Looking back at relevant sections of previously read text is proposed as a useful fixup strategy when comprehension fails while studying a text.Subjects read 24 pages of text and answered inserted questions which assessed their comprehension of the text. About half of the subjects were branched back to reread prerequisite information when it was later needed but had not been fully understood by those subjects. Subjects receiving lookbacks showed better comprehension of later information dependent upon the prerequisite information.In the light of these results, the training of natural lookbacks during study holds promise as a means of improving students' study behaviors.
Lookbacks During Studying 2 An Investigation of Lookbacks During StudyingStudying has been characterized as having three main phases: before, during, and after reading (Anderson, 1979). The during reading phase, which is our main interest at this time, can in turn be characterized as having three aspects: those activities appropriate when the reader succeeds in comprehending parts of the text, those activities appropriate when the reader fails to comprehend parts of the text, and the monitoring processes which the reader undertakes to distinguish success or failure of comprehension. Comprehension monitoring (see determines to which of the two previous classes of activities the reader should direct his efforts.Appropriate activities to use when sections of text are understood include: organizing the information (e.g., outlining), increasing the amount of text processing (e.g., imaging, paraphrasing, discussing), and record keeping for review (e.g., note taking and underlining)."Fixup" activities appropriate when comprehension fails might include going back to learn prerequisite material missed, misunderstood, or forgotten (e.g., looking back in the text, rereading, or referring to previously taken notes), more carefully inspecting the confusing sections of text (e.g., careful parsing of sentences, slow reading, trying to picture the material mentally), and consulting outside sources (e.g., other books or persons who might be knowledgeable on the subject).The prime objective of this study is to investigate those behaviors used during studying which are appropriate when comprehension of the text Lookbacks During Studying