Inclusion Strategies for Secondary Classrooms by Gore Mildred C.;

Author:Gore, Mildred C.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1051559
Publisher: Corwin Press
Published: 2010-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

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Key 45: Compare and Contrast Text Structure Study Guide

Comparing and contrasting is a common text structure, and this study guide will assist students in their navigation of textbook selections in which comparing and contrasting is the structure. Students can learn to recognize cue words in text that signal that the structure is compare and contrast: compared to, in contrast, as opposed to, similarly.

Wylie and McGuinness (2004) hypothesized that high levels of prior knowledge of content would ameliorate the difficulties caused by poor text structure. The participants in their study were 195 college students studying psychology at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The students were grouped as having high or low prior knowledge on the topic passages: memory and cognition. Passages were rated by the researchers as being well or poorly structured. Contrary to the researchers’ hypothesis, high prior knowledge did not ameliorate poor text structure. Poor text structure hurts everyone. However, good study guides can help readers cope with poor text structure.

Wyatt and Hayes (1991) compared two types of compare and contrast study guide approaches in teaching an obscure religion to 87 undergraduate college students. In the first condition, the students read a selection about a religion that was similar to the target religion. They compared and contrasted the two similar religions. In the second condition, the students read a passage about a religion that was quite different from the target religion and then read the passage about the target religion. They then compared and contrasted the two dissimilar religions.

When the students were asked to list the facts they remembered about the target text, they made many more correct responses about the target text when they had studied dissimilar texts. When they had studied similar texts, they made many more wrong responses about the target text, instead making statements that referred to the similar religion instead of the target religion. Therefore, one criterion for deciding to use a Compare and Contrast Study Guide is that our concepts should be highly dissimilar.

Teachers may wish to computerize study guides, as recommended by Lovitt and Horton (1994). Horton, Lovitt, Givens, and Nelson (1989) investigated the use of study guides on the computer. The study involved 31 freshman students, of whom 13 had ELN and 18 were identified as remedial; the students were all enrolled in a low-track world geography class.

The students with ELN scored an average of 76% when they studied a chapter using the computerized study guide, compared to an average of 42% when they independently took notes. The remedial students scored an average of 77% on the study guide condition compared to 58% on the note taking condition.

Study guides such as the Compare and Contrast Text Structure Study Guide are good inclusion strategies because

Attention is captured because the student is actively engaged

Discrimination is enhanced because the student explicitly discriminates between the target concept and another concept; discrimination between critical and less important information is assured because the student is directed to seek the analogous information only

Memory is strengthened

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