A,B seeing: The role of constructive processes in children's comprehension monitoring.

Abstract

Using E. M. Markman's (1977, 1979) comprehension-monitoring paradigm, 192 skilled and less skilled readers from 3rd and 6th grade read stories containing inconsistent information. Half of the students constructed a storyboard representation of the story using plastic cutout figures placed on a background storyboard; half only read the text. Storyboard construction enhanced the integration of text propositions and increased inconsistency detection, particularly for less skilled readers. A story recall test also revealed significant effects of storyboard construction on the encoding and recall of critical propositions. These findings were interpreted in terms of the dual effects of storyboard construction on enhanced encoding and memory and its demands on proposition integration. Furthermore, it is proposed that storyboard construction can serve as a basis for effective intervention and training of proposition integration skills.