BACKGROUND Biomedical scientists need to access figures to validate research facts and to formulate or to test novel research hypotheses. However, figures are difficult to comprehend without associated text (e.g., figure legend and other reference text). We are developing automated systems to extract the relevant explanatory information along with figures extracted from full text articles. Such...

Two experiments investigated learning outcomes and comprehension processes when students learned about the heart and circulatory system using (a) text only, (b) text with simplified diagrams designed to highlight important structural relations, or (c) text with more detailed diagrams reflecting a more accurate representation. Experiment 1 found that both types of diagrams supported mental model...

One of the challenges of cognitive psychology is developing general models that explain a wide range of empirical phenomena. We describe a unique language comprehension model that ts data from several text comprehension domains: metaphor understanding, processing of semantic illusions and text memory. We show how background knowledge plays a similar role in all these processes, helping or hampe...

One of the challenges of cognitive psychology is developing general models that explain a wide range of empirical phenomena. We propose a unitary theory that addresses data from several text comprehension domains: metaphor understanding, processing of semantic illusions, lexical ambiguity, text memory and elaborative encoding. This theory assumes that sentence processing at the semantic level i...

While there has been much work on computational models to predict readability based on the lexical, syntactic and discourse properties of a text, there are also interesting open questions about how computer generated text should be evaluated with target populations. In this paper, we compare two offline methods for evaluating sentence quality, magnitude estimation of acceptability judgements an...

Nowadays, circa 10% of 7-11 olds turn out to be poor comprehenders: they demonstrate text comprehension difficulties, related to inference making, despite proficiency in low-level cognitive skills like word reading. To improve the reading comprehension of these children, TERENCE, a technology enhanced learning project, aims at stimulating inference-making about stories. In order to design and d...

This study investigated the effect of empathy in text comprehension. After 89 university students read a document which described how to write an educational practical report, they took a comprehension test and responded on the following scales: parallel empathy, reactive empathy, subjective comprehension, and attitude. In the framework of dual-process theory, parallel empathy depends on system...

This comprehensive review of literature includes research studies dating from 1980 to 2005 on expository text structure awareness as well as studies on the effectiveness of expository text structure instruction. The purpose of this literature review is two-fold: 1) To determine the extent to which students’ expository text structure awareness facilitates reading comprehension; and 2) Whether it...

Nowadays, several children have deep text comprehension problems, despite well developed low-level reading skills. We are working on a tutoring multimedia tool aiming at implementing a series of reading intervention for such children through smart game. This paper reports on the main choices of our tool, and results of our evaluations.