Meaning (existential)

Psychotherapist

Human–computer interaction

Philosophy

Usability

Cognitive psychology

Psychology

Programming language

Reading comprehension

Computer science

Linguistics

Think aloud protocol

Comprehension

Reading (process)

Discourse Processes

This study examined the effects of providing reading strategy instruction to improve the effectiveness of self-explanation (i.e., explaining the meaning of information to oneself while reading). The effects of the reading strategy instruction, called Self-Explanation Reading Training (SERT), were examined both in terms of comprehension scores and self-explanation quality. Half of the participants (n = 42) received SERT, which included reading strategy instruction and self-explanation practice with 4 science texts (SERT condition). The remaining participants read aloud the 4 science texts (control condition). During this training phase, self-explanation, as compared to reading aloud, only improved comprehension for the most difficult of the 4 texts. Prior domain knowledge consistently improved comprehension performance, whereas reading skill and reading span had minimal effects. After training, both SERT and control participants self-explained a difficult text about cell mitosis. SERT improved comprehension and self-explanation quality only for participants with low domain knowledge. However, the effects of SERT on low-knowledge participants' comprehension emerged only for text-based questions and not for bridging-inference questions. Protocol analyses indicated that SERT helped these participants to use logic, or domain-general knowledge, rather than domain-specific knowledge to make sense of the text.

SERT: Self-Explanation Reading Training