The intelligent tutoring system of structure strategy (ITSS) is a web-based digital tutoring system proven to be effective in helping students recognize and use text structures to comprehend and recall texts. However, little is known about the dynamic learning processes within the ITSS. This study aims to investigate the effects of feedback dosage…

The deep comprehension of a text is tantamount to the construction of an articulated mental model of that text. The number of correct recollections is an index of a learner's mental model of a text. We assume that another index of comprehension is the timing of the gestures produced during text recall; gestures are simultaneous with speech when…

This study examined the influences of reading decoding skills and world knowledge on third graders' comprehension of narrative and expository texts. Children read a narrative text and an expository text. Comprehension of each text was assessed with a free recall prompt, three cued recall prompts, and 12 multiple-choice questions. Tests from the…

Two experiments involving 285 college students investigated effects of signaling devices (headings, overviews, and summaries) on text memory. Signals produced recalls better organized by text topics. Results support a model in which signals influence readers' representations of a text's topic structure, which in turn guides recall of text content.…

Looks at the role of paragraphing on the identification of and memory for main ideas as compared to elaborative information in expository passages. Finds that paragraph manipulation had a greater effect on the differentiation of main ideas and elaborations when passage content was less familiar. (RS)

Extends an earlier study by using different materials, ratings for familiarity, and more stringent experimental controls. Finds concreteness effects in two experiments using undergraduate students. Suggests that familiarity and concreteness contribute separately to recall. Supports a dual coding theory. Discusses implications for text design. (RS)

Finds that a graphical browser (a graphical representation of the structure of a hypertext document) had no effect on recall, comprehension, or recall of text structure but that it did increase the amount of text read by users and reduced the number of nodes repeated during reading. (SR)

Tests the hypothesis that different assigned purposes for reading led to changes in the "interestingness" and recall of text material. Concludes that reading for a particular purpose enhances the interestingness of text information even when that information is not intrinsically interesting. Discusses educational implications. (BS)

Examines the relationship among sources of interest, perceived interest, and text recall. Reveals (through factor analysis) six different sources of interest. Suggests sources of interest affect perceived interest, which in turn affects recall. Suggests that text structure appears to play an important role in perceived situational interest and,…

This study investigated the effects of linguistic simplification and content schemata on reading comprehension and recall. The participants, 240 Iranian male students of English as a foreign language (EFL), were divided into 4 homogeneous groups, each consisting of 60 participants (30 with high proficiency and 30 with low proficiency). To elicit…

Investigates four experiments on whether the addition of a representative picture to a news item improves recall of that item by undergraduate students in journalism courses. Finds that it does; that concrete news items were recalled better than abstract news items; and news concreteness was strongly correlated with various picture attributes,…

Historically, research has shown that a reader's recall of ideas from text is enhanced when the reader uses relations among concepts to organize information. Text structure is a term used to describe the various patterns of how concepts within text are related. Knowledge of text structures assists a reader to comprehend text by allowing the reader…