This study examined the effects of the number of columns and type of justification on reading speed, reading comprehension, and satisfaction for online text. Sixty-six participants read a single narrative passage of approximately 2200 words presented in one of six conditions: one, two, or three columns and full- or left-justification. Results from this study found that reading speeds for the two-column full-justified condition and one-column left-justified condition were fastest overall. Fast readers performed best under the two-column full-justified condition, and slow readers performed best under the one-column left-justified condition. No significant differences were found for overall satisfaction or comprehension. Further studies are needed to examine the importance of individual difference in reading ability on online reading performance. / "May 2005." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, Dept. of Psychology

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The Effect of Comparative Tests Between Self-questioning Strategy And Cooperative Learning (Group Discussion) on Junior High School Students' Chinese Reading Comprehension Abstract The main purpose of this study was to discuss the effect of comparative tests between self-questioning strategy and cooperative learning (group discussion) on junior high school students' Chinese reading comprehension. The questions explored here were: 1. How did self-questioning strategy influence reading comprehension ability? 2. How did self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning improve and influence reading comprehension ability? 3. How did self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning affect the levels of question types? The study used experimental research method. The subjects were 50 second grade students of junior high. According to the scores of the prior test on "reading comprehension ability," students were divided into an experimental group and a control group, and each one was composed of 25 students. The instrument was "test of reading comprehension ability," and the information acquired was dealt with statistical testing on the basis of t-test. The results were as followings: 1. After receiving the teaching of "self-questioning strategy," students' reading comprehension abilities were improved. 2. After the students in the experimental group received the co-teaching of self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning, their scores of the posttest on "reading comprehension ability" were superior to the scores of the students in the control group. 3. After the students in the experimental group accepted the co-teaching of self-questioning strategy and the group discussion of cooperative learning, their scores of the posttest on "high-level question type" were superior to the scores of the students in the control group. Finally the study discussed the above results in more detail, and provided suggestions and references of further research concerning teaching of the reading comprehension.

Although the importance of reading comprehension is generally recognized, a better understanding of the factors influencing measurement of reading comprehension may impact the ability to assess strengths and deficits. The current study examined the effects of text type and time limits on the rate of students' performance across four common assessments of reading comprehension. Results showed similarities between performance with narrative and expository texts and across time limit conditions for all of the assessments. In terms of comparing across reading comprehension assessments, the findings are limited by the differences in the response channels and stimulus conditions of each assessment. The results have implications for the development of measurement systems and the assessment of reading comprehension.

The focus on this study was on improving the oral reading fluency of third grade students who struggle in reading. One third grade teacher and six of her students participated in this 4 week study that examined the effect on fluency of newspaper reading and various constructive reading and engagement activites. These six students were assigned to an Optimal Learning Model pull-out fluency instruction using the newspaper as text. Results from the Developmental Reading Assessment instrument reveal significantly improved effects in the number if miscues, correct words per minute, and prosody for the six students. From the results, it is evident that struggling readers benefit from high-quality fluency instruction.

by Wong Tai Yuen. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-128). / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / Contents --- p.v / List of Tables --- p.ix / List of Figures --- p.x / Chapter Chapter I --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- The Problem --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Statement of the Problem --- p.7 / Chapter 1.3 --- Hypotheses --- p.7 / Chapter 1.4 --- Limitations --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Definitions of Terms --- p.10 / Chapter 1.5.1 --- Text / Chapter 1.5.2 --- Discourse / Chapter 1.5.3 --- Texture / Chapter 1.5.4 --- Context of Situation / Chapter 1.5.5 --- Cohesion / Chapter 1.5.6 --- Cohesive Ties / Chapter 1.5.7 --- Cohesive Harmony / Chapter 1.5.8 --- Coherence / Chapter 1.5.9 --- T-unit / Chapter 1.5.10 --- Holistic Rating / Chapter 1.6 --- Significance of the Study --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter II --- Review of the Literature / Chapter 2.1 --- "Language, Context and Text" --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2 --- Relationship of the Text to its Context of Situation --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3 --- Cohesion --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4 --- Coherence --- p.21 / Chapter 2.5 --- Cohesion and Coherence --- p.23 / Chapter 2.6 --- Cohesion and Coherence as Defined in this Study --- p.26 / Chapter 2.7 --- "Cohesion, Coherence and Reading Comprehension" --- p.27 / Chapter 2.8 --- "Cohesion, Coherence and Writing" --- p.29 / Chapter 2.9 --- The Connections between Reading and Writing --- p.30 / Chapter 2.10 --- Cohesive Ties --- p.33 / Chapter 2.11 --- How Cohesion Works --- p.41 / Chapter 2.11.1 --- Cohesive Devices as Signals / Chapter 2.11.2 --- How Cohesive Devices Help to Integrate Text / Chapter 2.11.3 --- Cohesion and Processing Efficiency / Chapter 2.11.4 --- The Given-New Contract / Chapter 2.12 --- Measuring Cohesion --- p.44 / Chapter 2.13 --- Measuring Coherence --- p.46 / Chapter 2.14 --- How Cohesion and Coherence Are Measured in this Study --- p.47 / Chapter Chapter III --- Procedure and Design of the Study / Chapter 3.1 --- Sampling --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2 --- Design of the Scale to Measure Students' Control over the Use of Cohesive Devices in Writing --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The Writing Test / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Measure of Cohesion / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Cohesive Errors / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Measure of Coherence / Chapter 3.3 --- Design of the Scale to Measure Students' Ability to Understand and Interpret Text --- p.68 / Chapter 3.4 --- Statistical Design --- p.71 / Chapter Chapter IV --- Results and Discussion / Chapter 4.1 --- Linguistic Competence of the Subjects --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2 --- Analysis of the Reading Test --- p.74 / Chapter 4.3 --- Analysis of the Written Test --- p.78 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Frequency Count of Cohesive Features / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Holistic Rating Scores / Chapter 4.4 --- Multiple Regression Analysis --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Line of Regression / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Test of Multicol1inearity / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Test of Autocorrelation / Chapter 4.5 --- Discussion of the Findings of the Multiple Regression Analysis --- p.85 / Chapter Chapter V --- Conclusions and Implications / Chapter 5.1 --- Summing up --- p.98 / Chapter 5.2 --- Further Discussion: Limitations and Possibilities --- p.102 / Chapter 5.3 --- Implications for Instruction --- p.108 / Bibliography --- p.112 / Appendices --- p.129 / Chapter Appendix A --- Reading Test / Chapter Appendix B --- Writing Test

"During the first term of the 1938 summer session at the North Texas State Teachers College, under the auspices of the reading laboratory, the Nelson-Denny Silent Reading Test was administered to students enrolled in four sections of a course in the psychology of teaching reading in the grades...For this purpose, this endeavor to analyze the existing condition has been made in order to assist in at least some small measure any future steps in alleviating this deplorable state."--1-2.

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The low literacy levels of the majority of first-year students at tertiary institutions in South Africa have been a major cause of concern. Various attempts have been made to assist students to develop their academic literacy levels – especially academic reading. However, most of these attempts are solely cognitive-oriented, even though there has been increasing acknowledgement of the relationship between socio-affective factors and students’ academic reading abilities. The purpose of this research was to explore a socio-affective approach to improving the reading abilities of first-year students at the University of Pretoria (UP). The following questions guided the research: (1) Is there a significant relationship between socio-affective factors and students’ academic reading abilities? (2) Which socio-affective factors best predict tertiary students’ academic reading abilities? (3) How can knowledge of socio-affective factors be used to design a more effective reading intervention? (4) How effective is a reading intervention programme that incorporates socio-affective factors? A mixed methods design was used for the study which was conducted in four phases. The first phase consisted of an exploratory study in the form of a questionnaire survey that elicited information on first-year UP students’ reading background, socio-affective reading levels and the use of reading strategies in relation to their reading proficiency levels, as determined by the Test for Academic Literacy Levels (TALL). ANOVA tests were used for the analysis of TALL results while a Cumulative Logit (regression) analysis was conducted to determine the socio-affective factors that best predict these students’ reading ability. ANOVA tests showed a robust relationship between students’ social and affective reading background on one hand, and their reading proficiency levels on the other. The regression analysis showed that self-efficacy was the best predictor of students’ reading ability, followed by intrinsic motivation. Based on the empirical results, and an adapted model of Guthrie and Wigfield (2000), an intervention programme that served as enrichment to the existing Academic Reading module, and aimed at improving the reading abilities of students by focussing on socio-affective issues in particular, was designed (as phase 2) and implemented (as phase 3) of the study. Two control groups and two intervention groups of At Risk and Low Risk students were used for the study. Questionnaires on affective reading levels and strategy use were administered before and after the intervention. In phase four, quantitative analysis using t-tests (independent and paired t-tests) with effect sizes were performed on the pre- and post-intervention questionnaire responses. Results showed significant improvements in affective levels for reading in the intervention groups compared to the control groups. In addition, qualitative data were collected via interviews on the socio-affective teaching techniques used for the intervention, and analysed qualitatively using content analysis. The results of the qualitative study were used to support the quantitative findings in terms of the measure in which the teaching approach contributed to the improvement in students’ socio-affective levels in reading, which according to research, correlates with students’ reading ability. Based on the findings, recommendations are made at the classroom and institutional levels. The significance of the study in terms of enriching theory and designing innovative support to improve students’ reading ability serve as a conclusion to the thesis. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Unit for Academic Literacy / Unrestricted

羅嘉怡. / 論文(哲學碩士)--香港中文大學, 1998. / 參考文獻: leaves 71-79. / 中英文摘要. / Luo Jiayi. / 表目次 --- p.iii / Chapter 第一章 --- 引言 / Chapter 一 --- 研究動機 --- p.1 / Chapter 二 --- 研究目的 --- p.12 / Chapter 三 --- 研究意義 --- p.13 / Chapter 第二章 --- 文獻回顧 / Chapter 一 --- 目標取向 --- p.16 / Chapter 二 --- 自我效能 --- p.20 / Chapter 三 --- 自我調控的學習策略 --- p.24 / Chapter 第三章 --- 研究設計 / Chapter 一 --- 研究對象與取樣方法 --- p.33 / Chapter 二 --- 研究工具 --- p.35 / Chapter 三 --- 資料搜集過程 --- p.38 / Chapter 四. --- 研究假設 --- p.40 / Chapter 五. --- 重要名詞演譯 --- p.41 / Chapter 六. --- 研究限制 --- p.43 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究結果 / Chapter 一 --- 各量表的信度分析 --- p.44 / Chapter 二 --- 研究對象的閱讀理解成绩及各量表的平均數、標準差 --- p.46 / Chapter 三 --- 閱讀理解成績及各變項的關係 --- p.49 / Chapter 四 --- 各變項對學生的閱讀理解測驗成績的預測力 --- p.53 / Chapter 第五章 --- 研究結論討論與建議 / Chapter 一 --- 研究發現 --- p.59 / Chapter 二 --- 討論 --- p.63 / Chapter 三 --- 建議 --- p.68 / 參考文獻 / 英文參考文獻 --- p.71 / 中文參考文獻 --- p.11 / 附件一 --- p.80 / 附件二 --- p.89