Text Relevance and Reading Goals Can Be Framed as Questions

• In Event: Text Relevance and Task-Oriented Reading

Abstract

One way to view goal-driven, text-relevant comprehension is to consider the underlying questions that frame the goals. Indeed, it could be argued that any cognitive task can be analyzed by mapping out the questions that drive the activities at varying grain sizes (Graesser & Lehman, 2011). Primary questions frame the most super-ordinate level and more specific questions target the embedded subordinate levels. Information is defined as being relevant if it answers any of the questions in the question structure that drives comprehension. Moreover, new questions may be posted as the material is being explored and comprehended. We call this the question-driven model of comprehension. This model builds on the general framework of McCrudden and Schraw (2007) that specifies how goals guide the reader’s attention, comprehension, and learning from text. Goals are particularly important in today’s information ecology of email, instant messaging, Facebook, chat rooms, Google, Wikipedia, and other technologies that break up our experiences into smaller packages of time and content (Goldman et al., 2003).
This presentation has three major parts. Part 1 describes how questions are generated from tasks and texts in the question-driven model. Part 2 presents some theoretical schemes for classifying questions (Graesser & Person, 1994; Graesser, Ozuru, & Sullins, 2009; Guthrie, 1988; Mosenthal, 1996). Part 3 presents reports two studies on text comprehension and internet exploration that show how reading processes are influenced by the questions that drive comprehension. It is assumed that questions may be manifested in eye movements, actions, and emotions in addition to verbal expressions (D’Mello, Lehman, & Graesser, in press).
One challenge of the model is to specify the conditions in which particular questions are generated during comprehension. The top-down superordinate questions are affiliated with the text genre and external comprehender goals. For example, when a person encounters a device that malfunctions and reads the operation manual, the relevant questions are “What’s wrong?” and “How can it be fixed?". When an adult reads a job ad, the relevant questions are “Am I a good match for the job?," “How much would I make?”, and “What are the perks?” In contrast, the bottom, text-driven questions are triggered by cognitive disequilibrium engendered by unfamiliar terms, difficult sentences, contradictions, and discrepancies between text and prior knowledge (Graesser et al., 2005; Graesser & Olde, 2003; Otero & Graesser, 2001).
Tests of the model are provided in two studies that collected eye tracking data or questions generated during or after comprehension. In one study, students read a series of illustrated texts on everyday devices along with breakdown scenarios involving device malfunctions. We attempted to predict the student questions and eye tracking behavior by the faults that created cognitive disequilibrium. In the second study, we manipulated the questions given to college students before they inspected Navy web sites to recruit young adults into the Navy and to reveal diverse jobs. Eye tracking patterns were systematically influenced by relationships between the orienting questions and the web site content. Data varied in their support for the question-driven model of comprehension.

Authors

• Arthur C. Graesser, The University of Memphis

• Blair Lehman, The University of Memphis

• Sidney K. D'Mello, The University of Memphis