ERIC Number: EJ1133342
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2211-1662
EISSN: N/A
Leveraging a Sorting Task as a Measure of Knowledge Structure in Bilingual Settings
Tang, Hengtao; Clariana, Roy
Technology, Knowledge and Learning, v22 n1 p23-35 Apr 2017
This descriptive exploratory study considers whether a simple sorting task can elicit readers' knowledge structure in learners' first and second language. In this investigation, knowledge structure is considered from a symbolic connectionist viewpoint as the fundamental pre-meaningful aspect of knowledge, where structure is the precursor of knowledge acquisition and the underpinning of meaningful activity. Chinese-English (C-E) bilingual participants (n = 23) were assigned to one of four counter-balanced conditions to complete two presorting tasks, read an English expository text passage, and then complete two post-sorting tasks including: CE-read-EC, CE-read-EC, EC-read-EC, and EC-read-CE. Data analysis focused on the knowledge structure measures elicited by the four sorting tasks. Results show that both the reading and the sorting elicitation task itself differentially influenced knowledge structure; the Chinese post-sorting task immediately after reading the English text led to a relatively more relational structure than did the English post-sorting task. Individual's knowledge structure elicited by the sorting tasks was not much like those of other students, but each individual's self-to-self structure in Chinese and English were somewhat alike before reading (r = 0.35, 13% overlap) and moderately alike after reading (r = 0.62, 39% overlap). These findings add to the evidence base that sorting tasks can elicit knowledge structures in dual language settings.
Descriptors: Task Analysis, Student Evaluation, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students, Language Acquisition, Native Language Instruction, Second Language Instruction, English, Chinese, Data Analysis, Learning Processes, Measurement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A