Effect of Rewritten Content Textbook Passages on Middle Grade Students' Comprehension of Main Ideas: Making the Inconsiderate Considerate

Abstract

This study sought to determine if content area textbook passages could be rewritten such that middle grade students' main idea comprehension ability was enhanced. Excerpts from fifth-grade science textbooks were read by fifthgrade students in one of two versions: (a) an original (inconsiderate) version in which main ideas were frequently implicit, those main ideas that were explicitly stated in the text were not always prominent (i.e., placed initially) in paragraphs and passages, and there were few, if any, headings or typographical aids to cue main ideas, or (b) a rewritten (considerate) version in which all main ideas were explicit in the text and typed in italic, each main idea appeared at the beginning of the text unit, and headings cued main ideas. Several recognition and recall items assessed students' ability to identify and generate main ideas at both the paragraph and passage levels. Results revealed that after reading the rewritten text versions, some students were able to compose significantly more passage main ideas, and all students were able to compose significantly more paragraph main ideas. Groups did not differ on a main idea recognition task. Additional data from a series of questions which required the students to compare original and rewritten versions of the science texts tended to support the finding that content area selections rewritten to make them more considerate improves students' main idea comprehension.

The Effects of Reading Goals on Learning in a Computer Mediated Environment

“…This is puzzling given the substantial body of research supporting headings (Baumann, 1986;Lorch, 1989). If we know that considerate text is optimal for learning, why didn't headings make any significant impact?…”

“…One possibility is that the vast majority of research using narratives (including instructional text) used passages often no longer than a paragraph or two and rarely longer than four pages (about 1000 words). This includes the research conducted by Lorch (1989) and Baumann (1986). With these relatively short passages of text headings might have made a larger impact on the subjects since more of the total text is comprised of headings.…”

Effects of Inconsiderate vs. Considerate Text on Secondary Students' Vocabulary Learning

“…As a result, the concept of inconsiderate text characteristics may be extended to include a new dimension, that of contextual definition of vocabulary. Although more research is needed to replicate these findings with students at different grade levels and with different expository content, two educational implications addressed by Baumann (1986) can be considered: First, textbook publishers need to be aware of the concept and nature of inconsiderate text for word learning and the relatively simple revision procedures to make text considerate. Second, content teachers must also be aware of the limitations of contextual information in terms of their students' acquisition of partial/erroneous knowledge and be prepared to support vocabulary development with instruction.…”

“…Given the identification of these mediating factors, the present study sought to use considerate text characteristics in revising contextual information for target words in content text, following the research of Slater and Graves (1985) and Baumann (1986). That is, content text passages embedding topic vocabulary were analyzed for the quality of their definitional information, and, if judged to be inconsiderate on one or more factors, were rewritten to be considerate according to these factors.…”

“…Based on percentage of idea units recalled and number of questions answered correctly, they concluded that both ability groups acquired more information from the revised passages. Baumann (1986) focused on three major factors to promote main idea comprehension: explicit (rather than inferred or delayed-completion) ideas, prominent (initial) placement of ideas in a text unit, and presence of visual cues (headings and typographical aids) to signal ideas. He had students read both original and revised passages and found that some students were able to compose significantly more passage main ideas and that all students were able to compose significantly more paragraph ideas, based on the revised passages.…”