Learning from expository texts: Effects of the interaction of prior knowledge and text structure on responses to different question types

Abstract

The objective of this study was to verify the effects of the interaction between text structures and prior knowledge on memory and learning from expository texts. It examined the effects of two levels ofprior knowledge and two types of mixed structures on a post-reading questionnaire. A total of 119 French-speaking, sixth-grade subjects were selected on the basis of a multiple-choice questionnaire. This questionnaire served to distinguish two groups, one possessing a high level ofprior knowledge about the topic covered in the text (HP group), and another having a low level of prior knowledge (LP group). The children's reading ability was evaluated by a doze test that also served to eliminate children with reading comprehension diffiCt1.lties from the experimental groups. The subjects in each group were arbitrarily assigned to subgroups. One group read an experimental passage, "The effects of acid rain on maple and pine ", which was organized in a collection inserted in cause/effect structure (Sf). The other group read the same information, but which was organized in a comparison inserted in cause/effect structure (S2). The post-reading measure consisted of 24 questions that varied according to three criteria. The statistical analysis revealed that the effects of text structure were dependent on the level ofprior knowledge and on the type of questions and confirmed that prior knowledge had a determining influence on knowledge acquisition.

The Effects of Orienting Instructions on Readers’ Ability to Recall Literal Information from Expository Texts

“…The absence of correlation between visual working memory and accuracy of reading was also found in previous studies (Amand, 2001;Budd, Whitney & Turley, 1995;Sadatnia & Ketabi, 2016). This could be attributed to the fact that working memory does not play a role in superficial comprehension tests.…”

“…The passages were expository descriptive texts. These texts were chosen because previous research has concluded that expository descriptive texts represent the simplest model of texts (Amand, 2001;Sadatnia & Ketabi, 2016). The passages covered four different topics: (1) history of arts, (2) health, (3) history of science, and (4) energy.…”

“How do You Know this Answer?” – Children’s Use of Text Data and General Knowledge in Story Comprehension

“…Prior knowledge is considered to be an essential component of text comprehension (Armand, 2001;Pressley, 2000;Voss, Vesonder & Spilich, 1980). The implication of such a view is that to build a mental representation of what the text is about, the situation model (Kintsch, 1988(Kintsch, , 1998, the reader needs to combine textual information with his/her generic units of world knowledge (e.g., schemas) and other sources of knowledge, such as personal knowledge and experiences, knowledge about language, and knowledge about the specific communicative situation (McNamara & Kintsch, 1996).…”

Fostering reading comprehension of expository texts through the activation of readers’ prior knowledge and inference-making skills

“…Socioconstructivist research on reading comprehension argues that this process derives from the interaction between the reader and the text (Armand, 2001;Best et al, 2005). This step supports such an interaction as it helps the reader to focus on the text characteristics and in particular on its advance organizers (Ausubel, 1960;Boscolo, 1997).…”