What'd you say again? Recurrence quantification analysis as a method for analyzing the dynamics of discourse in a reading strategy tutor

Laura K. Allen, Aaron Likens, Cecile Perret, Danielle McNamara

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the degree to which the cognitive processes in which students engage during reading comprehension could be examined through dynamical analyses of their natural language responses to texts. High school students (n = 142) generated typed self-explanations while reading a science text. They then completed a comprehension test that measured their comprehension at both surface and deep levels. The recurrent patterns of the words in students' self-explanations were first visualized in recurrence plots. These visualizations allowed us to qualitatively analyze the different self-explanation processes of skilled and less skilled readers. These recurrence plots then allowed us to calculate recurrence indices, which represented the properties of these temporal word patterns. Results of correlation and regression analyses revealed that these recurrence indices were significantly related to the students' comprehension scores at both surface- and deep levels. Additionally, when combined with summative metrics of word use, these indices were able to account for 32% of the variance in students' overall text comprehension scores. Overall, our results suggest that recurrence quantification analysis can be utilized to guide both qualitative and quantitative assessments of students' comprehension.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationLAK 2017 Conference Proceedings - 7th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference
Subtitle of host publicationUnderstanding, Informing and Improving Learning with Data
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages373-382
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781450348706
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 13 2017
Event7th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge, LAK 2017 - Vancouver, Canada
Duration: Mar 13 2017Mar 17 2017

Publication series

NameACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Other

Other7th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge, LAK 2017
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityVancouver
Period3/13/173/17/17

Keywords

  • Corpus linguistics
  • Dynamics
  • Intelligent tutoring systems
  • Natural language processing
  • Reading
  • Stealth assessment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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