Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

6-1988

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Curriculum and Instruction

Major Professor

J. Estill Alexander

Committee Members

Brenda Kolker, Donald Dessart, Bethany Dumas

Abstract

One obstacle which has interfered with the development of more effective instructional strategies in the area of reading is the lack of understanding of the basic compre hension processes. Theorists have devised models which attempt to explain these basic processes. One of these models, Kintsch and van Dijk's Strategic Discourse Processing Model (1983, 1978), involves three processes which simulate comprehension. The first process is an analysis of individual thought units (propositions) which make up the micro-structure. The second process is the formation of the macro-structure, or the key ideas. The final process is the reconstruction of the text based on memory, i.e., the recall protocol.

The Kintsch-van Dijk model (1983) includes a number of text variables which relate to comprehension, one of which is imagery. This study investigated the effects of imagery on comprehension of prose at both the micro- and macrolevels of comprehension. The null hypotheses proposed was: There will be no significant differences (£ < -05) between the median percentage of propositions recalled at the micro- (high and low imagery) and macro- (high and low imagery) text levels. Thirty fifth-graders from New Orleans, Louisiana participated in the study. An a priori rating system was used to determine imagery level. To measure recall, student recall protocols were broken down into propositions and compared with prepositional lists of the macro- and micro-levels of the passages. Median recall percentages were computed.

A Friedman's ANOVA indicated that significant differences were present when the data was grouped according to imagery level (high or low) and level of text (macro or micro). Post hoc analyses (Wilcoxin Matched Pairs Sign Rank Tests) indicated that fifth-graders recalled significantly more propositions from the passages ranked high in imagery. In addition, students had significantly higher recall for the macro-level propositions in passages which were high in imagery. For passages which were low in imagery, students had significantly higher recall for micro-level proposi tions. This study supports the hypothesis that imagery is a significant factor in comprehension and that a high imagery level facilitates recall at the macro-level of comprehension.

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