This study examined the effects of reference maps on what children remember from written and aurally presented discourse. Subjects were presented one of three maps that varied in feature configuration and spatial distribution, and were asked to study these maps before reading or listening to a related story. Results of tests across both prose and maps conflicted with previous research in which learners appeared unable to maintain visual images while reading. We found essentially no differences in recall due to mode of text presentation, but the type of map that was presented profoundly influenced recall from both the text and the map. Maps that had pictorial features logically organized according to passage content greatly increased the learning of text that was related directly to map content. This indicates that maps serve a mnemonic-like function for remembering prose.
A high level of text comprehension can be achieved by engaging learners in processes of organization and integration while reading a cohesive text. In the present study, we investigated the impact of an innovative generative technique on learning with scientific texts. The cohesion generation was implemented by means of explicit cohesion gaps. High school students (n = 199) were randomly assigned to either receive a fully cohesive scientific text (control condition) or a scientific text that required the selection of causal connectives, such as because, although, therefore, or however (generation condition). Learners in the generation condition were required to reflect on causal relations to complete the text. All students were tested immediately (T1) and 2 weeks after the learning phase (T2). Cognitive load was measured by a dual task and self-report measure. Contrary to our expectations, no differences were found in performance on inference questions (situation model). Learners in the generation condition performed worse on text-based questions at T1 but showed less forgetting from T1 to T2. The impact of condition on the situation model was moderated by reading skills. Remarkably, the generation success was highly predictive for learning outcomes even when controlling for learners’ proficiencies. Consequently, learners who succeeded to employ effortful processes to overcome the difficulty showed a superior performance on both the text-base and situation-model questions compared to students reading the cohesive text. Moreover, in these learners, generative activity led to a sustainable learning performance 2 weeks later. Poor readers especially took advantage of generative activity, despite struggling to perform the cohesion task as indicated by the cognitive load measures. The results suggest that the activity of generating causal relations can augment inferential processing in learners who are not involved in inferential processing spontaneously. To successfully apply this generative learning technique, students require considerable instructional support.
Research on study sequences has not considered the cross-classification of to-be-learned categories. In two experiments, we utilized cross-classified exemplars, which simultaneously belonged to categories of two orthogonal dimensions. Experiment 1 addressed the question of how interleaving one category dimension while simultaneous blocking another category dimension affects the induction of the simultaneously blocked category dimension. Experiment 2 examined our proposed mechanism by manipulating the degree of change (one-category vs. cross-category change) and the frequency of change (high vs. low) in the presentation sequence of exemplars with cross-classified characteristics. In Experiment 1, sequences that combined interleaving one dimension while blocking the other dimension were superior to sequences that provided no comparison opportunities when classifying both interleaved and blocked categories. This revealed a carry-over effect of interleaving: blocked and interleaved categories were equally well classified. Our findings are incompatible with the discriminative contrast hypothesis and the attentional bias framework, where interleaving is not assumed to support within-category comparisons. We explain the results according to the principle of change one category at a time (COCAT). Interleaving exemplars on one category dimension, but blocking them on another category dimension, enables learners to reliably map the distinctive features onto the covarying categories and the shared features onto the constant category. In contrast, there is a risk of confounding common characteristics when no comparison opportunities are given. Likewise, pure interleaving impedes category induction by confounding changing characteristics. Accordingly, Experiment 2 demonstrated that as long as a sequence implemented the COCAT principle, learners accurately identify diagnostic feature sets.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.