A model of poor readers' text-based inferencing: Effects of explanatory feedback

Abstract

Students in general and, in particular, readers with learning problems can have difficulty comprehending information and making inferences from text. Much recent research has investigated the conditions that learners must satisfy to make inferences (e.g., Carnine, Kameenui, & Woolfson, 1982) and features of instruction that help poor readers learn how to draw inferences (Holmes, 1985). This study combined these two topics. We also applied an innovative methodology to probe the conditions that impair low-achieving readers' ability to make inferences. In addition, we investigated dimensions of feedback about inference-making that are critical when teaching about inferencing processes.