Instructional implications of text processing research

Abstract

Basic theoretical approaches in the history of text comprehension research have been reviewed and compared to their instructional implications: readability research, comprehensibility research, traditional psycholinguistics, traditional elementaristic models of text processing, and new holistic models of text processing. Contrary to a sceptical view, which denies the practical instructional relevance of text comprehension research, recommendations for instructional design can be shown to be closely related to specific theoretical perspectives. Especially in the last years important advances in research have taken place which have considerably changed our picture of text comprehension. The more refined understanding of text processing implies more differentiated and specific recommendations for instructional design, which go far beyond everyday knowledge about text comprehension. This is illustrated on the basis of new holistic theoretical approaches combined with the notion of procedural semantics. The instructional value of the new theories on text processing is seen in their heuristic function. They provide new perspectives on instructional problems and suggest new ways of thinking. Thus, they are a basis for attaining a more comprehensive and differentiated analysis and, thus, for better founded instructional decisions.