Train students to generate main-idea questions via identify-then-transform steps¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 5 claims (3 for, 2 mixed) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article's training program teaches a three-step questioning procedure: "First, the students were instructed to identify the main idea of each paragraph, which would serve as the core of the questions. Second, students were given specific directions to form questions which asked for new instances of ideas and/or concepts. Last, when generating a new instance proved difficult or inappropriate, the question was to be about a concept in the text, but in a paraphrased format." Training materials included a model paragraph, practice paragraphs, experimenter-provided example questions, and a full practice passage with space to write questions.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Training booklets with introduction, model paragraph, practice paragraphs, example questions, and a practice passage with blank space for writing questions
• Experimenter support on an individual basis during the training session

Constraints¶

• Training required a dedicated session of approximately fifty minutes before the study session
• The article reports the training procedure did not alter the performance of high verbal ability students

Target Learners¶

• high school juniors and seniors, especially low and middle verbal ability students

Target Learning Goals¶

• generating main-idea comprehension questions about expository text
• improved comprehension and retention of prose material

Affordances¶

• Metacognitive Levels Of Processing Account Self Questioning

Claims¶

• Generating a good question for a topic strongly predicts answering the matching test item correctly [+W]
• Question quality, not study time, predicted comprehension test performance among questioners [+W]
• Questioning-with-training produced higher posttest scores than read-reread study (Experiment 2) [+W]
• Self-questioning during study benefits low verbal ability high school students more than high verbal ability students (Experiment 1) [~W]
• Treatment x verbal ability interaction replicated only after excluding the high-variance middle ability group (Experiment 2) [~W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Marli E.D.A. Andre and Thomas H. Anderson. (1978). The Development and Evaluation of a Self-Questioning Study Technique. Center for the Study of Reading Technical Report No. 87. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=The+Development+and+Evaluation+of+a+Self-Questioning+Study+Technique