Teaching self‐regulation strategies via an intelligent tutoring system (TuinLECweb): Effects for low‐skilled comprehenders
Abstract
The use of documents to perform tasks is a continuous task demand in the current knowledge‐based society that involves making a series of decisions to self‐regulate the use of text information. Low‐skilled comprehenders have serious problems monitoring and self‐regulating their decisions in these task‐oriented reading situations, which has a negative impact on performance and merits instructional interventions in school settings. Intelligent tutoring systems have emerged as effective tools to teach strategic skills. Herein, we present TuinLECweb, an intelligent tutoring system that teaches monitoring and self‐regulation strategies to young adolescents. Study 1 explores whether high‐skilled and low‐skilled comprehenders respond to the intervention with TuinLECweb differently in terms of task‐oriented reading performance and monitoring accuracy of nonsearch decisions. The results show that the intervention with TuinLECweb primarily benefits low‐skilled comprehenders. Study 2 compares the efficacy of TuinLECweb over a classroom intervention for low‐skilled comprehenders. The results reveal that TuinLECweb training improves monitoring accuracy of nonsearch decisions over and above classroom instruction. Both studies also reveal that low‐skilled comprehenders use the strategies learned beyond the time of training. Our results provide arguments in favour of using computer‐assisted programs in strategy instruction.
Lay Description
What is already known about this topic:
- Less‐skilled comprehenders have problems monitoring and self‐regulating their decisions in task‐oriented reading, which has a negative impact on performance.
- There is a need for supplemental reading literacy strategy instruction in elementary classrooms.
- Intelligent tutoring systems are effective tools to improve students' comprehension performance and strategy use.
What this paper adds:
- Teaching task‐oriented reading strategies via an intelligent tutoring system (TuinLECweb) can improve less‐skilled comprehenders' performance and monitoring accuracy.
- The effects of training task‐oriented reading strategies emerge beyond the time of training.
- Intelligent tutoring systems are more effective than traditional classroom instruction to improve task‐oriented reading skills.
Implications for practice and policy:
- Earlier training in task‐oriented reading strategies could help low‐skilled comprehenders overcome comprehension deficits when using texts to answer questions.
- The use of intelligent tutoring systems such as TuinLECweb may be considered by teachers as a supportive tool for enhancing strategy instruction in classrooms.
