In the two studies presented in this article, we examine the interplay of conceptual change, text comprehension, and eye-movements during reading and develop and test methods suitable for such explorations. In studies 1 and 2, university students (N = 15 and 23) read a text on photosynthesis, explained their reading processes retrospectively cued…

Social studies instruction in upper elementary school (Grades 3-5) is important for building foundational content knowledge to equip students for the secondary school curriculum. Due to numerous school initiatives and demands on the time of teachers, social studies instruction can play second fiddle to reading and mathematics instruction, which…

Students often hold misconceptions that conflict with scientific explanations. Research has shown that refutation texts are effective for facilitating conceptual change in these cases (Guzzetti, Snyder, Glass, & Gamas, 1993). The process through which refutation texts have their effect is not clear. The authors replicated and extended previous…

We demonstrate in two experiments that real and imagined body movements appropriate to metaphorical phrases facilitate people's immediate comprehension of these phrases. Participants first learned to make different body movements given specific cues. In two reading time studies, people were faster to understand a metaphorical phrase, such as push…

Reading is defined operationally as the cognitive process of perceiving and ordering our environment. As such it is a psychomotor process involving the reorganization of experiences evoked by some stimulus. Thus defined, reading is equated with perception and has several primary functions, including concept building, which begins with perception…

Memory-based and constructionist processes have both been proposed as essential components of the activation of concepts (e.g., propositions) and the establishment of meaningful connections between concepts during reading. In this article, we argue that a comprehensive theory of reading comprehension should include both sets of processes. In…

Investigates effects of illustrations on 11-year-olds' comprehension of abstract and concrete passages. Reveals no significant effects due to the illustrations, although ability effects were found for literal, inferential, and total comprehension. (DF)

The effect of set (to integrate or differentiate), characterization and conceptual structure on comprehension of a social situation was studied with a sample of 83 psychology students. Subjects judged groups, read stories and completed comprehension tests. Evidence provides support for the assumption that impressions affect one's comprehension of…

LD readers' failures were associated with a greater number of word recognition and vocabulary errors suggesting that LD readers were unable to extract enough relevant information to apply a successful line of reasoning. For related information see EC 132 758-768. (Author)

The author discusses the processes by which children learn to read and how the natural sequence of learning may be used to improve reading instruction. (JD)

Because teachers are asking for specific suggestions to help students apply comprehension skills and read content material, a mechanism that assists students in acquiring and applying specific comprehension skills as they read content texts is being investigated. The mechanism is called marginal gloss because learning activities are placed in the…

This study investigated how students processed information obtained by reading a passage related to inertial reference frames. Two groups of 10th-grade students (one group consisting of students identified as potential National Merit Scholars and another consisting of students enrolled in level-I biology) read a science text passage and answered a…

This paper discusses two aspects of reading as a cognitive process as they relate to instruction based on the intellectual operation performed during the act of reading. The first consideration is an assumption that comprehension skills are based on a set of underlying cognitive tasks or operations which can be developed through instruction. The…

Reports findings of study that examined the ways in which third, sixth, and ninth grade students made meaning when they were involved in reading and writing activities. (FL)