Epistemic Metacognition During Reading Online: A Think-Aloud Study of More and Less Successful Readers

• In Event: Individual Differences in Reading Comprehension

Abstract

While many recent studies have investigated the reading strategies utilized when reading in digital environments, few have investigated the interplay between those reading strategies and learners’ epistemic beliefs. This study explored the epistemic beliefs of high school readers at a metacognitive level, specifically along the epistemic dimensions of source of knowledge and justification for knowing. Using verbal reporting methodology in an extended task, students’ actions and utterances were analyzed to determine subthemes that comprised the primary elements within each epistemic dimension. Findings indicate that students with more sophisticated developmental beliefs about how knowledge is gained and a more complex way of evaluating knowledge for personal use are better able to select and learn from multiple sources on the Internet.

Authors

• Byeong-Young Cho, University of Pittsburgh

• Lindsay Woodward, Drake University

• Dan Li, Iowa State University