Do Characteristics of the Reader Contribute to Beginning Readers' Online and Offline Performances on Cohesive and Less-cohesive Texts?

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Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): Hannon, Brenda Ann Marie Acquiring basic levels of reading is a problem that many children face and, without early identification/ intervention it can lead to low levels of self-esteem and motivation to learn, which are present as early as grade one (Lyon, 2002). Indeed, 22% of white 4th grade students and 50% of minority students are below basic reading levels in the U.S. (NAEP, 2011), begging the questions as to when and how we can enhance the reading performances of our young readers. My pilot study shows that the contributions of some reader characteristics, such as word skills and working memory, vary as a function of the cohesion level of a text (e.g., degree ideas in a text are interconnected) and that these varying contributions occur with both post-text questions (i.e., an offline measure of reading) and eye movements (i.e., online measures of reading) during the crucial window of beginning reading (i.e., first 1.0 - 1.5 years of reading). The overall goal of this proposal is to further explore these novel and theoretically-important findings. In Study One I determine the influences of reader characteristics and text coherence on beginning readers’ performances on offline measures of reading. For this study I will use: (ii) psychometric measures to assess the theoretically-important components of reading and (ii) cohesive and less-cohesive texts. Data will be analyzed using multiple statistical methods to determine the independent/interactive contributions that reader characteristics and text coherence make to beginning readers’ performances on offline reading measures (i.e., post-text questions). The results of this study will add to theoretical knowledge about developmental reading, For example, this study will determine: (i) which theory is best for explaining early literacy and (ii) whether coherent and less-coherent texts tap the same cognitive mechanisms to the same extent. In Study Two I determine the contributions of reading characteristics and text coherence to beginning readers’ performance on online measures of reading (i.e., eye movements). In this study I again use psychometric measures to assess theoretically-important components of reading but I also record beginning readers’ eye movements as they read coherent and less-coherent texts. The results of this study will identify which theory(s) of reading is best for explaining online beginning reading. Moreover by examining the underlying cognitive mechanisms of coherent versus less-coherent texts using the eye movements of beginning readers, we can more completely understand the trajectory of online reading development. In summary, the present proposal will be the first study to examine reader/text characteristics and online/offline measures simultaneously in one study. It is expected that the results of this very integrative proposal will provide the critical foundation of knowledge for identifying/refining/extending current theories of reading for beginning reading which, in turn, is necessary for understanding the trajectory of reading. OMB No. 0925-0001/0002 (Rev. 08/12 Approved Through 8/31/2015) Page Continuation Format Page