| The Guthrie and Mosenthal (1987) cognitive model of text search has provided a framework to understand and examine the cognitive processes underlying the ability to search for and locate information in text. Locating information involves a number of stages, including (a) goal formation, (b) selecting appropriate categories of text to search, (c) extracting relevant information, (d) integrating extracted information with prior knowledge and the search question, and (e) recycling through stages until the goal has been met. Using this model as a guideline, Study 1 examined the effects of strategies-based instruction on a sample of 92 students in grades 3 and 4. Students were randomly assigned to one of five groups, each of which received different combinations of category selection (C), extraction (E), and integration (I) instruction. The five groups included CEI, CE, CI, C, and non-instructed controls (CON). Results indicated that only groups that received integration instruction (CEI, CI) were more accurate than controls; and only full instruction (CEI) was more effective than category selection instruction alone (C). Thus, integration, a largely metacognitive skill, emerged as a particularly important component of instruction. Due to the large amount of variance in performance in the non-instructed group, Study 2 was designed to examine the individual differences that may predict text search performance. Sixty-eight children in grades 5 and 6 were administered a series of measures assessing working memory, general reading metacognitive awareness, task-specific metacognitive awareness, text feature knowledge, and word knowledge. Results from a multiple regression analysis suggested that, after controlling for the effects of age and strategy use, working memory, text feature knowledge, task-specific metacognitive awareness, and word knowledge accounted for 39% of variance in search accuracy scores. These findings have significant implications for our understanding of the Guthrie and Mosenthal (1987) model of search and for the instruction of text search strategies in the elementary grades. |
