ONLINE READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES AMONG …

ONLINE READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES AMONG GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS By Hsin-Yuan Chen

A DISSERTATION Submitted to

Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education

08.05.2009

ABSTRACT

ONLINE READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES AMONG GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS By Hsin-Yuan Chen According to government reports, new Internet technologies present readers with

new reading opportunities and challenges (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; RAND Reading Study Group [RRSG], 2002). However, we are just beginning to understand the specific complexities that Internet text imposes on the reading comprehension process (Coiro, 2003; Leu, Kinzer, Coiro & Cammack, 2004), and we know even less about what these complexities mean for particular student populations who are reading texts in a variety of online environments. The present study purposefully targeted the online reading strategies of upper-elementary and middle school students with and without learning disabilities (LD), in the U.S. and in Taiwan, as they read expository text. Several aspects of the comprehension process were studied, including: (1) Internet navigation strategies and behaviors, (2) students' sensitivity to the organizational structure of hypertexts, (3) online search strategies, and (4) online reading strategies. Data collection involved surveys, structured metacognitive interviews, observations, reading comprehension activities, and online search tasks that were administered to 119 American and Taiwanese students in the fifth and sixth grades.

The results suggested that the fifth- and sixth-grade students in this study (1) had opportunities to use computers and use the Internet, but they were not taught sufficient online reading and search strategies; (2) were easily disorientated by the non-linear nature

and unfamiliar structure of online texts, especially when Websites or Web pages lacked appropriate tabs or organizational cues for informational passages; (3) did not employ recommended online search strategies; and (4) had weak before-reading strategies, and had difficulty distinguishing before- and during-reading strategies, although their afterreading strategies were often advanced. The study findings suggested that: (1) students needed to be taught necessary online reading and search strategies, and (2) educators and instructional Website designers needed to be mindful of the characteristics of non-linear and unclearly structured text when designing Websites and hypermedia for upperelementary and middle school students.

Copyright by Hsin-Yuan Chen 2009

To my family v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation is the result of four rewarding years of doctoral study at Michigan State University. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who have provided support and encouragement during my Ph.D study. I first of all thank my committee members. First and foremost, I want to thank my advisor, Dr. Carol Sue Englert, for her guidance and assistance in my research. Her great enthusiasm, work ethic, and insightful perspective are not only an inspiration but also a role model to me. I learned how to conduct research while involved in her ACCEL and ACCELerate projects. The research training and academic preparation I have received at Michigan State University is largely due to her and has helped me grow professionally.

I thank my first-year academic advisor, Dr. Cynthia Okolo, for providing me the opportunity to enter this program with a scholarship and for being there to support me with her encouragement. Her scholarly nature and calm patience showed me how to do thorough empirical work, beginning with my first seminar course in the program. Special thanks go to Dr. Troy Mariage for serving on my committee and for being a research mentor during my Ph.D. career. I am grateful for his perceptive and insightful comments, which improved my dissertation and practicum research. His continuing willingness and care to help me go through the milestones of the program are deeply appreciated. I also want to thank Dr. Rand Spiro for his time and effort during my dissertation. He provided valuable advice on how to look at this research from a cognitive psychology point-ofview and helped me think in a conceptually clear manner. Furthermore, I want to give my sincere thanks to Dr. Charles Anderson for his generous support, gracious encouragement,

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and extensive training while I was involved in his Environmental Literacy research project. This science curriculum has broadened my research interests.

Thanks also go to the College of Education and Graduate School at Michigan State University for supporting my work with a Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Summer Research Fellowship, Graduate Student Research Enhancement Award, and Dean's Scholar Award. These generous scholarship and fellowship opportunities allowed me to carry out my research without worrying about my financial situation.

Several principals, teachers, and school district officers in Michigan and Taiwan have contributed much to the completion of this dissertation research. In Michiagan, I would like to give particular thanks to Ms. Debbie Wagner at Eberwhite Elementary School, Mr. Dean Manikas at Hope Middle School, Ms. Naomi Zikmund-Fisher at Ann Arbor Open School, Ms. Patricia Rose at Slauson Middle School, and Dr. Nancy Shiffler at the Center of Testing, Accountability, and Research. In Taiwan, I would like to thank Mr. Chien-Erh Lai, Mr. Jun-Lung Yen, Ms. Yung-Chun Chuang, and Ms. Kui-Fang Yang at Zhongshan Elementary School; and Ms. Li-Chun Chen and Ms. Hsing-I Shen at SiouLang Elementary School. I much appreciate the support they gave to my research when I collected data at their schools.

I would like to thank Rebecca Shankland for her friendship and support, especially when I was in the early stage of this program as well as at my low moments. I also want to give thanks to my peers and colleagues: Carrie Anna Courtad, Lisa Dimling, Kimberly Wolbers, Nathan Jones, Emily Bouck, Yi-Chun Tsai, Catherine Wigent, Barbara Meier, Paula Hunt, Kathleen Kosobud, Ira Socol, and Kara Sevensma, for all sweet memories.

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In no particular order I would like to thank my friends at Michigan State University: Anne Heintz, Rich Holdgreve-Resendez, Paul Morsink, Kathleen Moxley, Kosze Lee, Kuo-Liang Chang, Hsiu-Shuo Hu, Chueh-An Hsieh, Yun-Jia Lo, Shih-Pei Chang, Robyn Tasaka, Amy Tracy Wells, Hui Jin, Jing Chen, Hamin Baek, Kennedy Onyancha, Edna Tan, Josie Zesaguli, Lindsey Mohan, and Jonathon Schramm. You all mean a lot to me.

Special thanks go to my brothers and sisters at the Ann Arbor Chinese Christian Church for their care, sharing, and prayers over the years. May God bless them.

Last but not least, I thank my family for their unconditional support and love. My parents' and sister's immeasurable encouragement and care were the wellspring of my motivation to walk through this dissertation process. They have always been there cheering and comforting me. Lastly, I want to thank my loving husband, Meng-Ping Chang. Thanks for his endless love and emotional comfort. Without him, I would have faltered at many points during my doctoral study. Deservedly, this dissertation is dedicated to my family.

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