Conceptually Based Development and Evaluation of Individualized Materials for Critical Reading Based on Logical Inference

Abstract

A SYSTEMATIC DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS technique for analyzing complex tasks was developed. It was applied to the critical reading of paragraphs which require the use of logical inference rules. Five variables or dimensions were identified to specify the level of difficulty of a particular reading passage. For example, the dimension complexity of context (including length) can take 3 values: 1) single implication-message contains only relevant statements; 2) more than one implication message contains only relevant statements; 3) more than one implication message contains 3 to 5 extra statements, some of which may appear relevant. For any given logical inference rule, it was possible to determine the exact difficulty (with respect to each of the 5 dimensions) of passages in which a subject could or could not make the correct inference. Prototype materials were developed in which 2 dimensions were varied; these tested the subjects' ability to use 2 logical inference rules. The materials were used successfully in diagnostic testing and training for elementary school children reading at the third and fourth grade level.