Some factors that should be considered when science teachers produce materials for their students are presented. Readability and the key aspects of language (vocabulary, sentence structure, textbook or examination style, and organization and presentation) are discussed. Directions and the graph needed for estimating the reading level of materials…

Tests the effects of number of data points and type of statistical display on time spent answering questions about information. Finds that tables and graphs are more efficiently processed than text presentation of the same data. Suggests that the time variable is a more realistic measure than information recall of cognitive processing effort. (SR)

Discusses how two questionnaires helped a middle school teacher find out what strategies her students used to choose books and whether they were making successful choices. Presents teaching suggestions based on the results of the questionnaires. (SR)

Presents five experiments examining the use of illustrations in the comprehension of technical material by students of good to very good reading ability. Concludes that technical content which lends itself to presentation as an illustration will be comprehended better as an illustration than as text and will be comprehended best of all if…

Describes study that examined how Australian distance education students use and learn from textual materials. Text processing strategies and rates of progress are examined; textual features including study guides, table of contents, cross-referencing, and visual aids are considered; and recommendations for improving learning from textual…

Investigates the phenomenon of topic shift (sentences initiating a new topic are given additional processing time by skilled readers). Finds adults showed a proportionately greater effect than fifth graders when more difficult expository texts were used but not with easy narratives. Finds that paragraph marking did not influence the processing of…

Finds and describes five text characteristics that are most positively associated with interest in expository text, and three most negatively associated. Shows that interest and importance were highly correlated, and that information rated as both interesting and important was recalled best. (SR)

Uses case alteration (cAse ALteRaTiOn) to investigate effects of first-language (L1) orthographic characteristics on word recognition in English as a second language (ESL). Finds magnitude of case alteration effect for naming tasks was significantly larger for ESL participants whose L1 was not alphabetic. Suggests that L1 orthographic features…

Theorizes that three features of electronic texts have changed writing and writing instruction: the creation of a seamless flow of text, word publishing as a rhetorical act, and hypertextual writing and thinking. Discusses implications for how teachers read, respond to, and evaluate student writing. Stresses importance of linking writing…

The role played on shallow and deep levels of comprehension by text changes aimed at improving relationships within text ideas or producing better links with the reader's knowledge were studied with 67 Spanish 10th graders. Both textual changes contributed separately to recall, but problem solving increased only when the two were presented…

Examined the extent to which kindergartners used computer speech during narrative writing and the relationship between this use and the linguistic properties of their written products. Found that length of text, grammatical cohesion, and lexical density were strongly associated with use of computer-generated spoken feedback. Narrative types and…

Describes a small-scale experiment in which five professional writers were asked to revise brochure fragments based on the feedback from readers. Discusses the type of feedback collected from readers and how the experiment focused on the revision phase following formative text evaluation. (SG)

Integrates findings from qualitative and quantitative research in conceptual change that investigated text and text-based strategies. Emphasizes findings that have direct implications for instructional research and practice: (1) refutational text is not sufficient to produce conceptual change; (2) discussion of refutational text must be…

Examines reader and text variables related to conceptual change learning from science textbooks. Shows it is difficult to change readers' prior knowledge by reading texts that are inconsistent with that knowledge, but refutation text was shown to impact students' prior knowledge when that knowledge contained naive scientific conceptions. Addresses…

Describes an approach to teaching students a basic design process for routine business documents like memos, letters, and reports. Outlines the design principles of HATS (Headings, Access, Typography, and Spacing), how they apply in before-and-after fashion to various documents, and discusses an assignment in which students redesign an existing…