Connectives (e.g., although, consequently, in contrast) are often considered the "signposts" of texts. In this article we argue that connectives represent a special kind of vocabulary knowledge that students need to develop both in order to read challenging, academic texts with understanding and to produce academic writing. Yet tapping…

Symbolic objects are cognitive tools children must learn to master very early in life. A crucial factor in cognitive development is the instruction or informational support children receive in social contexts. While numerous studies have investigated the relation between instruction and development in various domains, like language or symbolic…

The present study investigated the multivariate relationships between several aspects of motivation and achievement in reading. Canonical correlation analysis was used to examine patterns of associations for reading information texts in Phase I and for reading literary texts in Phase II. The samples were 923 and 225 seventh graders, respectively.…

Pupils' qualitative understanding of DC-circuit phenomena is reported to be weak. In numerous research reports lists of problems in understanding the functioning of simple DC-circuits have been presented. So-called mental model surveys have uncovered difficulties in different age groups, and in different phases of instruction. In this study, the…

This study provides evidence for implicit learning in syntactic comprehension. By reanalyzing data from a syntactic priming experiment (Thothathiri & Snedeker, 2008), we find that the error signal associated with a syntactic prime influences comprehenders' subsequent syntactic expectations. This follows directly from error-based implicit learning…

Students with disabilities often receive test accommodations in schools and on high-stakes tests. Students with learning disabilities (LD) represent the largest disability group in schools, and extended time the most common test accommodation requested by such students. This pairing persists despite controversy over the validity of extended time…

Dictionary use can improve reading comprehension and incidental vocabulary learning. Nevertheless, great extraneous cognitive load imposed by the search process may reduce or even prevent the improvement. With the help of technology, dictionary users can now instantly access the meaning list of a searched word using a mouse click. However, they…

Despite the dynamic and interactive features of digital text, the visual design guidelines for digital text are similar to those for printed text. The purpose of this study was to develop visual design guidelines for improving learning from dynamic and interactive digital text and to validate them by controlled testing. Two structure design…

This article presents an engaging means for turning disfluent readers into prosody superstars. Each week students align with Poetry Power Man and his superhero friends to battle the evil Robot Reader and his sidekicks. The Fluency Foursome helps students adhere to the multidimensional aspects of fluency where expression and comprehension are…

Introduction: This study evaluated whether children with visual impairments who receive repeated reading instruction exhibit an increase in their oral reading rate and comprehension and a decrease in oral reading error rates. Methods: A single-subject, changing-criterion design replicated across three participants was used to demonstrate the…

Understanding is widely touted to be of paramount importance for education. This is especially true in science education research and development where understanding is heralded as one of the cornerstones of reform. Teachers are expected to teach for understanding and students are expected to learn with understanding. This dissertation is an…

Learning to read consists of processes that allow the reader to recognize print, understand words and comprehend text. Thus, vocabulary is one of the most fundamental elements for reading comprehension. Learners can acquire new words from text upon the first encounter with a new word on the basis of fast mapping. Teachers also contribute to…

For any complex mental task, people rely on working memory. Working memory capacity (WMC) is one predictor of success in learning. Historically, attempts to improve verbal WM through training have not been effective. This study provided elementary students with WM consolidation efficiency training to answer the question, Can reading comprehension…

Supplementing classroom reading with smartphones can develop better vocabulary knowledge, comprehension, technology skills, and writing. This article connects smartphones to reading complex, informational text and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The author suggests that smartphones motivate, scaffold comprehension, and invite…

This study investigated the effects of explicit, rich vocabulary instruction on the word acquisition and reading comprehension of high school students. The quasi-experimental study employed a two-group pretest-posttest design, using students from two intact sophomore English classes. The treatment group received daily, explicit, rich vocabulary…