Narrative texts have been advocated as tools to tackle science learning challenges, and there is even the proposal of a "narrative effect" on learning. We believe it is necessary to examine previous evidence on this effect, as well as to characterize the process of learning through science narrative texts more broadly. In this article,…

Research has shown that differences in the prior knowledge of the participants and in the learning indexes adopted can explain why some studies show positive learning effects of analogy enriched text while others do not. In the present studies, these two factors were combined into one through the construction of a learning index that measured…

The main goal of this study was to investigate how readers' visual attention distribution during reading of conflicting science information is related to their scientific reasoning behavior. A total of 25 university students voluntarily participated in the study. They were given conflicting science information about earthquake predictions to read…

This study used a Chinese-language version of the Index of Science Reading Awareness (ISRA) to investigate metacognitive awareness and the Reading Comprehension of Science Test (RCST) to explore comprehension of science text by Taiwanese students. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results confirmed the validity of the underlying models of…

This study investigates the efficacy of an integrated science and literacy approach at the upper-elementary level. Teachers in 94 fourth grade classrooms in one Southern state participated. Half of the teachers taught the treatment unit, an integrated science-literacy unit on light and energy designed using a curriculum model that engages students…

Because textbooks have the potential to be powerful catalysts for improving science teaching and learning, having reliable methods for analyzing important textbook features, such as their coherence, is essential. This study reports on the development of a method in which trained reviewers, following a set of guidelines defining the ideas to be…

Despite the heavy reliance on textbooks in college courses, research indicates that college students enrolled in first-year science courses are not proficient at comprehending informational text. The present study investigated a reading comprehension questioning strategy with origins in clinical research based in elaboration interrogation theory,…

Investigated skills needed for critical reading of physics texts, their separability and hierarchical ranking, and relation to problem solving ability. Reports that skills required to comprehend texts in continuous format and discriminate unreported statements are respectively of higher level than and separable from those required to comprehend a…

Determined relative effects of rhetorical, factual, valuing, and hypothesizing question types when these questions were interspersed throughout the reading passage in textual materials for students (N=383) in introductory biology. Reported results are based on a 20-item test given immediately after reading the passage, 2 weeks later, and 9 weeks…

Reports on a study that examined how high school biology teachers describe their instructional use of science reading and textbooks. Biology teachers viewed both reading and inquiry activities as important to learning biology, but they appeared unsure of how to incorporate reading comprehension strategies into their science instruction. (ZWH)

The study's findings appear to indicate that the inclusion or exclusion of pictures in elementary science textbooks does not influence comprehension of the material. In addition, achievement levels appear to be an accurate predictor of the students' ability to comprehend the text. (Author/MA)

Identifies some difficulties that students in grades 7-10 have with logical connectives in reading science passages. Describes the Logical Connectives in Science project as a comprehensive criterion-referenced testing survey study. Results include information on difficulty of various logical connectives and kinds of errors students make in…

Twelfth-grade science students (n=91) were asked to read five popular reports of science to ascertain their ability to understand the scientific information presented. Results indicated that only half of the students accurately understood the scientific status and role of statements when the understanding required contextualized interpretation on…

Grade five students' (n=58) conceptual understanding of plate tectonics was measured by analysis of student-generated summaries and diagrams, and by posttest assessment of both the spatial/static and causal/dynamic aspects of the domain. The diagram group outperformed the summary and text-only groups on the posttest measures. Discusses the effects…

Investigated what physics students (N=38) recalled from reading text material related to energy transfer. Four different groups of students, each recalling different sets of propositions, were identified suggesting that science educators cannot assume that all students in a class will recall identical information from the assignment of a reading…