Susan R. Goldman

Source Evaluation, Comprehension, and Learning in Internet Science Inquiry Tasks

In two experiments, undergraduates’ evaluation and use of multiple Internet sources during a science inquiry task were examined. In Experiment 1, undergraduates had the task of explaining what caused the eruption of Mt. St. Helens using the results of an Internet search. Multiple regression analyses indicated that source evaluation significantly predicted learning outcomes, with more successful learners better able to discriminate scientifically reliable from unreliable information. In Experiment 2, an instructional unit (SEEK) taught undergraduates how to evaluate the reliability of information sources. Undergraduates who used SEEK while working on an inquiry task about the Atkins low-carbohydrate diet displayed greater differentiation in their reliability judgments of information sources than a comparison group. Both groups then participated in the Mt. St. Helens task. Undergraduates in the SEEK conditions demonstrated better learning from the volcano task. The current studies indicate that the evaluation of information sources is critical to successful learning from Internet-based inquiry and amenable to improvement through instruction.

Students making sense of informational text: Relations between processing and representation

Much of our understanding of childrens reading has been based on research with narratives, where children can rely on relatively rich prior knowledge to make sense of the text. Far less work has been conducted on childrens meaning construction processes for nonnarrative, informational texts about unfamiliar topics, such as those often encountered in school content areas. This research examines childrens strategies for processing informational text to understand and remember new information. In Experiment 1, 4th‐ and 6th‐grade students thought aloud as they read an easier and a harder passage. They dictated a recall report after each passage. The think‐aloud protocols were analyzed for processing activities, including paraphrasing, elaborating, explaining, monitoring, and identifying and resolving problems. In general, processing tended to focus on the local, sentence level. Self‐explanations were prevalent throughout the protocols; however, they were differentially effective in promoting understanding....

Reading Skill and the Identification of Words in Discourse Context.

Word identification latencies and word prediction accuracy were compared for groups of skilled and less skilled young readers in three experiments. In each experiment, discourse context reduced identification latencies for less skilled as well as skilled readers. This was true both when context was heard and when it was read. The general relationship between word predictability and latency was the same for skilled readers and for less skilled readers, but only less skilled readers’ identification latencies were affected by word length and word frequency when the word appeared in context. When subjects predicted the word before identifying it, correctly predicted words were identified more quickly than words not predicted correctly, and skilled readers were more accurate in prediction than were less skilled readers. Although reading-related differences in the use of discourse context may characterize other aspects of reading comprehension, the use of context in identifying words is not a major source of reading difficulty.

Discourse memory and reading comprehension skill.

Abstract Two short-term memory functions can be distinguished by their roles in language comprehension. One is short-term memory capacity and was estimated in the present study by a probe digit task. The other is memory for structured language, measured by a probe discourse task. Third and fifth grade IQ-matched children representing two levels of reading comprehension skill were found not to differ in probe digit performance. However, skilled readers showed performance superior to less skilled readers on the discourse memory task. A structural variable, clause location of the discourse probe, did not differentially affect reader groups. A language-specific memory function beyond mere short-term memory capacity appears to be an important component of comprehension skill. The results are also consistent with the view that reading comprehension skill is best understood as dependent upon general language comprehension skill.

Learning in complex domains: When and why do multiple representations help?

For some time, work in cognitive science has been attempting to understand learning in complex domains that involve multiple variables and processes. All of the papers in this volume deal with learning in complex domains, e.g., chemical reactions, weather phenomena, functional relationships in economics, optics, and metabolism. Frequently, the variables and processes in these domains seem to operate in ways that appear random, with nondeterministic outcomes—unless of course you are an expert in the domain. A mark of that expertise is being able to see the patterns that are meaningful in the domain and that portend effects in relatively deterministic ways. How is it that one comes to understand these complex domains? What sorts of representations do experts use to help them understand the patterns and relationships among variables? How do nonexperts in the domain gain access to these patterns and relationships? The papers in this special issue are united around the common theme of attempting to understand the impact of verbal and nonverbal representations in acquiring greater expertise in a variety of complex domains. In other words, the researchers are all concerned with how learners make sense of important concepts and relationships in complex domains based on verbal and visual input information. Efforts to understand how learners integrate and capitalize on verbal and visual information are not new (e.g., Levie & Lentz, 1982; Mandl & Levin, 1989; Willows & Houghton, 1987). However, the advent of ubiquitous multimedia resources stimulated renewed interest in the role of nonverbal representations, especially those that convey dynamic relationships. At first blush it seemed that multimedia resources

Learning from text: Reflections on the past and suggestions for the future

A great deal of progress has been made toward understanding the cognitive processes involved in learning from text. The findings suggest ways to improve learning by enhancing the coherence of texts and the strategies learners use when reading to learn. For the most part, the cognitive research has focused on an individual interacting with a single text, consistent with many traditional educational settings. However, current economic and social trends have revitalized educational reform efforts that emphasize active knowledge construction by the learner and the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative learning skills. Classrooms organized to support these kinds of learning activities raise a number of new issues for discourse processing research and redirect several current areas of research. A primary goal of this article is to illustrate and discuss these issues.

Strategy Instruction in Mathematics.

Mathematics performance is conceptualized as a problem-solving situation consisting of cognitive and metacognitive processes associated with (a) representing the problem, (b) planning a solution, (c) carrying out the operations entailed by the plan, and (d) monitoring the course of solution. Strategies for accomplishing these activities have been instructed within a variety of instructional models, three of which are discussed: direct instruction, self-instruction, and mediated performance (guided learning). Strategy instruction studies representative of each method have been applied to mathematics computation tasks and to word problem solving. These studies are reviewed with a focus on what makes for effective strategy instruction for learning disabled children. Conclusions center on the need to deal explicitly with problem representation and conceptual understanding of the task, task-specific planning and computation skills, and general organizational frameworks for systematically monitoring solution progress. Finally, it is recommended that strategy instruction studies make provision for component practice sufficient to develop efficient access to and use of the available knowledge base as well as of the instructed strategies.

The Public's Bounded Understanding of Science

This introduction to the special issue Understanding the Public Understanding of Science: Psychological Approaches discusses some of the challenges people face in understanding science. We focus on peoples inevitably bounded understanding of science topics; research must address how people make decisions in science domains such as health and medicine without having the deep and extensive understanding that is characteristic of domain experts. The articles reflect two broad streams of research on the public understanding of science—the learning orientation that seeks to improve understanding through better instruction and the communications orientation that focuses on attitudes about science and trust in scientists. Challenges to understanding science include determining the relevance of information, the tentativeness of scientific truth, distinguishing between scientific and nonscientific issues, and determining what is true and what is false. Studying the public understanding of science can potentially contribute to psychological theories of thinking and reasoning in modern societies.

Achieving Meaningful Mathematics Literacy for Students with Learning Disabilities

In this article we consider issues relevant to the future of mathematics instruction and achievement for students with learning disabilities. The starting point for envisioning the future is the changing standards for mathematics learning and basic mathematical literacy. We argue that the shift from behaviorist learning theories to constructivist and social constructivist theories (see Rivera, this series) provides an opportunity to develop and implement a hybrid model of mathematics instruction. The hybrid model we propose embeds, or situates, important skill learning in meaningful contexts. We discuss some examples of instructional approaches to complex mathematical problem solving that make use of meaningful contexts. Evaluation data on these approaches have yielded positive and encouraging results for students with learning disabilities as well as general education students. Finally, we discuss various ways in which technology is important for realizing hybrid instructional models in mathematics.

Information Processing and Educational Microcomputer Technology: Where Do We Go from Here?

Microcomputer technology has enormous potential for altering the educational experiences and outcomes of learning handicapped youngsters. This article explores two particular areas of the learning process that appear to be fertile ground for implementing effective microcomputer technology. The first area is that of extended practice and its role in the development of increased automaticity of basic information processing skills. Several examples are presented of empirical research employing extended, microcomputer-based, daily practice on basic mathematics and reading tasks with learning disabled students. The second area discussed involves problem solving and metacognitive activities. The teacher, microcomputer, and learner are envisaged as three integrally related aspects of the microeducational environment. Microcomputer technology stimulates and enables innovative role definition for each. Finally, several potentially problematic issues related to tool use and to information processing characteristics of learning handicapped populations are discussed.