Learning Reading Strategies for Science Texts in a Gaming Environment: iSTART vs iTG

众所周知，许多学生发现科学文本难以理解。学生的阅读能力是部分原因。阅读问题在学生面对一个具有挑战性的文本时变得最明显，因为他们对这个文本有知识上的缺陷。特别是科学文本，有许多技术术语很难在日常经验中扎根。因此，有必要进行阅读理解干预，以提高科学理解。本研究比较两种教学环境对提高高中生理解挑战性理科课文能力的有效性。这两种环境包含相同的教学内容，但呈现方式不同：作为课程或游戏。第一个环境，开发和测试在过去的5年中，是一个自动化的阅读策略导师称为iSTART（互动策略训练积极阅读和思考），使用动画教学代理提供互动教学自我解释和阅读策略（理解监测，释义，产生推论）。教学分为三个阶段，每个阶段都需要学习者增加互动。广泛的研究结果表明，iSTART在提高学生理解具有挑战性的科学文本的能力方面非常有效。虽然有效，iSTART可能有点不吸引普通高中生在延长实践的情况。虽然学生需要大量的练习来掌握这些策略，但随着时间的推移，iSTART变得单调乏味。为了提高学生的参与度，将开发一个替代版本的iSTART练习，让学生在游戏环境中练习iSTART策略。iSTART-游戏（iTG）将向学生提供相同的阅读策略实践，但将纳入基于游戏的原则，以提高参与度。本项目旨在研究科学文本理解学习策略的游戏环境是否能更有效地维持学生在训练过程中的注意力和参与度，从而提高对这些策略的获取和掌握。在资助的第一年，将开发一个在游戏环境中构建的自动阅读策略辅导系统。在第二年，将进行试点研究，以完善该系统。在第三年，将在三种条件下比较使用策略的实践：iTG，iSTART和对照条件。学生将在初步培训后的五个额外的会议期间练习的策略。这个实验将提供iTG随着时间的推移的潜在价值的信息，特别是，iTG是否从事学生在重复的练习课程。本研究还将探讨个体差异（如先前的科学知识、阅读技能和动机水平）的潜在交互作用。本研究将有助于更好地理解参与作为学习收益的一个因素。据调查人员预测，许多学生谁不觉得标准的辅导环境充分参与将显着受益于替代方法。最重要的是，这种教学干预应该是特别有价值的那些学生最有风险，由于有较低的能力和兴趣的科学。这项研究将实现创建一个试验台学习环境的目标，旨在提高读者的参与度，并促进我们对这种环境的潜在教学收益的理解。该项目将有助于我们理解游戏功能和参与度之间的关系。它将为学生提供工具，帮助他们更有效地应对从困难的科学文本中学习的挑战。此外，本研究还有助于我们理解认知和情感在促进学习中的作用，理解科学文本学习的具体过程，以及阅读策略、知识、阅读技能、兴趣和动机等因素之间复杂的相互作用。

It is well known that many students find science text challenging to comprehend. Students' reading ability is partly to blame. Reading problems become most apparent when the student is faced with a challenging text for which they have knowledge deficits. Science text, in particular, has many technical terms that are difficult to ground in everyday experience. Thus, there is a need for reading comprehension interventions to improve science comprehension. This project compares the effectiveness of two types of tutoring environments in improving high-school students' ability to understand challenging science text. Both environments contain the same pedagogical content, but present it differently: as a lesson or as a game. The first environment, developed and tested over the past 5 years, is an automated reading strategies tutor called iSTART (Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking) that uses animated pedagogical agents to deliver interactive instruction on self-explanation and reading strategies (comprehension monitoring, paraphrasing, generating inferences). Instruction occurs in three stages with each stage requiring increased interaction on the part of the learner. Results across a wide range of studies indicate that iSTART is highly effective in improving students' ability to understand challenging science text. While effective, iSTART can be somewhat unappealing to an average high-school student in extended practice situations. While students need extended practice to master the strategies, iSTART becomes monotonous over time. To increase students' engagement, an alternative version of iSTART practice will be developed that allows students to practice iSTART strategies in a game environment. iSTART-The Game (iTG) will present the same reading strategy practice to students, but will incorporate game-based principles to enhance engagement. This project examines whether a gaming environment for learning strategies for science text comprehension more effectively sustains students' attention and engagement during training, and thereby results in improved acquisition and mastery of these strategies. In the first year of funding, an automated reading strategy tutoring system that is framed in a gaming environment will be developed. In Year 2, pilot studies will be conducted to refine the system. In Year 3, practice using the strategies will be compared in three conditions: iTG, iSTART, and a control condition. Students will practice the strategies over a period of five additional sessions after the initial training. This experiment will provide information on the potential value of iTG over time and specifically, whether iTG engages students over repeated practice sessions. The potential interactive effects of individual differences such as prior science knowledge, reading skill, and motivational levels will also be examined.This research will contribute to better understanding of engagement as a factor in learning gains. It is predicted by the investigators that many students who do not find the standard tutoring environment sufficiently engaging will significantly benefit from the alternative approach. Most importantly, this instructional intervention should be especially valuable for those students most at risk due to having lower ability and interest in science. This research will accomplish the goal of creating a test-bed learning environment intended to improve reader engagement and advance our understanding of the potential instructional gains from such environments. The project will contribute to our understanding of the relationship between game features and engagement. It will provide students with tools that help them more effectively meet the challenges of learning from difficult science texts. In addition, this research will contribute to our understanding of the roles that cognition and emotion play in fostering learning, the specific processes involved with learning from science texts, and the complex interplay of factors such as reading strategies, knowledge, reading skill, interest, and motivation.