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The impact of reading passage structure match on readers of two differing ability levels in the recall and use of information in discourse synthesis
Abstract
Discourse synthesis, or reading for the purpose of writing, increases in importance as students progress through their education. While considerable separated research has been reported on reading and writing, little has been conducted on the influences of reading on written products. One area needing study is the effect of initial passage structure on the recall of information contained in a second passage. A related research issue is the influence of structure match across passages on information type and source contained in essays generated from these source materials. Both areas are presumed to reflect differences between individuals based on reading ability levels. Based on a general model of structure mapping and the preliminary results of studies on the effects of reading passage structures on writing, research was conducted to test the influences of reading ability level and passage structure match on the recall and use of information from two same topic source materials in written essays. Reading ability and structure mapping theories predicted an interaction between the two influences resulting in more highly skilled readers demonstrating better structure mapping abilities overall and for unmatched passages specifically as measured by scores attained on persuasive essays. Less highly skilled readers receiving structure matched passages were predicted to produce better results for total recall of information but poorer results on the persuasive essay measure on within group comparisons. Research conducted with one hundred undergraduates blocked by relative reading ability level and under two conditions of passage structure match produced mixed results. There were no significant reading ability by condition interactions. There were significant main effects for text structure type and structure-match condition on several specific aspects of information recall and use in essays. There were also main effects for ability level on three specific measures. These and other results are discussed in relation to the theoretical predictions and an outline for future research is presented. The implications of these findings for educators are also presented.
Subject Area
Literacy|Reading instruction|Educational psychology
Recommended Citation
Hauser, Bruce G, "The impact of reading passage structure match on readers of two differing ability levels in the recall and use of information in discourse synthesis" (1995). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9528823.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9528823