The authors outline results of 3 studies conducted to examine the structure of disciplinary knowledge from reading measured through proximity data. In Study 1, 168 third-grade students were asked to read a science text and rate the relationships of keywords from the passage. From these ratings, comprehension scores were calculated that related…

One theoretical approach for increasing intrinsic motivation for reading consists of teachers using situational interest to encourage the development of long-term individual interest in reading. The authors investigated that possibility by using stimulating tasks, such as hands-on science observations and experiments, to increase situational…

The authors used a new multidimensional coding scheme to assess student learning engagement during 3 Grade 4 reading lessons. Students in 3 classes--2 in which students received integrated reading-science instruction and 1 in which they received traditional instruction--demonstrated moderate to high engagement in learning. However, students in the…

Results of stepwise regression analyses of text characteristics on learning scores revealed that the same characteristics which predict comprehension also predict new learning. (Author/MB)

Examined the relationship between prior knowledge, learning-strategy use, interest, learning goals, and conceptual understanding among fifth-grade science students. Results of student knowledge tests and a self-report measure of learning goals, interest, and strategy use indicated that the study variables were positively related to each other and…

Identified school change in reading achievement on a statewide, high-stakes performance assessment. Meta-analyses of the effects of instructional practices in reading on achievement indicated that reading achievement change was directly associated with the characteristics of the school reading program in higher grades. Effects of instructional…

Analyzed the 1994 Grade 4 Maryland National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) regarding the effects on reading achievement and engagement of: students' amount of engaged reading, parental education, gender, balanced reading instruction, and reading opportunities. Amount of engaged reading predicted reading achievement after controlling for…

The authors discuss the nature and domain specificity of reading motivation and present initial results that examined how 2 reading instructional programs, Concept Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) and multiple Strategy Instruction (SI), influenced 3rd-grade children's intrinsic motivation to read and reading self-efficacy. Each reading program…

This study examines the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) in facilitating students' shifts to more sophisticated mental models of the circulatory system as indicated by both performance and process data. We began with Winne and colleagues' information processing model of SRL (Winne, 2001; Winne & Hadwin, 1998) and used it to examine how…