Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Personal Epistemology, Understanding of Multiple Texts, and Learning Within Internet Technologies

  • Chapter
Knowing, Knowledge and Beliefs

Abstract

Several studies have linked students’ epistemological beliefs to their textbased learning, with this body of research generally indicating that more naive beliefs (e.g., that knowledge is certain or simple) are related to poorer performance. One limitation of these studies is that they have almost exclusively focused on the reading of one single text. Another, related, limitation is that learning has mainly been studied in traditional print environments. In the present chapter, I will address these two limitations of current epistemological research. First, I will argue that the importance of epistemological beliefs may be even greater when learners try to build integrated mental representations of multiple texts dealing with a particular topic than when they try to learn from one single text. Correspondingly, I will argue that epistemological beliefs may play a more important role in new technological learning environments than when learning with more traditional instructional materials. To empirically back up these arguments, I will then summarize and discuss the findings of some recent research conducted by my group at the University of Oslo, with this research pertaining to the role epistemological beliefs play in the understanding of multiple textual sources, as well as to their role when learning with hypermedia technology. Finally, some educational implications of these findings will be highlighted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alexander, P. A. (2004). In the year 2020: Envisioning the possibilities for educational psychology. Educational Psychologist, 39, 149–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, P. A., & Jetton, T. L. (2000). Learning from text: A multidimensional and developmental perspective. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 3, pp. 285–310). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter Magolda, M. B. (1992). Knowing and reasoning in college: Gender-related patterns in students’ intellectual development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bendixen, L. D., & Hartley, K. (2003). Successful learning with hypermedia: The role of epistemological beliefs and metacognitive awareness. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 28, 15–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (2000). Commentary on part 1: Process and product in problem-based learning (PBL) research. In D. H. Evensen & C. E. Hmelo (Eds.), Problem-based learning: A research perspective on learning interactions (pp. 185–195). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Britt, M. A., & Aglinskas, C. (2002). Improving students’ ability to identify and use source information. Cognition and Instruction, 20, 485–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britt, M. A., & Sommer, J. (2004). Facilitating textual integration with macro-structure focusing tasks. Reading Psychology, 25, 313–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britt, M. A., Perfetti, C. A., Sandak, R., & Rouet, J. F. (1999). Content integration and source separation in learning from multiple texts. In S. R. Goldman, A. C. Graesser, & P. van den Broek (Eds.), Narrative, comprehension, causality, and coherence: Essays in honor of Tom Trabasso (pp. 209–233). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Olaussen, B. S. (2005). Profiling individual differences in student motivation: A longitudinal cluster-analytic study in different academic contexts. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30, 359–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Samuelstuen, M. S. (2004). Does the influence of reading purpose on reports of strategic text processing depend on students’ topic knowledge? Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 324–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2003). A longitudinal think-aloud study of spontaneous strategic processing during the reading of multiple expository texts. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16, 195–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2005). The relationship between epistemological beliefs, implicit theories of intelligence, and self-regulated learning among Norwegian post-secondary students. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 539–565.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2006a). Effects of personal epistemology on the understanding of multiple texts. Reading Psychology, 27, 457–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2006b). Constructing meaning from multiple information sources as a function of personal epistemology: The role of text-processing strategies. Information Design Journal, 14, 56–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2006c). Epistemological beliefs, interest, and gender as predictors of Internet-based learning activities. Computers in Human Behavior, 22, 1027–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., & Weinstein, C. E. (2004). Internet-specific Epistemological Questionnaire (ISEQ). Austin, TX: Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., Strømsø, H. I., & Olaussen, B. S. (2003). Self-regulated learning and the use of information and communications technology in Norwegian teacher education. In D. M. McInerney & S. Van Etten (Eds.), Research on sociocultural influences on motivation and learning: Sociocultural influences on teacher education programs (Vol. III, pp. 199–221). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., Strømsø, H. I., & Samuelstuen, M. S. (2005). The relationship between internet-specific epistemological beliefs and learning within internet technologies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 33, 141–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bråten, I., Strømsø, H. I., & Samuelstuen, M.S. (2007). Topic-specific epistemological beliefs moderate the effect of task instruction on multiple text comprehension. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction, Budapest, Hungary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerdan, R., & Vidal-Abarca, E. (in press). The effects of tasks on integrating information from multiple documents. Journal of Educational Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., Barbosa, P., Perencevich, K. C., Taboada, A., Davis, M. H., et al. (2004). Increasing reading comprehension and engagement through concept-oriented reading instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 403–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartley, K., & Bendixen, L. D. (2001). Educational research in the Internet age: Examining the role of individual characteristics. Educational Researcher, 30(9), 22–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartley, K., & Bendixen, L. D. (2003). The use of comprehension aids in a hypermedia environment: Investigating the impact of metacognitive awareness and epistemological beliefs. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 12, 275–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, B. K. (2004). Epistemological understanding as a metacognitive process: Thinking aloud during online searching. Educational Psychologist, 39, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67, 88–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, M. J., & Spiro, R. J. (1995). Hypertext learning environments, cognitive flexibility, and the transfer of complex knowledge: An empirical investigation. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 12, 301–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H. S., & Kamil, M. L. (2003). Electronic and multimedia documents. In A. P. Sweet & C. E. Snow (Eds.), Rethinking reading comprehension (pp. 166–175). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kardash, C. M., & Howell, K. L. (2000). Effects of epistemological beliefs and topic-specific beliefs on undergraduates’ cognitive and strategic processing of dual-positional text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 524–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kardash, C. M., & Scholes, R. J. (1996). Effects of preexisting beliefs, epistemological beliefs, and need for cognition on interpretation of controversial issues. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 260–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H. J. J., & Millis, K. (2006). The influence of sourcing and relatedness on event integration. Discourse Processes, 41, 51–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kintsch, W. (1988). The role of knowledge in discourse comprehension: A construction-integration model. Psychological Review, 95, 163–182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kurby, C. A., Britt, M. A., & Magliano, J. P. (2005). The role of top-down and bottom-up processes in between-text integration. Reading Psychology, 26, 335–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leu, D. J. (2000). Literacy and technology: Deictic consequences for literacy education in an information age. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. III, pp. 743–770). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linderholm, T., & van den Broek, P. (2002). The effects of reading purpose and working memory capacity on the processing of expository text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 778–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L., & Boscolo, P. (2004). Role of epistemological understanding and interest in interpreting a controversy and in topic-specific belief change. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 103–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, L., Scirica, F., & Salvi, L. (2006). Effects of beliefs about meaning construction and task instructions on interpretation of narrative text. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 31, 411–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H. (1998). Learning to read in a computer age. Peabody, MA: Center for Applied Special Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Narvaez, D., van den Broek, P., & Ruiz, A. B. (1999). The influence of reading purpose on inference generation and comprehension in reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 488–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paxton, R. J. (1999). A deafening silence: History textbooks and the students who read them. Review of Educational Research, 69, 315–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perfetti, C. A., Britt, M. A., & Georgi, M. C. (1995). Text-based learning and reasoning: Studies in history. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt (Rinehart& Winston).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouet, J. F. (2006). The skills of document use: From text comprehension to Web-based learning. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouet, J. F., Britt, M. A., Mason, R. A., & Perfetti, C. A. (1996). Using multiple sources of evidence to reason about history. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 478–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Royer, J. M., Carlo, M. S., Dufresne, R., & Mestre, J. (1996). The assessment of levels of domain expertise while reading. Cognition and Instruction, 14, 373–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelstuen, M. S., & Bråten, I. (2005). Decoding, knowledge, and strategies in comprehension of expository text. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 46, 107–117.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelstuen, M. S., & Bråten, I. (2007). Examining the validity of self-reports on scales measuring students’ strategic processing. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 351–378.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer, M. (1990). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 498–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer, M. (1998). The influence of age and schooling on epistemological beliefs. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 551–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schommer, M., & Walker, K. (1995). Are epistemological beliefs similar across domains? Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 424–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer, M., Crouse, A., & Rhodes, N. (1992). Epistemological beliefs and mathematical text comprehension: Believing it is simple does not make it so. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 435–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schommer-Aikins, M., & Easter, M. (2004, April). Relationships among ways of knowing, epistemological beliefs, and academic performance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schraw, G. (2000). Reader beliefs and meaning construction in narrative text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 96–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schraw, G., & Bruning, R. (1996). Readers’ implicit models of reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 290–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schraw, G., & Bruning, R. (1999). How implicit models of reading affect motivation to read and reading engagement. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 281–302. Schraw, G., & Sinatra, G. M. (2004). Epistemological development and its impact on cognition in academic domains. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 95–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schraw, G., Bendixen, L. D., & Dunkle, M. E. (2002). Development and validation of the Epistemic Belief Inventory (EBI). In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 261–275). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiro, R. J., Feltovich, P. J., Jacobson, M. J., & Coulson, R. L. (1991). Cognitive flexibility, constructivism, and hypertext: Random access instruction for advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. Educational Technology, 31(5), 24–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiro, R. J., Coulson, R. L., Feltovich, P. J., & Anderson, D. K. (1994). Cognitive flexibility theory: Advanced knowledge acquisition in ill-structured domains. In R. B. Ruddell, M. R. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 602–615). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spiro, R. J., Feltovich, P. J., & Coulson, R. L. (1996). Two epistemic world-views: Prefigurative schemas and learning in complex domains. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 10, S51–S61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, S. A., Hynd, C. R., Britton, B. K., McNish, M. M., & Bosquet, D. (1996). What happens when students read multiple source documents in history? Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 430–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strømsø, H. I., & Bråten, I. (2002). Norwegian law students’ use of multiple sources while reading expository texts. Reading Research Quarterly, 37, 208–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strømsø, H. I., Bråten, I., & Samuelstuen, M. S. (2003). Students’ strategic use of multiple sources during expository text reading. Cognition and Instruction, 21, 113–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trabasso, T., & Bouchard, E. (2002). Teaching readers how to comprehend text strategically. In C. C. Block & M. Pressley (Eds.), Comprehension instruction: Research-based best practices (pp. 176–200). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valanides, N., & Angeli, C. (2005). Effects of instruction on changes in epsistemological beliefs. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30, 314–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van den Broek, P., Lorch, R. F., Linderholm, T., & Gustafson, M. (2001). The effects of readers’ goals on inference generation and memory for texts. Memory & Cognition, 29, 1081–1087.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, J., & Voss, J. F. (1999). Constructing arguments from multiple sources: Tasks that promote understanding and not just memory for text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 301–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wineburg, S. (1991). Historical problem solving: A study of the cognitive processes used in the evaluation of documentary and pictorial evidence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wineburg, S. (1998). Reading Abraham Lincoln: An expert/expert study in the interpretation of historical texts. Cognitive Science, 22, 319–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, M. B. W., & Goldman, S. R. (2005). Relations between adolescents’ text processing and reasoning. Cognition and Instruction, 23, 467–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Ivar Bråten

Authors
  1. Ivar Bråten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

    Myint Swe Khine

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bråten, I. (2008). Personal Epistemology, Understanding of Multiple Texts, and Learning Within Internet Technologies. In: Khine, M.S. (eds) Knowing, Knowledge and Beliefs. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6596-5_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation