经活动研究以来,其成果有力地促进了文本阅读信息加工过程研究的深入发展。本文系统总结了近二十余年关于文本阅读的认知神经科学研究进展,分别介绍文本阅读的一般过程的认知神经基础和理论模型建构、文本阅读过程的推理加工、情境模型建构与转换三个主要研究领域的研究成果,并对文本阅读的认知神经研究的现状及其存在的问题进行了总结。     

Examining the Relationship Between Text Processing and Text Comprehension in Fourth Grade Readers

This research investigates the relationship among various processing behaviors and their link to comprehension. Thirty-four students from three fourth-grade classrooms orally read the first chapter of a short story. The reading was followed by an unaided recall and probes by the researcher. Each clause as finally read was evaluated for semantics (acceptable/unacceptable) and maintenance of author's meaning (yes/no). Finally, words read per minute and number of total, corrected, and uncorrected miscues was calculated. The impact of miscues on retelling performance on the clause and story event level was evaluated using nonparametric, parametric, and multivariate analyses. On the clause level, findings indicate that a similar proportion of clauses were recalled irrespective of whether the clause had been read with no miscues, corrected miscues, or uncorrected miscues. There was a significant difference, however, in the proportion of recalled clauses depending on miscue type. Uncorrected semantically unacceptable/meaning disrupting clauses were less likely to be recalled, whereas clauses containing uncorrected miscues that did not change meaning were more likely to be recalled than clauses read with no miscues. On the story level, strong retellings were associated with fewer meaning changing and meaning disrupting miscues and with more corrected miscues and reading speed. Total number of miscues, miscues that did not change meaning, and reading grade level were not significantly associated with strong story retellings. These findings suggest that the concept of accuracy may not be as significant as miscue meaningfulness and that speed is best understood as part of a matrix of behaviors associated with strong comprehension.     

Relationship Between Graphical Device Comprehension and Overall Text Comprehension for Third-Grade Children

This study examined relationships between reading comprehension, known predictors of reading comprehension (i.e., cognitive flexibility, fluency, reading motivation and attitude, vocabulary), and graphical device comprehension. One-hundred fifty-six third graders completed assessments of known predictor variables and an assessment tapping comprehension of graphical devices commonly found in age-appropriate informational texts: captioned pictures, insets, surface diagrams, cross-sectional diagrams, flow charts, timelines, and tables. Graphical device comprehension was strongly correlated with reading comprehension, r_s = 0.49, p (one-tailed) < 0.01. Regression analyses, including known and new variables, revealed that graphical device comprehension accounted for 12.81% of the resulting standardized model predicting general reading comprehension.     

阅读材料类型和难度对五年级儿童阅读策略的影响

以34名五年级儿童为被试,采用出声思维法考查了阅读材料类型和难度对儿童阅读策略使用情况的影响。结果发现,被试在记叙文阅读过程中使用的阅读策略种类数和总次数均多于说明文。阅读材料难度对于阅读策略种类数和使用次数没有影响。阅读材料类型和难度都对多个阅读策略的使用次数有影响,但是阅读材料类型和难度对于各阅读策略使用次数的影响并不一致。     

兴趣对不同理解水平的作用

1　引言　　兴趣影响学习的作用机制及其效果是教育心理学研究的一个十分重要的问题 ,近二十年来已引起越来越多的研究者的重视。目前在这一领域研究得比较多的问题是兴趣对文本理解的作用 ,这是兴趣影响学习的一个重要方面。在国外对这一课题的研究主要有二条途径 ,即分别研究个体对某一话题的兴趣和基于文本内容的兴趣对文本的保持与理解的影响。最近几年 ,我们在兴趣的信息—目标理论指导下 ,形成了第三条研究途径 ,即在兴趣测量中 ,以被试对具体阅读活动的兴趣为指标 ,研究实际阅读情景中出现的兴趣对文本理解的作用 (章凯、张必隐 ,1 9…     

Depending on My Mood: Mood-Driven Influences on Text Comprehension

Reading comprehension is a critical component of success in educational settings. To date, research on text processing in educational and cognitive psychological domains has focused predominantly on cognitive influences on comprehension, and in particular, those influences that might be derived from particular tasks or strategies. However, there is growing interest in documenting the influences of emotional factors on the processes and products of text comprehension, because these factors are less likely to be associated with explicit reading strategies. The present study examines this issue by evaluating the degree to which mood can influence readers' processing of text. Participants in control, happy-induced, or sad-induced groups thought aloud while reading expository texts. Happy, sad, and neutral moods influenced the degree to which readers engaged in particular types of coherence-building processes in the service of comprehension. Although reading strategies clearly influence processing, understudied factors that are less explicitly goal-driven, such as mood, can similarly impact comprehension activity. These findings have important implications for the role of mood on reading instruction and evaluation.     

文理科大学生不同阅读特点的实验研究

20世纪80年代以来,心理学界对影响文章阅读的因素进行了一系列的研究,并取得了许多有启发意义的结论。Britton等人从文章的维度将影响阅读理解的因素确定为两个,即文章的内容因素和结构因素,认为文章的语义内容越丰富,结构内容越复杂,则分配的认知容量就越多。而张金桥、莫雷等人的研究进一步表明,文章问结构类似促进的是目标文章主要信息的保持迁移,而对细节性信息迁移作用不     

高中文理分科及学生认知方式对阅读理解影响的实验研究

以高中二年级学生为被试,探讨文理分科、不同认知方式的学生对不同体裁文章及对文章不同信息加工层次的学习效果的影响。结果表明,（1）文理分科、学生认知方式对学生阅读成绩的影响不显著;（2）从总体上看,学生对不同体裁的文章学习效果不同,对说明文的学习明显优于对散文的学习;在文章不同信息的加工层次上,学生对细节的记忆优于对结构的把握;（3）对于不同体裁的文章,学生在信息加工层次上存在差异,对散文的细节记忆好于对结构的把握,对说明文的结构把握好于对细节的记忆。     

文本阅读双加工理论与实验证据

文本阅读信息加工过程研究一直是国内外心理学界高度重视和关注的领域, 形成了建构主义理论、最低限度假设理论和记忆基础文本加工理论等派别百家争鸣的局面。这些理论争议的焦点在于自然阅读是主动的、积极的、目标策略驱动的过程, 还是被动的、消极的、自动的过程。在全面总结国内外心理学界有关文本阅读的研究成果的基础上, 文本阅读双加工理论提出并对文本阅读的主要争议进行了整合。该理论的核心观点是文本的自然阅读过程是连贯阅读与焦点阅读的双加工过程。文本阅读中读者所阅读的材料特点不同, 引发的阅读信息加工活动也不同, 而不同性质的阅读过程, 又会引发不同的推理整合, 从而会建构不同类型的文本表征。文本阅读双加工理论已经形成了比较完整的理论框架, 并获得了很多实验证据的支持。当然, 文本阅读双加工理论作为一个新的理论, 其中的有些观点还需要进一步检验。在未来的文本阅读研究领域, 有很多问题还需要研究者进一步关注。