Jason L. G. Braasch

Readers’ use of source information in text comprehension

In two experiments, we examined the role of discrepancy on readers’ text processing of and memory for the sources of brief news reports. Each story included two assertions that were attributed to different sources. We manipulated whether the second assertion was either discrepant or consistent with the first assertion. On the basis of the discrepancy-induced source comprehension (D-ISC) assumption, we predicted that discrepant stories would promote deeper processing and better memory for the sources conveying the messages, as compared to consistent stories. As predicted, readers mentioned more sources in summaries of discrepant stories, recalled more sources, made more fixations, and displayed longer gaze times in source areas when reading discrepant than when reading consistent stories. In Experiment 2, we found enhanced memory for source–content links for discrepant stories even when intersentential connectors were absent, and regardless of the reading goals. Discussion was focused on discrepancies as one mechanism by which readers are prompted to encode source–content links more deeply, as a method of integrating disparate pieces of information into a coherent mental representation of a text.

The Role of Prior Knowledge in Learning From Analogies in Science Texts

Two experiments examined whether inconsistent effects of analogies in promoting new content learning from text are related to prior knowledge of the analogy per se. In Experiment 1, college students who demonstrated little understanding of weather systems and different levels of prior knowledge (more vs. less) of an analogous everyday situation read a text about weather systems that included the analogy or a control version that did not. Results indicated that those with more prior knowledge of the analogy performed better on weather system learning measures (sentence verification and number of concepts in essays). Prior knowledge of the analogous domain interacted with presence of the analogy in the text on 1 learning measure: Those with more prior knowledge who read the analogy text had fewer misconceptions in their conceptual models of weather than those who read the control text. Think-aloud protocols collected in Experiment 2 suggested that analogies in the text constrained prior knowledge activation and processing of the weather system content. Whereas previous research has shown that prior knowledge of a to-be-learned target domain positively impacts learning, this research elaborates this effect by showing that prior knowledge of an analogically related domain positively impacts target domain learning.

The Discrepancy-Induced Source Comprehension (D-ISC) Model: Basic Assumptions and Preliminary Evidence

Despite the importance of source attention and evaluation for learning from texts, little is known about the particular conditions that encourage sourcing during reading. In this article, basic assumptions of the discrepancy-induced source comprehension (D-ISC) model are presented, which describes the moment-by-moment cognitive processes that readers undergo when reading-to-understand controversial messages. We then review supporting evidence from single and multiple text comprehension research. In the discussion, we draw conclusions based on the theoretical and empirical research, highlight limitations of what is known to date, and suggest how further investigations of D-ISC might address these concerns.

Establishing Trustworthiness When Students Read Multiple Documents Containing Conflicting Scientific Evidence.

Students read six documents that varied in terms of their perspectives on a scientific issue and the trustworthiness of the source features. After reading, students wrote essays, rank-ordered the documents according to perceived trustworthiness, and provided reasons for their rank-order decisions. Students put the most trust in a textbook and a public information text, primarily giving content reasons for their trustworthiness judgments. The kind of source characteristics that students drew upon when deciding what to trust and what not to trust varied across documents. Finally, their source evaluation was related to the source citations included in their essays.

Optimizing Conditions for Learning: Situating Refutations in Epistemic Cognition

A refutation text is designed to promote conceptual change by explicitly acknowledging commonly held misconceptions about a topic, directly refuting them, and providing an accurate explanation. In this study, we determined the impact of different types of refutation texts on adolescent readers’ conceptual change learning in science. Specifically, we manipulated the way the correct conception was justified and explained following work in epistemic cognition. Three different types of justification were compared to a control condition: justification by authority, justification by multiple sources, and justification by personal opinion. The findings showed that learning effects were optimized when the correct conceptions were presented in terms of a corroborated consensus among multiple sources.

Memory for Scientific Arguments and Their Sources: Claim–Evidence Consistency Matters

We investigated whether memory for scientific arguments and their sources were affected by the appropriateness of the claim–evidence relationship. Undergraduates read health articles in one of four conditions derived by crossing claim type (causal with definite qualifier, associative with tentative qualifier) and evidence type (experimental, correlational). This manipulation produced articles that overstated the results of a study and articles that understated their results, along with appropriate controls for each. We found that evidence and, to a lesser extent, source information was recalled more poorly for articles that overstated results (i.e., causal claims using correlational evidence) than for those where evidence was appropriate (i.e., causal claim with experimental evidence). Readers rejected these overstatements based on the study design rather than reprocessing the text. In contrast, understatements (tentative claim, experimental evidence) were recalled just as well as their appropriate control; however, the target content was reprocessed at a higher rate. These findings suggest that readers may remember an inappropriate definite conclusion but fail to recall the evidence used to support it.

Key Issues in Research on Students’ Critical Reading and Learning in the 21st Century Information Society

In the twenty-first-century information society, student readers can draw on a wealth of resources available through a variety of print and digital technologies when seeking well-grounded answers to crucial socio-scientific issues. However, this requires that students integrate information from source materials expressing diverse and even contradictory viewpoints, with the credibility of those sources often a key issue. In this chapter, we argue that one path to improving students’ critical reading and learning is through developing their source evaluation skills, that is, their ability to judge the credibility or trustworthiness of sources by attending to available or accessible information about the source, such as who authored it or what kind of source it is. After discussing pertinent theoretical frameworks, we review several related strands of research concerning students’ source evaluation skills and suggest directions for future research on how individual and textual factors, separately and in concert, may contribute to students’ source evaluation practices, on how judgments of source credibility are related to judgments of content relevance, and on how effective and efficient instruction targeting source evaluation skills can be designed and evaluated.

Application Exercises Improve Transfer of Statistical Knowledge in Real-World Situations

The present research investigated whether real-world application exercises promoted students’ abilities to spontaneously transfer statistical knowledge and to recognize the use of statistics in real-world contexts. Over the course of a semester of psychological statistics, two classes completed multiple application exercises designed to mimic real-world contexts; three control classes did not complete the exercises. At the end of the semester, all classes completed questions to assess transfer of statistical knowledge and answered a question that addressed how statistics apply to their everyday lives. Results indicated that students who previously participated in the application exercise activities displayed a greater usage of statistical knowledge when answering far-transfer questions and mentioned real-world applications of statistics more often compared to control students. We discuss the implications of transfer-promoting interventions in equipping students with statistical knowledge that they can flexibly apply in more real-world situations.

Writing Cover Letters That Address Instructor Feedback Improves Final Papers in a Research Methods Course.

We examined how writing cover letters to the instructor influenced final papers in research methods courses. After receiving instructor feedback on drafts of each section of an American Psychological Association style research paper throughout the semester, students in two classes wrote cover letters to the instructor explaining how the instructor feedback was incorporated into their final paper. Students in the two control classes received the same type of feedback throughout the semester but were not required to write cover letters. Students enrolled in the cover letter classes showed more improvement in the quality of their papers than the students in the control classes. Using cover letters to articulate how feedback is being incorporated may help students more efficiently organize and respond to instructor feedback. Future researchers might investigate whether students’ reflective ability is a significant moderator in effective feedback utilization.