TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of prior knowledge in a scenario-based comprehension assessment
T2 - A multidimensional approach
AU - McCarthy, Kathryn S.
AU - Steinberg, Jonathan
AU - Dreier, Kelsey
AU - O'Reilly, Tenaha
AU - Sabatini, John
AU - Butterfuss, Reese
AU - McNamara, Danielle S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences though Grants R305A150176 and R305F100005 . The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the IES.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - This study examined how different qualities of readers' prior knowledge influenced performance on a Scenario Based Assessment (SBA). High school students (n = 506) completed a SBA in either the domain of science (ecology) or the domain of history (women's suffrage). In addition to the SBA, participants completed a measure of foundational reading skills and three measures of prior knowledge (topical vocabulary, basic/factual, integrated/conceptual) for both domains. While all three knowledge measures predicted comprehension above and beyond reading skill, they differentially contributed to SBA performance. These findings highlight the need to not only evaluate how much a student knows prior to learning, but to understand the nature of that knowledge and how it will help or hinder comprehension.
AB - This study examined how different qualities of readers' prior knowledge influenced performance on a Scenario Based Assessment (SBA). High school students (n = 506) completed a SBA in either the domain of science (ecology) or the domain of history (women's suffrage). In addition to the SBA, participants completed a measure of foundational reading skills and three measures of prior knowledge (topical vocabulary, basic/factual, integrated/conceptual) for both domains. While all three knowledge measures predicted comprehension above and beyond reading skill, they differentially contributed to SBA performance. These findings highlight the need to not only evaluate how much a student knows prior to learning, but to understand the nature of that knowledge and how it will help or hinder comprehension.
KW - Comprehension
KW - Expository
KW - Prior knowledge
KW - Reading skill
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U2 - 10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102283
DO - 10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102283
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85151266531
SN - 1041-6080
VL - 103
JO - Learning and Individual Differences
JF - Learning and Individual Differences
M1 - 102283
ER -