Abstract
Reading comprehension is a challenge for K-12 learners and adults. Nonfiction texts, such as expository texts that inform and explain, are particularly challenging and vital for students’ understanding because of their frequent use in formal schooling (e.g., textbooks) as well as everyday life (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and medical information). The structure strategy is explicit instruction about how to strategically use knowledge about text structures for encoding and retrieval of information from nonfiction and has consistently shown significant improvements in reading comprehension. We present the delivery of the structure strategy using a web-based intelligent tutoring system (ITSS) that has the potential to offer consistent modeling, practice tasks, assessment, and feedback to the learner. Finally, we report on statistically significant findings from a large scale randomized controlled efficacy trial with rural and suburban 4th-grade students using ITSS.
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Acknowledgments
The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A080133 to The Pennsylvania State University Beaver. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. More information on our project is available at http://itss.br.psu.edu/. The authors appreciate the contributions of the elementary students, faculty, and administration involved in this research effort. Additionally, the authors appreciate the input of other faculty, affiliates, and students at Penn State including James Spielvogel, Kathryn Shurmatz, Lori Johnson, Janessa Weaver, Melissa Ray, and Michael Cook.
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Wijekumar, K.K., Meyer, B.J.F. & Lei, P. Large-scale randomized controlled trial with 4th graders using intelligent tutoring of the structure strategy to improve nonfiction reading comprehension. Education Tech Research Dev 60, 987–1013 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-012-9263-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-012-9263-4