Making Sense of Science Texts: A Mixed-Method Examination of Predictors and Processes of Expository Text Comprehension

• In Event: 75.021 - Text Difficulty, Genre, and Medium Effects on Reading

Abstract

This mixed-method study examines the predictors and processes of multiple document expository text comprehension in a sample of middle school students with diverse language backgrounds.
Eighty-three students (grades 5-7) completed measures of language ability, strategy knowledge/use, and content/disciplinary knowledge, as well as a researcher-designed measure of multiple document expository comprehension. Ten bilingual students from the larger sample were purposively selected (representing the range of scores in our sample on language and literacy measures) and completed a think-aloud protocol to examine their in-the-moment processes for making sense of multiple science texts. Numerical relationships were examined using multiple regression analysis, and verbal data from the think-alouds were analyzed qualitatively to identify patterns in intertextual integration.

Authors

• Dennis S. Davis, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Becky H. Huang, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Tanisha Yi, The University of Texas at San Antonio