Computerized comprehension training for whom and under which conditions is it efficient?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential impact of a computer-based comprehension training programme according to second graders' comprehender profiles. These profiles differed in the children's abilities to process three types of textual information: literal information, text-connecting inferences and gap-filling inferences. The results showed that all the profiles improved significantly after the training on the question type that had caused them the greatest amount of difficulty on the pretest. In addition, factors that could a priori predict the effectiveness of the programme were investigated by comparing children who benefited from the instruction (responders) with those who did not benefit (nonresponders). Before instruction, these children differed in their lexical knowledge level and logical reasoning skills, but not in their memory or comprehension-monitoring abilities. The results support the claim that children with comprehension difficulties form a heterogeneous group and emphasize the need to examine the differential impact of comprehension instruction according to the characteristics of poor comprehenders.

Teaching self‐regulation strategies via an intelligent tutoring system (TuinLECweb): Effects for low‐skilled comprehenders

“…This is in accordance with prior research (e.g., McNamara, 2004;Potocki, Ecalle, & Magnan, 2015;Raphael & Pearson, 1985;Suggate, 2016). This is in accordance with prior research (e.g., McNamara, 2004;Potocki, Ecalle, & Magnan, 2015;Raphael & Pearson, 1985;Suggate, 2016).…”

“…With regard to students' performance in Study 1, low-skilled comprehenders obtained greater gains in performance than their high-skilled counterparts. This is in accordance with prior research (e.g., McNamara, 2004;Potocki, Ecalle, & Magnan, 2015;Raphael & Pearson, 1985;Suggate, 2016). Comprehension skills play a role in the processes involved in question answering.…”

Linguistic and Cognitive Profiles of 8- to 15-Year-Old Children With Specific Reading Comprehension Difficulties

“…Indeed, our results suggest that executive functions were particularly necessary for inference processing (see also Eason et al, 2012), but one could also investigate the contribution of executive functions as a function of the types of inference that have to be generated (e.g., text-connecting vs. gap-filling inferences; Cain & Oakhill, 1999). Hence, the identification of more precise profiles of poor comprehenders based on the type of inferencing difficulties they experience (see Potocki, Ecalle, Magnan, 2015) and the examination of their executive capabilities could be of particular interest. Such a differential analysis could indeed help researchers and practitioners to gain a more thorough understanding of reading comprehension failure and make it possible to propose more appropriate remediation.…”

From Fundamental Research to the Design of a Software Solution to Help Poor Readers

“…These results have led researchers to test the hypothesis according to which intensive training in grapho-syllabic segmentation should help poor decoders improve the decoding procedure and enable them to identify written words better. The medium-and long-term effectiveness of grapho-syllabic training on the decoding of written words has been revealed both among poor decoders in first grade (Ecalle, Kleinz, & Magnan, 2013;Ecalle, Magnan, & Calmus, 2009;Kleinsz, Potocki, Ecalle, & Magnan, 2017) and among poor decoders in secondary school (Potocki, Magnan, & Ecalle, 2015).…”